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This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners. I woke up this morning feeling so dumb. I did a silly thing yesterday that I should've known not to do. And, yet, I did it anyway.
I picked Clemson over McNeese in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament.
I know, I know. You probably did, too. And you're probably saying, "Yo, Sykes. What do you mean? That's a reasonable decision to make!" Normally, I'd totally agree with you. When I picked my bracket, I probably agreed with you. But when we all made this pick — and many of us did because there aren't many perfect brackets left — we forgot to check off the most important box of the tournament. We didn't do a vibe check.
The vibe check! We forgot to do the vibe check, y'all.
If we'd probably done a vibe check, we'd have known that the vibes were clearly with McNeese. I mean, what an exciting team, right? They dunk everything. They stepped out to NBA YoungBoy. Amir Khan, the student manager of the team, is the sweetheart of March Madness right now. The cheerleaders even wear Amir Khan socks. There was no way this team was ever losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It didn't matter who they played — McNeese was advancing.
Now, we can be forgiven for missing this. The team's head coach, Will Wade, just took a job at NC State before the tournament started. The news can put a dark cloud over a team — especially ahead of the most significant moment of its season.
But there aren't enough clouds in the sky to block out the shine from Khan's chains and watch. There's not enough noise to obfuscate the YoungBoy coming out of that boom box. There's not enough aura in the world to match what McNeese was giving the world on Thursday.
We're riding with McNeese until the wheels fall off now.
So much for that AI pick, huh? The Jayhawks lost in the first round to John Calipari and Arkansas in the first round, officially bringing one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of college basketball to a close.
I know that sounds dramatic — college hoops have been around for over a century. But, guys, Kansas is the only preseason AP No. 1 team to ever lose in the first round. And this is the second time Kansas has done it, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello. The last time it happened was 20 years ago in 2005. Bill Self was the coach then, too.
Is this going to be enough to put Bill Self on the hot seat in Kansas? Probably not. He's won more than he's lost at the program. I think the school will take that history into account. But that doesn't mean Self is a lock to return — he was almost coaxed to Oklahoma State last season.
The Jayhawks and Self will both have a lot of time to think about what happened here. It's going to be an interesting summer.
Don't forget to fill out your women's March Madness brackets if you haven't already.
Guys. This tournament is going to be a tough one. Chances are we're going to see a lot of good matchups here before we even get to the Final Four. Possibilities include:
And, of course, there will be some upsets along the way. The beauty of it is that we have no idea what's coming. Ah, March. Ya gotta love it.
I don't know what the move Asher Michel pulling off here is called, but he certainly looks like a helicopter to me.
— We've got live blogs cooking for both the women's and men's NCAA tournaments. Check them out today to follow all the action.
— Meg Hall picked out five potential breakout stars for the women's NCAA tournament. Lock on to these big names.
— Drake fans got a big win in 2025. Unfortunately, it wasn't for THAT Drake, but rather, the school. This chant they hit Missouri fans with is so savage.
— John Calipari's daughter was every Arkansas fan during the game with Kansas on Thursday. Robert Zeglinski has more.
— Amir Khan linked up with John Fanta. Do I need to say more? What a combo. Cory Woodroof has more.
— The Clemson mascot is every Clemson fan out there right now. Y'all got it so bad.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Have a great weekend.
-Sykes
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Amir Khan and McNeese have already won March Madness
Continue reading...
Good morning, Winners. I woke up this morning feeling so dumb. I did a silly thing yesterday that I should've known not to do. And, yet, I did it anyway.
I picked Clemson over McNeese in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament.
I know, I know. You probably did, too. And you're probably saying, "Yo, Sykes. What do you mean? That's a reasonable decision to make!" Normally, I'd totally agree with you. When I picked my bracket, I probably agreed with you. But when we all made this pick — and many of us did because there aren't many perfect brackets left — we forgot to check off the most important box of the tournament. We didn't do a vibe check.
The vibe check! We forgot to do the vibe check, y'all.
If we'd probably done a vibe check, we'd have known that the vibes were clearly with McNeese. I mean, what an exciting team, right? They dunk everything. They stepped out to NBA YoungBoy. Amir Khan, the student manager of the team, is the sweetheart of March Madness right now. The cheerleaders even wear Amir Khan socks. There was no way this team was ever losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It didn't matter who they played — McNeese was advancing.
Now, we can be forgiven for missing this. The team's head coach, Will Wade, just took a job at NC State before the tournament started. The news can put a dark cloud over a team — especially ahead of the most significant moment of its season.
But there aren't enough clouds in the sky to block out the shine from Khan's chains and watch. There's not enough noise to obfuscate the YoungBoy coming out of that boom box. There's not enough aura in the world to match what McNeese was giving the world on Thursday.
We're riding with McNeese until the wheels fall off now.
Kansas goes down
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So much for that AI pick, huh? The Jayhawks lost in the first round to John Calipari and Arkansas in the first round, officially bringing one of the most disappointing seasons in the history of college basketball to a close.
I know that sounds dramatic — college hoops have been around for over a century. But, guys, Kansas is the only preseason AP No. 1 team to ever lose in the first round. And this is the second time Kansas has done it, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello. The last time it happened was 20 years ago in 2005. Bill Self was the coach then, too.
Is this going to be enough to put Bill Self on the hot seat in Kansas? Probably not. He's won more than he's lost at the program. I think the school will take that history into account. But that doesn't mean Self is a lock to return — he was almost coaxed to Oklahoma State last season.
The Jayhawks and Self will both have a lot of time to think about what happened here. It's going to be an interesting summer.
March Madness begins again today
Don't forget to fill out your women's March Madness brackets if you haven't already.
Guys. This tournament is going to be a tough one. Chances are we're going to see a lot of good matchups here before we even get to the Final Four. Possibilities include:
- USC vs. UConn in the Elite 8 in Spokane 4
- UConn vs. Oklahoma in the Sweet 16
- Notre Dame vs. Michigan in Round 2 of Birmingham 3
- Oregon vs. Vanderbilt in Round 1 of Birmingham 2
- LSU vs. NC State in the Elite 8 of Spokane 1
And, of course, there will be some upsets along the way. The beauty of it is that we have no idea what's coming. Ah, March. Ya gotta love it.
Photo Friday: Asher Michel in flight
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I don't know what the move Asher Michel pulling off here is called, but he certainly looks like a helicopter to me.
Quick hits: The Madness begins ... March's breakout stars ... and more
— We've got live blogs cooking for both the women's and men's NCAA tournaments. Check them out today to follow all the action.
— Meg Hall picked out five potential breakout stars for the women's NCAA tournament. Lock on to these big names.
— Drake fans got a big win in 2025. Unfortunately, it wasn't for THAT Drake, but rather, the school. This chant they hit Missouri fans with is so savage.
— John Calipari's daughter was every Arkansas fan during the game with Kansas on Thursday. Robert Zeglinski has more.
— Amir Khan linked up with John Fanta. Do I need to say more? What a combo. Cory Woodroof has more.
— The Clemson mascot is every Clemson fan out there right now. Y'all got it so bad.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Have a great weekend.
-Sykes
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Amir Khan and McNeese have already won March Madness
Continue reading...
