5 Key Takeaways from This Weekend's NCAA Tournament Action

March Madness is in full swing, brackets everywhere are busted and a few Cinderella candidates have emerged. Here are five key takeaways from the weekend’s action, with an eye toward upcoming games. 

Best Story: Coach and R.J. Hunter

This one is a no-brainer: Georgia State coach Ron Hunter and his son R.J. have been the best story of the tournament thus far. 

First, the elder Hunter tore his Achilles tendon celebrating the team’s 38-36 victory over Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Then, the 14th-seeded Panthers pulled off one of the tournaments bigger upsets, knocking off third-seeded Baylor, when R.J. Hunter (the coach's son) did this:

 Did you see it? Watch closely, and you’ll see Coach Hunter fall off his chair—literally—when his son’s shot swishes through the net. 

Then, to top it all off, Coach Hunter gave one of the more memorable press conferences of all time. “As a coach, best time of my life, and as a father...I love this kid, man. I love you,” he said to reporters after the game, with R.J. sitting beside him. Father-son stories are the best. You can watch the whole thing here:

Biggest Upset?

There are really four candidates here, one of which was covered above. In terms of seed differential, Georgia State and UAB—both of whom were No. 14 seeds—take the cake, knocking off No. 3 seeds Baylor and Iowa State, respectively.

Villanova, on the other hand, became the first No. 1 seed to lose, falling by three to North Carolina State. On one hand, Villanova was one of the four best teams in the country—according to the selection committee—and its early exit busted brackets everywhere. But on the other hand, the Wolfpack played in the nation’s toughest conference, and beat Duke, Louisville and North Carolina. 

So, the biggest upset thus far belongs to the No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans, who knocked off No. 2 seed Virginia on Sunday afternoon. Of course, it’s never smart to bet against Tom Izzo in March, but Virginia was a team that many viewed as one of the nation’s most balanced. Grantland’s Brett Koremenos detailed the Cavaliers’ defensive prowess earlier in the season, and many fans saw the team’s stingy D as a reason to bet on the Cavs. 

ACC Dominance

The Atlantic Coast Conference sent six teams—Duke, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, Notre Dame and Louisville—to this year’s tournament. Until Virginia’s loss Sunday, the conference was undefeated. 

After Duke’s victory Sunday over San Diego State, the conference is 10-1 and looks primed to fill the Elite Eight. Louisville and Duke, in particular, seem primed to make runs (although, in fairness, Duke is probably the nation’s second-best team). Either way, it seems the ACC’s brutal conference schedule is proving a boon in March. 

Wide Open East Region

In three of the tournament’s four regions, the top two seeds remain in play. That includes Wisconsin, Arizona, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga. But in the East Region, both top seeds have already lost—Villanova to NC State and Virginia to Michigan State—leaving the region wide open. 

As USA Today noted, the East is proving to be one of the least predictable tournament regions in over a decade:

Of course, Louisville, Oklahoma and Northern Iowa remain in play. But the region seems the most likely to produce a Final Four Cinderella. Michigan State, in particular, has a long history of tournament success. Plus, the Spartans have Denzel Valentine, an acrobatic guard who occasionally does stuff like this:

Kentucky, Kentucky, Kentucky

Of course, most of the pre-tournament hype revolved (deservedly) around the undefeated and top-seeded Kentucky Wildcats. The ‘Cats might legitimately be the best college basketball team of all time—what Koremenos called “basically a prenatal NBA team,”—and have won both of their games thus far by double digits. 

On Saturday, Kentucky became college basketball’s first-ever 36-0 team, beating Cincinnati by 13. In fairness to Cincinnati, the Wildcats actually looked human for most of the game; the Bearcats trailed by just five points with 12 minutes remaining. But Kentucky pulled away late, and it continues to do things like this:

If Willie Cauley-Stein, the Harrison twins and the rest of the Wildcats continue, they’ll win the title with ease.

Part of me thinks Kentucky is clearly the best team, and it deserves the title. But a much bigger part of me hopes that West Virginia, Notre Dame or some other unlikely team can knock off the Wildcats. To do so, a team needs some hot shooting, foul trouble for Kentucky’s big men and some luck. But that’s the whole point!

Bonus: Craziest Shot?

Obviously, I haven’t watched every single shot of the tournament. But this is absurd.