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March Madness is always about expecting the unexpected. Sometimes it's the underdogs rising and sometimes it's the giants falling. This season as well, and for the first time after 1989, the traditional NCAA powerhouses Kentucky, UCLA and Kansas have failed to make it to the Sweet 16.
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Kentucky, known for its dominance in college basketball and having a rich history in the tournament, has won the championship eight times. Their absence from the Sweet 16 if certainly rare, especially when considering their 45 appearances in the tournament's Round of 16.
Similarly, UCLA has a record of 11 NCAA titles and has been one the most dangerous opponents to face in the tournament. They have had a streak of 10 consecutive Final Four appearances and seven consecutive titles as well.
Lastly, Kansas has had a rich history in the tournament, as they boast the record of the most consecutive coaches leading a team to the Final Four (six) They have won the tournament four times, and talking about Sweet 16, they have been there a total of 31 times, which makes their absence equally surprising.
College basketball fans reacted to this on Reddit. Here's a closer look at their mixed bag of reactions:
"Its the little things in life," said one fan.
"Take their blue blood status," said another.
"And for that we give thanks."
"Boo bloods"
"How much longer until we replace Kentucky with UConn in the blue blood conversation?"
"Gonzaga beat all three of those teams this year. Imagine telling somebody that in 1995."
"Wow crazy stat."
"UCLA will lose their blue blood status before UK."
"Honestly. I think the Big East is going to be the dominant force going forward. It might take a few years but that conference sure hassome amazing coaches"
"Fun fact: Only three times this century has there been a Final Four without one of the five traditional blue bloods: 2013, 2019, &2023."
"I kinda miss being included in stats like these. We're not in the Sweet 16 either, you know!"
"Weird. I could have sworn we went from 1988 to 190 and skipped 1989"
"What years if any did all 3 make it?"
"1989 was also the last time Kansas had lost on their Senior Night and missed the NCAA Tournament."
"I'm convinced the president of UCLA is actively trying to make them a terrible athletics school out of some vendetta against jocks."
Kentucky, UCLA and Kansas' performances in March Madness 2024
Kentucky was given the No. 3 seed in the South region and their first-round matchup was against No. 14 Oakland. Surprisingly, Oakland beat them, 80-76 in a close contest to kick Kentucky out of the tournament.
In the Midwest region, No. 4 Kansas won their first-round matchup against No. 13 Samford, 93-89. In the second round, No. 5 Gonzaga beat them 89-68 to stop their March Madness 2024 journey.
On the other hand, UCLA, being the team with the highest number (11) of NCAA titles did not even participate in the tournament this year.
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