NCAA Tournament

The first NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings of the 2021-22 men's college basketball season were released Monday morning, and we have some thoughts about this edition of the primary sorting tool used in the NCAA tournament selection process.

The main takeaway is that the rankings look...surprisingly good?

There's one major outlier in the top 20 that we'll touch on in a bit. LSU is probably a bit too high at No. 2. Gonzaga and Duke feel a bit too low at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively. UCLA is way too low at No. 33. But for not even having a full month's worth of data yet, these rankings aren't bad.

If nothing else, at least Purdue is No. 1 in the NET. That's a credible starting point.

By comparison, if we were still using RPI, Alabama would be No. 1, Providence would be No. 4, neither Purdue nor Duke would be in the top 10 and Gonzaga would be at No. 43.

The NET formula may not be perfect, but it's always good to remember how much better it is than what we used to have.

With that in mind, here are a few other takeaways from the initial NET rankings.

True Road Games Aren't Necessary

Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim figured this out a long time ago, but the initial NET rankings provided an early reminder that true road games played in the first month of the season are an unnecessary risk.

They can help if you win them. NET No. 5 Villanova has gone 2-1 on the road, stomping Penn and La Salle and taking UCLA to overtime. NET No. 7 USC is 3-0 with wins at Temple, Florida Gulf Coast and Washington State. Chattanooga is all the way up at No. 29 in the NET rankings largely because of its 4-0 record in true road games.

But five of the top eight teams—No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Houston, No. 6 Baylor and No. 8 Gonzaga—have yet to play a road game. They do each have multiple neutral-site victories, most of which were of the Quadrant 1 or Quadrant 2 variety. However, they have been able to work out any early-season kinks without playing in a hostile environment and without it negatively impacting their ranking.

It is what it is, but it's also a shame that there isn't more of an incentive to schedule games like Texas at Gonzaga and Villanova at UCLA, because those were awesome early treats on the calendar.

Wyoming Is This Year's Colgate

Colgate didn't play its first game of the 2020-21 season until early January and faced only three unique opponents during the regular season—Army, Boston and Holy Cross. After winning their first game by 44 points, the Raiders were in the top 15 of the initial NET rankings.

By Selection Sunday, they were the 14-1 Patriot League champions and had climbed all the way to No. 9 in the NET rankings, even though no one truly believed they were a Top 25 team.

Trying to learn anything meaningful from last year's NET rankings was a waste of time and energy because of how much the pandemic impacted scheduling. But Colgate ranking that high throughout the season was a reminder that blowing out bad teams is a great way to trick the computers into believing you're better than you are.

Enter: 2021-22 Wyoming.

The Cowboys are 8-0 and have climbed from No. 183 to No. 108 on KenPom.com, but that's nothing compared to their 12th-place start in the NET rankings. They're two spots behind Duke and two spots ahead of Kansas.

The Cowboys have yet to face a KenPom top-125 opponent, and they needed late comebacks to win their road games against Washington and Grand Canyon. But because they have not lost and because their wins against Detroit, McNeese State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff came by a combined margin of 99 points, they're the third-highest-ranked team from outside the Power Five conferences.

No one expects it to last the entire season. In fact, it probably won't last for 72 hours, because Wyoming is likely going to get pummeled at Arizona on Wednesday night. But it's always interesting to look at the biggest outliers to try to get a sense of what's going on.

Also worth noting: Wagner is sitting at No. 23 in the NET rankings with a 3-1 record and a 22-point loss to Seton Hall. The Seahawks have only one more game this season (at Penn State this Wednesday) against a team ranked higher than 195th on KenPom, so they might hang around in the top 25 for a while en route to a 23-3 type of season. Just don't expect them to ever legitimately enter the at-large conversation.

Scoring Margin Is Huge, But It Can Only Carry You So Far

I woke up this morning ready to write a scathing review of Texas Tech debuting as a Top 10 team in the NET.

The Red Raiders won their first six games against North Florida, Grambling State, Prairie View A&M, Incarnate Word, Nebraska-Omaha and Lamar by a combined margin of 186 points (31.0 per game), and we've seen teams (most memorably North Carolina State in 2018-19) benefit to a ridiculous degree from repeatedly destroying hopelessly overmatched opponents.

But much to my surprise, Texas Tech is down in 38th place, one spot behind a Providence team to which it lost a 72-68 road game last week.

If the Red Raiders beat Tennessee on Tuesday night or knock off Gonzaga next weekend, they will likely skyrocket up the NET rankings with a statement win to go along with their average margin of victory. After all, every other team currently in the top six in scoring margin is also in the top six in the NET.

However, it's refreshing in this case that the NET is waiting for at least one quality win before crowning Texas Tech as a legitimate contender. 

Kentucky is in a similar boat. The Wildcats are 6-1 with an average scoring margin of 23.2 points per game, but they are No. 39 in the NET with nothing better than a home win over Ohio on their resume.

