Redemption Rankings: Which Teams Have Scores to Settle This March?
Everyone loves a good redemption story, right? A year ago, we got the ultimate one, when Virginia went from being the first-ever No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in 2018 to winning the whole thing in 2019. The Cavaliers led our Redemption Rankings entering the postseason last March, and they made good on it by cutting down the nets in Minneapolis. Tony Bennett’s team was undoubtedly fueled all season long by the bitter taste of what happened against UMBC, and that kind of motivation—when properly weaponized—can be a major advantage in the grind of a single-elimination tournament.
Who is in position to erase disappointment from the end of last season this time around? We’ve identified six candidates that could get revenge this year, whether in a conference tournament, the Big Dance, or both.
1. Kentucky
How many teams experience the pain of having both their conference tournament and NCAA tourney runs end against teams they had previously beaten that same season? After trading home blowouts with Tennessee in the 2018–19 regular season, the Wildcats were eliminated in the SEC tournament semifinal by Grant Williams & Co. But that was nothing compared to what would happen in the Elite Eight, when Kentucky would face an Auburn team it beat twice in the regular season…and fall in overtime, coming up agonizingly short of the Final Four.
‘Cats point guard Ashton Hagans later admitted to The Athletic that he didn’t take the Tigers seriously enough in that NCAA tournament meeting, seemingly too overconfident after his team’s previous success against them. Hagans, of course, is back as a sophomore (though he recently took a temporary absence), and he’s not alone. Immanuel Quickley, Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery are all still around as well, determined to make sure their new teammates don’t repeat the same mistake. After winning the SEC regular-season title, Kentucky will start its 2020 postseason as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, looking to finish the job this time.
2. Gonzaga
It’s a distant memory now, but the Zags had a six-year WCC conference tournament run snapped in 2019 thanks to a shocking upset win by a Saint Mary’s team that stole an NCAA tournament bid in the process. Gonzaga had pummeled the Gaels by 94–46 in one of their regular-season matchups, then were stunningly held to just 47 points in the championship loss. On Tuesday, Mark Few’s team will get a chance to start a new WCC tournament streak when it once again takes on the Gaels, who beat BYU in Monday's semis.
Last year, the Zags held on to their NCAA tournament No. 1 seed even after the loss to Saint Mary’s, but had their season end at the hands of No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. Gonzaga’s lone Final Four remains as 2017, but after a successful rebuilding year by Few, the Bulldogs are hoping they can double that total come April in Atlanta.
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3. Maryland
The Terps’ tournament stays last March ended in different brutal ways; in the Big Ten tourney, they were knocked off by a short-handed, 13th-seeded Nebraska team that would soon see head coach Tim Miles get fired, and in the Big Dance, they survived No. 11 seed Belmont before suffering a buzzer-beating loss to No. 3 seed LSU when Tremont Waters scooped in the game-winner as time expired. Had it won that game against the Tigers, Maryland would’ve been heading home for a Sweet 16 game in Washington D.C., and the bitter sting of that missed opportunity isn’t something Mark Turgeon or anyone else in the program likely got over easily.
Fast-forward to 2020, and the Terrapins earned a share of the Big Ten title on Sunday with a win over Michigan, but will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tourney in Indianapolis thanks to tie-breakers. Maryland hasn’t won a Big Ten tournament game since 2016—the last time the event was held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse—so getting revenge should start with securing Win No. 1 in Indy.
4. New Mexico State
One year ago, Trevelin Queen had the buzzer-beater-that-wasn’t of March, a clean look from the corner at a game-winning three attempt that would have changed the course of the NCAA tournament. We didn’t know it at the time, but Auburn surviving its late-game meltdown would set off a remarkable run to its first-ever Final Four, where it eventually fell to champion Virginia. Who knows how different the 2020 edition of March Madness could have gone if Queen’s attempt had gone in; instead, the Aggies were left with only what-ifs.
Queen is now a senior at New Mexico State, and has transformed from bench player to the team’s leading scorer. Thanks in part to some unfortunate injuries, the Aggies suffered six defeats in non-conference play, but they’re once again tearing through the WAC, having completed a 16–0 regular season last week. Unless they get knocked off in the league tourney, they’ll get another crack at the NCAA tournament—albeit as a likely lower seed than last year’s No. 12. That will make the path to an upset tougher, but don’t underestimate the fuel of avenging past heartbreak.
5. NC State
When the Wolfpack rallied back from a 16-point deficit to beat Clemson in the second round of the 2019 ACC tournament, it looked like they might have punched their ticket to the Big Dance. But after a loss to Virginia in the quarterfinals, by the time Selection Sunday rolled around three days later NC State was left on the outside looking in of the field of 68, bound instead for the NIT. Despite its 22 wins on the season and .500 record in the ACC, a weak non-conference schedule meant Kevin Keatts’ team lacked the résumé to make the selection committee’s cut.
This March, the Wolfpack once again find themselves on the NCAA tournament bubble, with a .500 conference record and 19–12 mark overall. After beating Duke on Feb. 19, NC State lost three of its final five games, meaning there’s again work to be done in the ACC tournament and likely another nervous Selection Sunday on the horizon. The Wolfpack have the No. 5 seed in Greensboro, and will play the winner of Wake Forest/Virginia Tech in the second round. A loss there would likely be fatal, but with a win, it could seal its case during a quarterfinals date with the Blue Devils.
6. Hofstra
After beating Delaware in the CAA semifinals on Monday night, Hofstra will get a chance Tuesday to finish a job it couldn’t one year ago: beat Northeastern in the CAA tournament championship and earn a ticket to the NCAA tournament. The Pride, of Long Island, N.Y., haven’t made the Big Dance since 2001, despite winning the CAA regular-season title in both 2016 and 2019. Last year, in program legend Justin Wright-Foreman’s final year in school, Hofstra fell to the Huskies in the tournament final, settling for the NIT instead.
Wright-Forman is gone, but the Pride are very much still alive. Led by senior guards Desure Buie and Eli Pemberton, all five starters average at least 10 points per game to shape the best offense in the conference. They’ll now get another crack at the team that ended their NCAA tournament dreams one year ago, hoping for a different outcome this time around.
