A Sweet 16 things to watch in the NCAA Tournament | Mike Jensen

A Sweet 16 worth of questions about this season’s NCAA tournament. Philly-centric, obviously:

John Thompson might just be sitting somewhere with John Chaney absolutely belly-laughing (quite colorfully) at the thought of that, after all those years his Hoyas played Goliath, exemplified by Patrick Ewing.

Big John, it’s true. This tale feels good. Ewing the coach doesn’t come in with the expectations of Ewing the player so his success is flat easier to feel good about. What’s better than a “Goliath turns out to be David” tale? Georgetown is a 12 seed facing No. 5 Colorado.

“Big people are smart, too; big people can coach,” Ewing said after Georgetown dusted Creighton to win the Big East tournament, when asked what Thompson would be saying to him. (First, Ewing said he couldn’t say on the air what Thompson would really be saying.)

» READ MORE: Villanova loses in Big East to mystery coach

Start just down the road with the Maryland Terrapins, a No. 10 seed facing No. 7 Connecticut. Former Pub MVP Donta Scott from Imhotep Charter scores in double digits, leads the Terps in rebounds, made 43% of his three-pointers. What about a team for Philadelphia Catholic League fans? The Terps are good there, too, since Hakim Hart, former Catholic League MVP at Roman Catholic, hit Maryland’s starting lineup this season.

Always. Former Penn Quakers great Matt Langel has Colgate back in the dance. Phil Martelli is next to Juwan Howard on Michigan’s bench, hoping for a deep run. Iowa is a 2 seed with Fran McCaffery at the helm.

» READ MORE: Why was Phil Martelli coaching Michigan?

You’ll find out in the second round. Arkansas-Colgate in the first round on Friday, that’s a great one.

St. Bonaventure. A No. 9, facing LSU, the Bonnies are 20th in defensive efficiency, 45th in offensive efficiency. Those aren’t 9 seed kind of numbers.

Hartford coach John Gallagher checks that box, too. La Salle took a road trip to Notre Dame one year, Lionel Simmons era. Who was along on the trip? This 10-year-old named John, a little perk arranged as his birthday present. Gallagher also checks the Catholic League box (played at Cardinal O’Hara) and the Big 5 box (walk-on at St. Joe’s, assistant at La Salle and Penn.) What about the Sonny Hill League? Gallagher’s first coaching gig.

» READ MORE: John Gallagher and why this March is so meaningful

Gallagher also is coaching a former La Salle player, Traci Carter, from South Philadelphia, who transferred to Hartford, led the America East champs in assists and steals, was Gallagher’s second-leading scorer.

Not a full sleeper, not with a No. 2 seed. I’ve said this in recent years and will keep saying it until I’m right. Houston is tough. Kelvin Sampson knows how to coach a basketball game. Cougars are top 20 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

Wouldn’t want to play the Scarlet Knights. Veteran group, core four players include two seniors and two juniors, and a team that is 17th nationally in defensive efficiency can’t be dismissed if they get hot. Rutgers is the No. 10, can’t see No. 7 Clemson being fired up about the matchup.

» READ MORE: The St. Joe's play that inspired the term March Madness

I’m partial to the Big Ten this season, with at least four legitimate national contenders. But the Big 12 has depth of athletic talent, and maybe the best player in the tournament, Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham.

A little less so, since the most talented players so often head for the NBA right after their freshman year. Villanova proved in 2016 and ’18 that veterans who are future NBA players is the best ingredient of all. Flip side, USC has a big-time future lottery pick in 7-footer Evan Mobley, but is he ready to lead the Trojans on a ride?

Let’s put it this way … even without Collin Gillespie, you’re not going to be excited to see Villanova as your opponent, any round. Winthrop, No. 12 seed, but just one loss this season, will be such a popular upset choice you’ll wonder who is the 5 and who is the 12. Not buying it completely. Winthrop will look to speed it up. If they can’t, it’s still advantage Villanova.

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You knew we’d get to Jahvon Quinerly. Not a great stylistic fit (or even a good fit) at Villanova, Quinerly has proven to be a perfect fit at Alabama, which plays a go-go-go style that suits Quinerly, now the Tide’s high-octane sixth man, scoring in double digits in the last dozen games for the Southeastern Conference champions. Dick Vitale’s word for Quinerly after ‘Bama slipped past LSU? “Sensational.”

Brutal matchup. Other than avoiding a play-in game, it couldn’t get much tougher for the Dragons, facing top seed and Big Ten champion Illinois.

What a strange tournament it will be. No Duke, no Kentucky, no Louisville, never mind no Indiana, which dropped out from blue-blood status some time back. (Villanova says, we’ve got that status now.)

Pitino. Rick Pitino is coaching in this tournament, taking Iona, his fifth different school, into March Madness. Can’t call this a feel-good tale after how things went down at Louisville. But the Gaels don’t have to take a backseat to anyone in coaching know-how. And sure, it is a feel-good tale for Pitino, with Louisville and Kentucky out. Add in previous stops Boston University and Providence, and the four colleges where Pitino was head coach for 31 seasons ... none are in. Iona, his first season, in.

A future suggestion: Have Pitino move around the country, coaching a different school each season … see if he can get Fordham to the NCAAs next season, move on to, say, Kennesaw State and then maybe the Maine Black Bears, etc. That would be a show, a sideshow, but still show, and how much trouble could go down in one season?

I wanted to pick Illinois, Houston and San Diego State, but they’re all in the same region, so you’re on your own.