As Teams Gear Up for March Madness, Deep Dive into Top 5 First Four NCAA Squads

March Madness is about to begin and with it, the teams will clash with each other in one of the most ultimate showdowns. The First Four teams will have to specifically prove their worth since the tournament will test them initially even after getting selected among the 68 teams.

Amid speculations about who could qualify for the tourney, taking a look at the top 5 First Four teams that previously wreaked havoc in the tournament with their performance. 

VCU Rams, 2011

Rams’ journey during the First Four tournament of 2011 was nothing short of magic. They became the first team to start in the First Four and advance to the Final Four. In their first outing, they battled against University of Southern California Trojans. They won that game by a decent margin of 56-49. They then advanced to the round of 64 where they belted Georgetown Hoyas by a spectacular margin of 74-56.

Their exploits did not stop here since the NCAA tournament next saw them upending Purdue Boilermakers by a 94-76 margin. Next, they edged past narrowly against Florida State by a 72-71 margin. During the Elite Eight, Kansas Jayhawks ended up as their prey and lost the game by a 61-71 margin. However, in the Final Four, they were defeated by Butler Bulldogs who thrashed them by a 62-70 margin. 

UCLA Bruins, 2021

Bruins are just another team that started with the First Four and made it to the Final Four. However, this historic run happened much before the Rams’ rumble. Bruins played in the overtime against Michigan State and won the game in overtime by an 86-80 margin. In the subsequent game, they won the contest by a margin of 73-62. Then they clashed with Abilene Christian against whom they won by a blowout margin of 67-47.

Against Alabama, they won Sweet Sixteen round by a margin of 88-78 in overtime. They then squared off against Michigan and won by a 51-49 margin. In their last game against Gonzaga, Bruins were unfortunately trumped by a 90-93 margin in overtime that stopped them from making an appearance in the Championship Finale.

La Salle, 2013

Salle played against Boise State and won the game by a margin of 80-71. They in 2013 then locked horns with Kansas State. The game was too close but ultimately La Salle triumphed with a margin of 63-61. In their next outing, they clashed with Ole Miss Rebels and won the contest by a comprehensive margin of 76-74.

Salle couldn’t get away after that. They were defeated by Wichita State in Sweet 16 by a 58-72 margin. This brought the end to La Salle’s journey in March Madness. Nonetheless, the team will be remembered for the character they displayed in the tournament. 

Tennessee Volunteers, 2014

A new-age basketball fan can’t fathom that Volunteers had a tough time during the 2014 season. Currently, they are ranked at the fifth spot in the AP men’s basketball polls, but in 2014 they were not even close to the formidable team that they are today. They earned their chance to be a First Four team and clashed with Iowa Hawkeyes. They defeated their opponents by a solid margin of 78-65.

In the following matches, they locked horns with Massachusetts and won by a considerable margin of 86-67. They also emerged victorious in their next game against Mercer that they won by an 83-63 margin. Their dream run came to an end during Sweet Sixteen when they clashed against Michigan and were defeated by a small margin of 71-73.

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That season will always be remembered for the firing petitions that surfaced online against their head coach Cuonzo Martin. In the aftermath of the tournament, Martin resigned from his position and took over a job in California Golden Bears. The next coach for Volunteers was Donnie Tyndall. He too had severe complications during his tenure which is a story for some other day.

Syracuse Orange, 2018

Syracuse were up for a splendid ride after just making it to the March Madness and competing with Arizona State in 2018. They defeated their opponents by a 60-56 margin and then clashed with TCU Horned Frogs in the round of 64. They emerged triumphant once again by throttling TCU by a 57-52 tally. 

The Orange then had their next battle against Michigan State in which they edged past the latter by a narrow margin of 55-53. However, their last game in the season was destined to come against Duke Blue Devils who were a string team. Dukes hammered the Orange by a 69-65 margin and put the full stop in their otherwise exceptional journey. 

Now that the First Four is near, teams that will just make the cut by a small margin would be taking inspiration from their predecessors and without losing hope try to put up a brilliant show by making it to the subsequent games. 

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