The West Coast Conference Is in Great Shape

On the morning of Nov. 24, Gonzaga, BYU, San Francisco, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara had a combined record of 27-0, each boasting multiple wins over current KenPom top-100 foes.

Since then, the top half of the WCC has gone just 10-8, including BYU's shocking loss to Utah Valley, Gonzaga slipping up against both Duke and Alabama and Santa Clara dropping a trio of games.

But the possibility of a three-bid or even four-bid WCC still feels plausible with all five of those teams ranked in the NET top 75. Gonzaga is No. 8, BYU is No. 24, San Francisco is No. 32, Saint Mary's is No. 55 and Santa Clara is No. 71.

When the first NET rankings dropped last season, Gonzaga was No. 1, but it was the only WCC team in the top 50. And even from there, BYU easily made the tournament as a No. 6 seed and Saint Mary's (a No. 2 seed in the NIT) probably would have gotten in if it hadn't gotten blown out in all seven games it played against quality opponents.

We'll see where things go from here, but these first rankings back up something we had already determined: The WCC is clearly better than the AAC and arguably better than both the ACC and Pac-12.

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @kerrancejames.

College basketball referee Bert Smith said he was treated for a blood clot in his lungs after collapsing on the court during an Elite Eight game between Gonzaga and USC in the 2021 men's NCAA tournament.

Smith told Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star in an interview released Friday that he doesn't remember the March 30 fall or the immediate aftermath. He recalls the sequence of plays before it and then regaining consciousness surrounded by medical personnel:

"I look to my left, and it's a doctor. I say, 'What's going on, man?' And he goes, 'Bert, you passed out. You blacked out.' I said: 'What?' I look to my right, and I see a stretcher. What's that for? The doctor says, 'That's what I'm taking you out on.' I said: 'Listen, Doc, I'm walking out of here. You're going to get on one side, he's going to get on the other, we're going to wave to the fans, and I'm walking out of here.'"

The 56-year-old Buffalo native explained the doctor tricked him into sitting on the stretcher and quickly strapped him in, which led to the memorable photos of the referee looking disgruntled as he was wheeled off the court for further evaluation.

Smith, who said he felt a little winded while running the stairs at the hotel the night before the Elite Eight assignment, returned to the hotel after passing baseline medical tests at Lucas Oil Stadium, per Doyel.

His fellow officials returned to the hotel and urged him to seek further medical attention to eliminate the possibility of a concussion from the collapse. Dr. Katie Trammel of IU Health Methodist Hospital was then able to identify the root cause: the blood clot in his lung.

"She sits down next to the bed and she says: 'I saw your fall tonight. Something doesn't add up. I want to know why you fell,'" Smith told Doyel. "She checked a few things out, came back in, and took me through the car wash. Just a lot of tests. And they found out."

He spent two days in the hospital on blood thinners and was discharged after the clot was eliminated.

Smith said Trammel's work to diagnose the problem and the fact that his collapse came in a crowded environment with medical workers on scene may have saved his life.

He's since returned home to his family in Kentucky, and he plans on returning to the court for the 2021-22 season.

For the first time in program history, the Baylor men's basketball team are the national champions. And it required an impressive performance against the top-ranked team in the country for the Bears to end the 2020-21 season by cutting down the nets at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

That wasn't a problem for Baylor, though. It was dominant in the national championship game on Monday night, when it cruised to an 86-70 win over the previously unbeaten Bulldogs.

The Bears went on an 11-1 run to open the game and never trailed in the contest. They had a 10-point lead at halftime and refused to let the Zags threaten in the second half.

Baylor ended Gonzaga's dreams of being the first team to win the national championship and finish the season undefeated since Indiana in 1976. Instead, the Bears capped their own impressive season with the title, finishing with a 28-2 record.

Here are some notable stats from the final game of the season, along with a closer look at the recipient of the Most Outstanding Player Award for the men's NCAA tournament.

Notable Stats

Baylor

Junior guard Jared Butler: 22 points, seven assists, 6-for-14 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.

Senior guard MaCio Teague: 19 points and 8-for-15 from the field.

Junior guard Davion Mitchell: 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Sophomore guard Adam Flagler: 13 points, 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.

The Bears shot 43.5 percent from three-point range and outrebounded Gonzaga 38-22.

Gonzaga

Freshman guard Jalen Suggs: 22 points, two steals and 8-for-15 from the field.

Sophomore forward Drew Timme: 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks and 5-for-7 from the field.

Senior forward Corey Kispert: 12 points and three rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 29.4 percent from 3-point range and committed 14 turnovers.

Most Outstanding Player

Jared Butler likely won't be back at Baylor next season, as he'll probably be declaring for the 2021 NBA draft. If that's the case, the junior guard's college career couldn't have ended on a better note.

Not only did the Bears win the national championship, but Butler also earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the men's NCAA tournament. He was a key reason for Baylor's successful run, helping to power the No. 1 seeds to six victories, including several over some tough competition.

