After two rounds, the 2025 NCAA Event discipline has been whittled down to only 16 groups and oh how candy it’s.
Nonetheless, followers could have observed there actually is not a Cinderella candidate this 12 months. In truth, precisely zero teams from mid-major conferences shall be represented within the Candy 16.
However that does not imply the legacies of Cinderellas previous will not be current on Thursday and Friday.
Three groups remaining within the competitors will characteristic one participant every from the 2023 Florida Atlantic squad that reached the Ultimate 4 as a No. 9 seed.
Senior heart Vladislav Goldin transferred to Michigan (5-seed) this season and shortly grew to become one of the crucial essential gamers for the Huge Ten Event champions.
He is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 16.8 points-per-game, and at 7-foot-1 his presence within the paint has been onerous for the opposition (1.4 blocks-per-game).
No. 10 seed Arkansas and head coach John Calipari have benefitted enormously from senior guard Johnell Davis. Like Goldin, his 2024 departure from Boca Raton, Florida made a direct affect within the SEC.
His 11.4 factors and 1.4 steals-per-game (both a team best) have turned the Razorbacks into the de facto Cinderella because the final remaining double-digit seed on this 12 months’s event.
And the No. 1-seed Florida Gators acquired fifth-year senior Alijah Martin, boosting an already stacked roster that options First-Group All-American Walter Clayton Jr.
Martin is second to only Clayton in points (14.6) and assists (2.4), on prime of his defensive abilities (1.6 steals-per-game), including a layer to Florida’s depth that might assist win this system’s first nationwide title since 2007.
This re-distribution of athletic wealth will be seen as a symptom of the dawning NIL period, though star gamers from profitable mid-major packages have historically left for energy conferences to spice up potential NBA draft inventory.
These three would be the ones to control the remainder of the event, hoping to deliver a bit of Florida Atlantic’s magical run to one more Ultimate 4.
