College

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The GIST: With UConn’s Monday night confetti shower, the men’s and women’s college basketball seasons are fully wrapped, so let’s roll the game tape and dive into the tournaments’ off-court impacts.

The men: The regular season’s record upsets translated into a wild March Madness, with brackets busted left and right and, most notably, a No. 4 as the highest seed in the Final Four. While the Cinderella stories were fun, the men’s tourney suffered the perils of parity in the later rounds.

• With so many under-the-radar teams advancing to the sport’s biggest stage, the Final Four lacked star power and the hype it commands. Case in point? Only one Player of the Year finalist, No. 3 Gonzaga's Drew Timme, made the Elite Eight.

The women: Things couldn’t be more different on the gals’ side. Big personalities led to record ratings, including a jaw-dropping 9.9M sets of eyes watching LSU’s Angel Reese and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark battle for the natty. Even while the men hoisted their trophy, it seems all the internet wanted to discuss was the trash talk heard ’round the world.

• This momentum, sparked by former Oregon star Sedona Prince’s 2021 March Misogyny TikTok illuminating the disparity between the men’s and women’s tourneys, led to well-deserved, hard-earned growth. But there’s still more to do.

What’s next: As outlined in Monday’s Sports Business newsletter, the next big step is unbundling the women’s championship media rights from other sports to garner a fee worthy of the game’s increasing popularity. And they better hop to it — as Iowa’s Monika Czinano said, the sport is “only going to get more exciting.” To the moon!

The GIST: Were two Final Fours not enough for you? Good, because men’s hockey is here with tomorrow’s Frozen Four and Saturday’s national championship to keep the postseason vibes high. Here’s what you need to know before the puck drops. 

No. 1 seed Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. unseeded Boston University Terriers, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN2): This battle features two storied programs, each competing in their 23rd (!!!) Frozen Four. The rivalry runs deep: it even received a shoutout in one of the best sports movies ever made. But history ain’t everything — the Gophers are heavily favored in this one.

• Minnesota’s been dominant all season and boasts two of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, aka the Heisman of men’s college hockey. They’re not only expected to take this matchup, they’re projected to win the whole shebang. Golden, indeed, eh?

No. 3 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 2 Quinnipiac Bobcats, 8:30 p.m ET (ESPN2): If defense wins championships, Quinnipiac’s first national title could be close enough to taste. The Bobcats’ fantastic defense led them to the best record men’s hockey's seen in years: They’ve dropped only four games all season and haven’t lost since January 21st.

• Michigan’s strength is elite offense, led by Hobey Baker finalist Adam Fantilli. However, they also allow lots of turnovers, which isn’t ideal against Quinnipiac’s D, so they’ll need to keep a quick pace to beat the Bobcats. The legs feed the wolf Wolverines.

No. 16 Northwestern ended their regular season with a huge dub, beating five higher-ranked squads to win the Silverado Showdown yesterday. The Wildcats have been steadily climbing the rankings, and this coup positions them perfectly for the Big Ten Conference Championships in two weeks.

Also winning in a crowded field? The No. 3 men of UNC, who beat No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 2 Texas Tech to bag the Calusa Cup yesterday. Fifth-year Tar Heel Ryan Burnett shot even-par to take the individual title. And speaking of the Carolinas…

A 30-minute drive stands between No. 7 NC State and their biggest regular-season match — the Wolfpack will face No. 1 UNC tomorrow at 5 p.m. ET. Both have been crushing their way through the spring, so there’s potential for major fireworks at this intrastate contest.

Despite being a newcomer to softball’s upper echelons, No. 4 Clemson has quickly learned to keep pace with more established squads like the No. 6 Florida State Seminoles, and they’ll have a chance to prove it when their three-game series against the ’Noles — their toughest foe so far this season — begins tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.

🥎 For No. 1 Oklahoma second baseman Tiare Jennings, two home runs, eight RBIs and a .727 batting average this weekend equaled NFCA Player of the Week honors for the Sooner.

🏒 Junior Carson Brière was dismissed from Mercyhurst’s men’s hockey team on Monday, just weeks after pushing an unoccupied wheelchair down a flight of stairs at a bar. Cue Lizzo.

🤸‍♀️ After missing her last four meets, Olympian Sunisa Lee’s Monday announcement revealed that kidney issues ended her Auburn career early, but Paris is still on her 2024 “To Do” list.

🏀 While First Lady Dr. Jill Biden suggested hosting LSU and Iowa at the White House, champion-level blowback led to yesterday’s clarification that only the NCAA champs are invited.

🤸‍♀️ Last night’s men’s gymnastics selections revealed the 12 teams of the sport’s 15 squads who’ll compete for the mid-April natty. Send condolences to Greenville, Simpson and William & Mary.

🏀 The aforementioned Angel Reese’s trash talk fired up the internet, but her foe Caitlin Clark spoke out against the criticism yesterday. Let. Women. Compete. And get used to it.

Make the most of hump day with these selections.