The March Madness pain index Whose 2021 NCAA tournament losses hurt the worst?
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Call it a support group for 66 fan bases.
The Houston Cougars and UCLA Bruins joined a less-than-exclusive list on Saturday night of teams whose 2021 NCAA tournament experiences have ended with a loss. Either the Gonzaga Bulldogs or Baylor Bears will join them after Monday night s national championship, and for whichever team that is, it s going to hurt.
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Every team s exit from the tournament has its own distinctive story, but some are undoubtedly tougher to swallow than others, so we sought to quantify the disappointment. Here are the main factors we considered in measuring the March Madness pain:
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Comments
Ayo Dosunmu (foreground)Michael Conroy/Associated Press
The selection committee doesn t always get its due for this, but it can be a clever bunch.
Hidden beneath those starchy exteriors lie savvy, knowledgeable people who operate with a sense of history and even dare I say it humor. The harder you look at the 2021 bracket, the more tasty potential matchups you see, like chocolate Easter eggs hidden in the grass.
A potential matchup can be fun or compelling for several reasons. It could be because of the teams, the individual players, a coaching matchup, historic programs or rivalries, or the sheer novelty factor. You don t think the committee knew what is was doing when it pitted UCLA and Michigan State two blue-blood teams in notably down seasons against each other in one of the play-in games?