The Deep Three: Jay Wright's cruisin' and Louisville's dreamin'

What a month it was in college basketball. We saw the highest of highs for UMBC and Loyola-Chicago. On the other end, Virginia suffered the lowest of lows with its loss to the Retrievers. Syracuse proved the doubters wrong with its run to the Sweet 16, but then saw its top prospect from the class of 2018, Darius Bazley, decide to jump directly to the G-League.

We held off on this this month’s circulation of The Deep Three because the Final Four leaked into April, but it is never too late assess the past, present and future in the sport.

RELATED: Last month's Deep Three

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1. THE LITTLE GUYS

While Virginia can be found in the three hurtin’ portion of the column, it is UMBC that comes out victorious from the month that was. The Retrievers entered March as the surprising winners of the American East postseason tournament. They defeated the league’s top dog, Vermont, on its home floor. Just a month earlier, the Retrievers suffered a 28-point loss to the Catamounts. Head coach Ryan Odom has immediately become one of the top young head coaches in America, as UMBC won 25 games this season compared to just four the year before Odom took the job. For all of the good work that UMBC did, Loyola-Chicago trumped it tenfold with its scintillating run to the Final Four. Porter Moser is now a wanted man in coaching searches, and his Loyola program could make the leap toward the high-major platform that was enjoyed after comparable runs at VCU and Butler in recent years. Odom and Moser represented the little guys of the sport tremendously last month, and they're definitely two strong candidates for winners of the month.

2. JAY WRIGHT

Six years ago, the future of Jay Wright as the head coach at Villanova did not look so promising. Despite taking the program to the Final Four in 2009, the Wildcats’ recruiting efforts geared more towards rankings than fit and because of that, their success on the floor took a nose dive. Since then, Jay Wright got back to what got him there in the first place: finding hard-working, blue-collared prospects who haven’t been known to touch a silver spoon. Over the past four years, Wright’s program has won 136 games, a stretch that is one of the best in the sport’s history. Two national titles and three Big East championships has put the program among the bluest of bluebloods. And while they will likely lose Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson early to the NBA Draft, Wright’s ability to make his program a consistent league and national title contender cements his standing as a big winner in the ever-important month of March.

3. MICHIGAN’S COACHING STAFF

What a run it was for Michigan, as the Wolverines avoided losing a single game in the month of March until they played the part of bridesmaid for the second time in the past six seasons and lost to Villanova on the final night of the 2018 season. Still, the strides that the program has taken in recent years is nothing short of impressive. Head coach John Beilein continues to prove critics wrong and show that his way of doing things can still prevail in these murky times clouded with FBI investigations. A basketball lifer, Beilein has cemented his standing as one of the sport’s best. But if it wasn’t for last year’s offseason hirings, the Wolverines likely would have been home watching the national title game. DeAndre Haynes’ work in molding Zavier Simpson into alpha dog of Wolverines’ attack earned the 34-year-old assistant respect throughout the industry during his first year on the high-major platform. Meanwhile, Luke Yaklich may have received the most pub in recent weeks due to his ace-like abilities as Michigan’s defensive coordinator. Saddi Washington, the lone holdover from last season, worked wonders on the recruiting trail, finding under-the-radar gems that evolved into stars this season. Usually it is the head coach that receives all of the attention, but Michigan’s assistant coaching staff had a tremendous month of March.

1. VIRGINIA

Virginia cruised into the month of March as the top-ranked team in America. The Cavaliers boasted a sparkling 31-2 record and their head coach, Tony Bennett, had all but wrapped up national coach of the year honors (which he ultimately won). After winning the ACC regular season and postseason titles it looked as if the Cavaliers were set to prove all of the doubters wrong and that their style of play could hold up in the NCAA Tournament. We all know what has happened since, as they became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16. to add insult to injury UMBC put in its bench players in a blowout win. Virginia loses Isaiah Wilkins and Devon Hall to graduation, but another offseason of development for Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy and Jay Heath - along with a healthy DeAndre Hunter - should keep Virginia atop the league’s pecking order.

