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Cal basketball commits breakdown the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament

The first weekend of the 2018 NCAA Tournament was as wild as it has ever been. UMBC became the first No. 16 seed in the men’s tournament to knock off a No. 1 seed (Virginia), No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago advanced to the Sweet 16 after two heart stopping wins, and No. 7 seed Nevada overcame a 22 point deficit to defeat No. 2 seeded Cincinnati to reach the Sweet 16, where they will face Loyola Chicago. For the first time since 2004, only two No.1 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 (Kansas and Villanova) making it one of the most upset laden weekends in recent tournament history.

With it being such an exciting and eventful weekend, GoldenBearReport.com decided to see what the next generation of Cal basketball players thought of the first weekend of the tournament. 2018 Cal men’s and women’s basketball commits Matt Bradley, Andre Kelly, Jacobi Gordon, and McKenzie Forbes each shared their thoughts on the tournament by responding to five questions.

Question #1-What team has impressed you the most in the NCAA Tournament so far? Any players stand out?

“Loyola Chicago, Nevada, Florida State, and Villanova are the teams I’m most impressed with. Rob Gray from Houston is a killer.”-Matt Bradley

“The team that has impressed me the most is Loyola Chicago and Rob Gray from Houston impressed me a little bit.”-Andre Kelly

“Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Florida State, and Nevada.” –Jacobi Gordon

“I’m impressed by Loyola Chicago and Nevada. Two gritty teams who have proved you can compete on the big stage without “high major” talent.” –McKenzie Forbes

Question #2-Did you fill out a bracket? If so, how is it looking? Was there anything you called correctly and what ended up not happening the way you expected?

“I didn’t make a bracket but some upsets happened that I didn’t think were.”-Matt Bradley

“I filled out a bracket and had UNC winning, but most of my picks didn’t go so well. I had Alabama, Texas, and UNC going pretty deep and they didn’t.” –Andre Kelly

“I never got around to finishing it, but the route I was going, my bracket was messed up first round, lol.” –Jacobi Gordon

“I didn’t fill out a bracket.”-McKenzie Forbes.

Question #3-There have been a lot of exciting games from over the weekend. Which one stood out to you the most? Any favorites come to mind?

“San Diego State vs. Houston was a really good game. Texas Tech vs. Florida as well.” –Matt Bradley

“Alabama vs. Virginia Tech was probably my favorite because I really like to watch Collin Sexton play. He plays hard and is always in attack mode.”-Andre Kelly

“Houston vs. Michigan. Great game. I was cheering for my boys but the came up short. Also all the low and mid-major schools that made it this far. But in my opinion, yes it was a surprise but at the same time it wasn’t because those teams had old and bigger stronger players that were more experienced and just was ready for whatever was thrown at them.” –Jacobi Gordon

“I liked the Michigan game-winner. I thought it was pretty cool it was by a freshman.” –McKenzie Forbes

Question #4-At this point, who do you have taking it all and why?

“Villanova I think will take it all.”-Matt Bradley

“I think Duke will most likely take it all because they have so many weapons between Grayson Allen, Gary Trent Jr., Duval, and Bagley. Plus, they have one of the greatest coaches of all-time so I think they’ll be really hard to beat.”-Andre Kelly

“Villanova. Great team with experience and maturity.” –Jacobi Gordon

“I think Kansas will take it all because they have veteran leadership and a lot of the heavy hitter teams have been knocked off by low seeds for them.” –McKenzie Forbes

Question #5-How much does watching the NCAA Tournament get you excited for the possibility of playing in the tournament yourself? What aspect of the tournament do you like the most?

“What I like mostly about the tournament is that it doesn’t matter who you are or what school you play for. Everybody is playing for the same thing and whoever is the toughest and most competitiveness team will win.” –Matt Bradley

“It gets me really excited to compete in it next year. I really like just how unpredictable it is and how anybody can get beat on any night. No matter if you’re a No. 1 seed playing a No. 16 seed you always have to come ready to play and that’s what makes it really fun and exciting to watch.”-Andre Kelly

“It makes me very excited. I can’t wait to compete at the next level. And just the atmosphere of March Madness is what I’m looking forward to.” –Jacobi Gordon

“It makes me very excited to be able to play in the tournament and I love the fact that no matter your “seed” you have an opportunity to get to the Final Four. You just have to win games.” –McKenzie Forbes

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