Busting Brackets
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March Madness: Top takeaways from 2019 NCAA Tournament

By Brian Rauf

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates his three point basket basket late in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates his three point basket basket late in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Aaron Henry #11, Matt McQuaid #20, Cassius Winston #5, Xavier Tillman #23, and Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans stand on the court during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Bradley Braves at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Aaron Henry #11, Matt McQuaid #20, Cassius Winston #5, Xavier Tillman #23, and Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans stand on the court during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Bradley Braves at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

2) Experience matters

This isn’t necessarily something new, but this tournament did serve as a sobering reminder of the importance of having a roster full of experienced players.

Star freshmen often dominate all the sport’s major storylines. Duke and Zion Williamson certainly did this year, and we often see it with John Calipari’s Kentucky teams. It’s not necessarily a surprise, either. The best players attract the most attention and the best NBA Draft prospects are almost ways those elite first-year players.

Coaches will never turn away top talent but the programs that have been able to facilitate the needed balance between experience and talent are the ones that are having the most success in March.

Villanova won two national championships without one-and-done players, but had four- and five-star prospects. North Carolina, and now Virginia, did the same.

But none of this season’s Final Four teams had a one-and-done freshman on their roster. None of them even had a freshman that was playing a significant role.

The two teams that won the national championship with freshmen cores – 2012 Kentucky and 2015 Duke – had a number of upperclassmen that were also major factors alongside those star freshmen.

It’s still about finding balance, and experience almost always wins in the tournament.

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