On Monday, the 20-year-old was the star during the biggest win in Baylor's history. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he was the first player to have at least 20 points and seven assists in a national championship game since Carmelo Anthony did it for Syracuse in 2003. The report also noted he scored or assisted on 44 percent of the Bears' points (38 of 86).

"We were scoring, they weren't scoring. It was just electrifying," Butler said after the game, per Eddie Pells of the Associated Press.

It wasn't his first impressive showing of the NCAA tournament. Entering the national title game, he was averaging 13.8 points, 4.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals over Baylor's first five victories of the tourney.

But Butler clearly took his game to another level on the biggest stage. He made four three-pointers, which helped him post his highest points total of his past nine games.

He also had a strong showing in Baylor's Final Four win over No. 2-seeded Houston on Saturday night. He had 17 points (his most in the tournament up to that point), five rebounds, four assists and two steals, while going 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from three-point range, to help the Bears to a 78-59 win.

One of the veteran leaders on the team, Butler helped Baylor overcome some adversity prior to March Madness. After the Bears had won their first 18 games of the season, they lost at Kansas on Feb. 27. They still won the Big 12 regular-season championship (the first in program history), but they couldn't win the conference tournament for the first time, falling to Oklahoma State in the semifinals.

That didn't matter once Baylor began the NCAA tournament, though, as it defeated No. 16-seeded Hartford, No. 9-seeded Wisconsin, No. 5-seeded Villanova and No. 3-seeded Arkansas to get to the Final Four for the first time since 1950.

"I can tell you that our guys have been motivated all year. It's a player-led team," Baylor coach Scott Drew said, per Dave Skretta of the Associated Press. "We're so blessed to have unbelievable upperclassmen and leadership. But we play with a culture of joy and as you saw for yourself, they came out and they fed off of each other. We got off to a great start and then defensively we’re pretty good."

Soon, Butler will likely begin the preparations for the NBA draft, which doesn't have a date set yet due to the NBA season running later than usual. However, when it arrives, the 6'3" guard could be a first-round pick. (Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman is projecting him to go No. 21 overall.)

But no matter where Butler goes from here, he'll always be an instrumental player on an historic Baylor team that powered its way to this national championship.

The sting of losing a perfect season and a national championship in the same night will linger for Gonzaga for some time. This probably won't be the Zags' last crack at a title, though.

Following Baylor's victory in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball championship, DraftKings Sportsbook released its initial odds for the 2022 season. The Bears are +1200 to repeat (bet $100 to win $1,200), with Gonzaga leading the field at +900.

That's somewhat surprising since Jalen Suggs is almost certainly going to declare for the 2021 NBA draft. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman listed Suggs second behind Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham on his newest big board.

Corey Kispert is a senior as well, but the key players are otherwise positioned to return. The Zags also have commitments from shooting guard Hunter Sallis and center Kaden Perry, who sit sixth and 53rd, respectively, on 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2021 class.

Baylor's hopes of a second straight title will rest somewhat on whether juniors Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler return. Wasserman had both stars among his top 25 players, and turning down the opportunity to potentially be a first-round pick will be tough.

Like Gonzaga, Baylor has a blue-chip recruit incoming with small forward Kendall Brown (No. 15 overall). Head coach Scott Drew has already shown an ability to win without attracting elite prep talent to Waco, Texas, too.

Given how much luck factors into any team's quest for a title, another Baylor-Gonzaga matchup in the final is probably unlikely.

But both programs figure to be near the top of the polls for much of the 2021-22 season.

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Baylor's Jared Butler was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament as the Bears won the first national title in program history.

Scott Drew's squad blitzed Gonzaga early and didn't look back en route to an 86-70 victory Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Butler was Baylor's best player, finishing with 22 points, seven assists and three rebounds. He also shot 6-of-14 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

The junior guard was solid all tournament, having averaged 13.8 points, 4.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the Bears' first five wins. His efficiency also picked up as Baylor faced its most difficult tests of the Big Dance:

Davion Mitchell (15 points, six rebounds, five assists) and MaCio Teague (19 points, two rebounds) made strong cases, more than delivering in the title game.

Assuming this is the end for Jalen Suggs at Gonzaga, it wasn't the way the freshman guard wanted to close his tenure. He was the Bulldogs' leading scorer (22 points), a performance that will only be a footnote in Baylor's victory.

Suggs will have to settle for hitting one of the biggest shots in Final Four history.

Suggs got into foul trouble early in the first half against the Bears, picking up his second at the 16:56 mark, which summed up Gonzaga's brutal start. Drew Timme also collected his fourth foul with 11:37 left in the second half, putting a serious dent in the Zags' efforts to claw back from what was a 16-point deficit at the time.

By almost any measure, this was probably the single greatest season in Gonzaga history. But getting blown out in the championship game closed the year on a sour note, and the feeling was exacerbated by the loss of its unbeaten record.

For Butler and Baylor, however, the celebrations were only beginning.