2. SYRACUSE

If there is one school in the month of March that has continually been left for dead, it is Syracuse. The Orange entered the month with little chance of an NCAA Tournament berth after an early defeat in the ACC Tournament. But Syracuse managed to get an invitation to the first four contests in Dayton, where it then went on a three-game winning spree before taking Duke to the wire in the Sweet 16. The Orange aren't supposed to lose much on paper, but chances are that Tyus Battle, their top scorer and most relied-upon member, will enter his name in the NBA Draft. For a roster that relied so heavily upon its stars, the Orange couldn’t afford to lose much. Unfortunately, they were hit with a death blow coming in the form of its top high school recruit, Darius Bazley, making the surprise decision to pass up his college career and jump directly to the G-League. Bazley was expected to make a huge impact on the program next year, and without the five-star player -and likely Battle - coach Jim Boeheim is left to scramble.

3. PAC-12

The idea that not one member of the Pac-12 would advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament would have been downright mind-boggling if you had told any basketball junkie in the fall. Somehow, this statement came to fruition after UCLA and Arizona State were knocked out of the first four portion of the tournament, Oregon and USC didn’t receive invitations and No. 13-seeded Buffalo dominated No. 4 seed Arizona in the first round. Much was said about the mediocre league that was the SEC five years ago, but at least that conference could rely on Florida and Kentucky to carry the baton deep into March. How the Pac-12 responds next year will be important, especially since its flagship program, Arizona, has just six players on scholarship, and Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA and USC will each lose a top standout. Fortunately, Stanford, the Ducks, Bruins and Trojans will enroll well-regarded classes, and upstarts Washington and Utah could lead to a better March for the league a year from now.

1. LOUISVILLE

At long last Louisville fans have a reason for hope. Since FBI findings led to the ouster of legendary head coach Rick Pitino, the Louisville fan base has been waiting to see what the future of the program might look like. They finally received their answer last month with the hiring of Chris Mack, the winningest coach in the storied history of Xavier basketball. Mack has a lot of work to do at the ACC program, as there are questions about which players will return to the program in the fall and how the Cardinals might assemble a respectable roster. For the past six months, interim coach David Padgett's staff did its best to recruit, but prospects did not know who the program’s head coach would be next season. Louisville now has its answer and - despite further NCAA rulings hanging over its head - the brand remains strong and recruiting wins are expected to be celebrated for the first time since September.

2. PLAYERS' RIGHTS

Condoleezza Rice and the commission that she was put in charge of will unleash their findings on April 25 that will spell out the appropriate rule changes that must be implemented in making the sport a better one. In the wake of an FBI investigation, its clear the travel basketball industry and college basketball could look completely different a year from now. There still is some doubt that Rice and her board are the appropriate people to take on these challenges. However, Rice and the commission have been very thorough in their investigation into the game, and players are expected to be given more power. Could the one-and-done rule go away? Could college players earn money off of their likenesses? How might the acts of agents be perceived? While questions remain, a month from now the players may have a bigger say in regards to their worth and future in the sport.

3. MEMPHIS

The first offseason on the job is usually the time for a newly named coaching staff to go to work and make some noise on the recruiting front. Penny Hardaway won the press conference last month, returning to his alma mater in hopes of taking the program back to the glory days that were enjoyed during his time playing for the Tigers. The most crucial aspect that he must hit out of the park in the early stages is the hiring of his staff. He has just one coach on hand: Tony Madlock, a well-connected assistant throughout the Southeast. But where the early recruiting wins will come is through the relationships that Hardaway has developed locally. His senior point guard at Memphis East High School and for his Team Penny travel program, Alex Lomax, received his release from Wichita State last month, and he could be the first of many to pledge to the AAC program. Chandler Lawson and Malcolm Dandridge could follow suit, as could James Wiseman, though that is for another day. Regardless, look for the Tigers to make some noise in the weeks ahead and bring even greater optimism for Hardaway supporters in Memphis.