-
1 week ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell
The Golden State Warriors have spent the past two months among the very best teams in the NBA. They have a superstar tandem led by the greatest shooter who ever lived. They boast one of basketball’s most devastating offenses and most imposing defenses. Their form—23 wins in their past 31 games—makes them just the sort of team that nobody wants to meet in the playoffs.
-
2 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell |Laine Higgins
So when all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four for just the second time in tournament history, we had a hunch that the wildest contest in sports was saving something special for the end. What we didn’t anticipate was whatever just happened. This year’s Final Four didn’t produce one jaw-dropping comeback—it featured three of them. Every single game through Florida’s miraculous late triumph in Monday’s title game delivered twists and turns that defied any semblance of logic.
-
2 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Laine Higgins |Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell
Walter Clayton Jr. was held scoreless by Houston in the first half of the NCAA championship game on Monday. Then he roared to life to lead the Gators to a title. All season long, Florida had a weapon that no team could figure out how to neutralize. His name was Walter Clayton Jr. The former football standout was the closest thing that college basketball had to a cheat code. During the regular season, he averaged 18.5 points per game, making almost 40% of his 3-pointers.
-
2 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell |Laine Higgins
They play for Kelvin Sampson. Sampson, 69, pushes his team so hard that one of the first practices of the season left a point guard with a broken nose. He demands such relentless hustle that even the team managers have to run lines if he thinks they’re dogging it. He had some choice advice for one of his players early in Saturday’s game: “Wake the f—up!”“His coaching is mental warfare,” said junior guard Emanuel Sharp.
-
3 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell
NEWARK, N.J.—The plan for beating Duke is no secret: Stop Cooper Flagg. From the moment he arrived in Durham, Flagg has been the best player in college basketball, leading the Blue Devils to a No. 1 seed while locking up his status as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.
-
3 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell |Laine Higgins
March 31, 2025 5:30 am ETIt has been nearly two decades since March Madness did so little to live up to its name. For the first time since 2008—and just the second time in the history of the NCAA Tournament—all four No. 1 seeds have reached the Final Four. On Sunday, Houston and Auburn advanced, joining Duke and Florida, who’d punched their tickets on Saturday. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
-
3 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell |Andrew Beaton
NEWARK, N.J.—Before Alabama took on BYU in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, coach Nate Oats gathered his backcourt and offered a strange prediction for a team whose best player had been mired in a miserable shooting slump. “We’re gonna rain them,” Oats said. $13.75/Week $1.75/Week Includes unlimited digital access to The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Barron’s and Investor’s Business Daily $9.75/Week $1/Week Includes unlimited digital access to WSJ's unrivaled journalism.
-
4 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Andrew Beaton |Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell
Arizona and Oregon were in the closing stages of a back-and-forth thriller with a spot in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 on the line when the game was suddenly interrupted by the one thing driving everyone absolutely mad this March. First, with 1:49 left, officials stopped the action to check an out of bounds whistle. The review lasted over 2½ minutes, even though the call seemed obvious to anyone watching on television.
-
1 month ago | 
wsj.com | Laine Higgins |Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell
Once upon a time, the NCAA tournament was all about fairy tales. It was when logic flew out the window, nobodies became darlings of March and tiny universities from places you’ve never heard of knocked off blue bloods in the opening round. $13.75/Week $4/Week Includes unlimited digital access to The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Barron’s and Investor’s Business Daily $9.75/Week $2/Week Includes unlimited digital access to WSJ's unrivaled journalism.
-
1 month ago | 
wsj.com | Robert L. O’Connell |Robert O’connell |Laine Higgins
Scan your NCAA Tournament bracket, and you won’t see Southern Methodist University listed anywhere. The Mustangs had a forgettable season and didn’t hear their names called on Selection Sunday. Yet it’s possible no single school has had a bigger impact on this year’s March Madness. That’s because when SMU made the seemingly inconsequential decision to fire its head basketball coach last year, it sparked a chain reaction that led directly to three teams making runs to the Sweet 16 in 2025.
