NCAA Tournament 2021: Biggest winners and losers through first 2 rounds

Winner – Villanova Wildcats

On one hand, it’s hard to give a team that has recently won two national titles a giant cookie for beating Winthrop and North Texas to get to the Sweet 16. However, let’s not forget how trendy it was when the brackets were released for Villanova to lose early, still dealing with the loss of star point guard Collin Gillespie. Yet they managed to pull off a pair of comfortable wins, thanks to what is still a strong remaining supporting cast, mainly Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore.

It’s a credit to head coach Jay Wright, who was one of the few to navigate and avoid any upsets in the Big Dance. And even if they lose to No. 1 seed Baylor up next this weekend, they will have accomplished what they were expected, even if some jumped off the bandwagon prematurely.

Loser – Illinois Fighting Illini

When Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn each made the decision to come back, Illinois became an instant top-5 preseason team and Final Four contender. And they looked that way in the entire regular season and in the conference tournament, capturing the crown on Selection Sunday and gaining a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region.

Yet after beating Drexel, Illinois fell flat on its face against the 8 seed Loyola-Chicago in the Round of 32. They never led at any point in the game and struggled on defense all game. And quite frankly, I don’t care if the Ramblers were “underseeded”. If you’re a true national title contender, you should be able to beat Loyola and advance.

Instead, it’s likely the end of Dosunmu and Cockburn’s time with the Illini. They have some nice young pieces for the future but it’ll be a while before we think of them as true title contenders like they were this time around.