The 2020-21 NCAA Tournament bracket has been released, and there’s plenty to discuss. In this edition of I've Got Five on It, Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy looks at five teams that can’t be thrilled about their first-round draws and why the matchups are less than ideal.
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Fact or Fiction: Cowboys will most dangerous non-No. 1 seed in March
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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ALABAMA
First round opponent: Iona
Why it’s a tough draw: Will Alabama win this game? Probably so. Still, grinding all season to go 23-6, win an SEC title and grab a No. 2 seed just to be rewarded by being matched up with a program led by one of the greatest living basketball coaches is a tough break to say the least. Iona has played just 16 games this season, making the Gales an exceedingly difficult team to scout because of sample size. I’m not going to sit here and insult anyone’s intelligence by saying I think Rick Pitino’s team will knock off the Tide, but this is a less-than-ideal draw to say the least. They say guards win in March, and Iona is led by a pair of good ones in Isaiah Ross and Asante Gist, who average 18 and 13 points respectively.
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VCU
First round opponent: Oregon
Why it’s a tough draw: Injuries are a major part of how Pac-12 regular season champion Oregon found itself on the No. 7 line. What sucks for the 10th-seeded Rams is that they won't get to play the injury-plagued version of the Ducks when the ball goes up on Saturday. Instead, Mike Rhoades’ team will be matched up with a Ducks squad that is operating at full strength and coming off a stretch that saw it win 11 of its last 13. Dana Altman’s roster is full of experience and is at least a little better than its seeding. Thoughts and prayers to Rams next weekend, as the Oregon, which is 13-7 in NCAA Tournament games under Altman, spiritually feels more like a five seed than a seven.
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GEORGIA TECH
First round opponent: Loyola-Chicago
Why it’s a tough draw: The Ramblers don’t have the marquee wins that some other teams seeded around it boast, but that may well be because they didn’t have many opportunities to collect them. Still, Loyola is an advanced metric darling, and we here at ‘I Got Five on It’ tend to trust the numbers. The Ramblers’ efficiency stats are dazzling. They rank 10th in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings and No. 27 in offensive efficiency. Will they knock off the ACC champion Yellow Jackets? Maybe not, but they certainly have the feel of an under-seeded team that just happened to squander limited opportunities at collecting big-name victories.
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MARYLAND
First round opponent: UConn
Why it’s a tough draw: Connecticut’s body of work looks good-not-great until you remember that a healthy chunk of it was built without possible top-10 draft pick James Bouknight, who missed roughly a month after having surgery to clean up bone chips in his elbow. The Huskies immediately snapped back into shape upon Bouknight’s return and won six of eight since. UConn as a No. 7 seed seems incredibly dangerous, and I’m sure there was an eye roll or two in College Park when the matchup was announced. The way the Huskies defend is also coin to cause headaches for a Terrapins team that struggles with consistency.
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WISCONSIN
First round opponent: North Carolina
Why it’s a tough draw: Wisconsin played one of the country’s toughest schedules and was rewarded by being matched up with a North Carolina team that struggled in the early season before finding a rhythm. The Tar Heels have defeated No. 4 seed Florida State and No. 10 seed Virginia Tech in the last month, which isn’t ideal for No. 9 seeded Wisconsin, which seems to have gotten a bit of the shaft here. You never expect to draw a blueblood in your 8-9 matchup and doing so has to feel like a gut punch. The UNC frontcourt has been a juggernaut as of late, which will provide the Badgers with a tall task in the paint.
