Do recruitment rankings really matter? The March Madness final gives us an answer.
In the National Championship game for the 2023 edition of March Madness we got a matchup practically nobody saw coming! And regardless of the outcome it is a battle like we’ve never seen before. Because the game doesn’t just determine who will win a trophy, but whichever team wins will define what works and what doesn’t for college coaches around the country. That’s cause UCONN is supposed to win. Because they got there the old fashioned way. With some of the best players in the country, playing one of the toughest schedules along the way. And San Diego State doesn’t care about all that, yet they are the underdog, a position that is normal for them, because all of their players have always been like that.
Why UConn should win
UConn men’s basketball is really good, but they received a 4 seed on this year’s bracket. The selection committee tends to play favorites, and since UConn rejoined the new Big East it appears that they don’t get anywhere near enough credit. Believe it or not they were undefeated in non-conference. Practically the only team in the country that can actually say it. And on that schedule they had to beat Oregon, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Florida, and Alabama. And they beat every single one of them including Alabama by double digits.
Their conference play has to be the reason their seeding fell, but that’s all political. They lost 8 conference games in total, but 6 of them were to tournament teams which isn’t that big a deal in the regular season. Basketball is a game of scoring points, and keeping the other team from scoring. And with the 8th hardest strength of schedule in the entire nation they dominated. They ranked in the top 11 percent of the nation, in scoring offense, scoring defense, and rebounding. That’s basically everything you would ever need to win a basketball game.
UConn’s recruits know they are the favorites
UConn’s men have been competing from the shadows of the women’s program for the better part of the past decade. Because until this year, their women had been to 14 straight final fours. But don’t forget that the men of UConn won a national championship not even 10 years ago, in 2014. And they’re the only team left in the tournament with a projected NBA first round draft pick on their team in Jordan Hawkins. In fact he’s now considered to be a lottery pick, and he’s not even the Huskies leading scorer. That would be Adama Sanogo who coincidentally leads them in rebounding as well.
And on top of all that UConn is supposed to win because they actually have the best players on their entire team. At least that’s what the scouts said about them in recruiting. They are the only team in the final four with any recruiting classes in the past 3 years ranked in the top 10. Because in 2021 they had the 7th ranked class, which was led by you guessed it: Jordan Hawkins.
Why San Diego State could win
San Diego State feels like a Cinderella team because in our minds they still are. They play in the Mountain West conference which is most famous for Jimmer Fredette mania at BYU, more than anything else. And BYU no longer plays in the Mountain West, they are in the Big 12. The Aztecs only lost 6 games this season, but 5 of them were to tournament teams. And their only other loss was to Nevada who played in the NIT. And on top of all that, they are tied for the fifth best record across all of Division 1. Tied with their much more popular state rival UCLA.
It is clear that they are a great basketball team, but they are also overlooked because of how they get it done which is without hardly any standout players. Brian Dutcher has put together a roster that is the definition of teamwork. 9 of their players average 15 minutes or more all season long, and nobody averages more than 13 points or 6 rebounds. It doesn’t really matter who gets the job done in a San Diego State uniform, which is why it’s hard to stop them. Defenders simply don’t know who to focus on. That said Matt Bradley led them in scoring, and was First Team All Mountain West conference. While Nathan Mensah was the defensive player of the year for the conference. San Diego State is only an underdog because they wear a uniform we aren’t used to seeing make it to the final four, but their opponents already know the truth. They are legit.
San Diego State’s recruits know they are the underdogs
But maybe that’s the problem, that only their opponents know the truth. The politics of college sports run deeper than you realize, and San Diego State this year doesn’t even have one player on their team who was considered to be a 4 or 5 star recruit. They actually roster 10 players who are from their home state of California, in addition to 5 transfer players. And their best recruiting class on 247, only ranks as 70th, which technically shouldn’t be good enough to make it into the tournament’s field of 68. The fact that nobody clearly stands out as a top recruit, is perhaps why they play the way they play. A team, in every sense of the word that has survived and advanced through the gauntlet that is March Madness.
The Bottom Line
Uconn is supposed to be here, in fact they underachieved in non-conference, and now they appear to be playing like themselves. But San Diego State has proven, you don’t need the top ranked players, or even a top level conference to become one of the best. You just need a winning game plan, and to believe in yourself and your teammates. And because of that they took March Madness by surprise. Because they weren’t expected to make it this far. But UConn has to deal with the fact that with this matchup, they can’t actually lose the tournament. They can only fail to win it. And they are well aware that failure is not an option.
KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.
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