March Madness Sleepers 2021: How Tom Izzo, Roy Williams, Jim Boehm Have Worked as Lesser Seeds in the NCAA Tournament

The 2020–21 college basketball season was unusual for several reasons, chief among which was the COVID-19 epidemic. That said, one of the other reasons the year was unusual was the clash of some specific blue blood teams.

Both Duke and Kentucky were knocked out of the NCAA tournament, and many others simply uprooted in the traditional powerhouse bubble. That list includes UNC, Michigan State and Syracuse.

UNC is going to be the No. 8 seed after a strong finish in the ACC tournament, which helped them hope for a few other tournaments to move to Indiana. Syracuse was in a similar situation, although they did not do so in the ACC tournament as UNC did and lost to Virginia’s buzzer-butter. They check out as 11 seeds, and this marks the third time in the team’s final four appearances that Syracuse will be seeded in double digits. Meanwhile, Michigan State is an 11 seed and will play in the First Four for the first time in school history.

Of course, these programs are notable because they have three of the best coaches of all time at the college basketball level. Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, and Jim Boehm are the three most victorious coaches in the March Madness arena this year, so their teams always have a chance to stay afloat and build momentum.

How have coaches historically been in the first round? And how have they done with lower-seeded teams in the past? The answers you give are needed to fill your 2021 March Madness bracket.

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Roy Williams Record in NCAA Tournament Round 1

Roy Williams has been the head coach at UNC for 18 years. In 15 of those seasons, the Tar Heels have made the NCAA tournament. Williams’ record in March Madness is very good. Between his time at UNC and Kansas, he has recorded 77 wins, the second-most in NCAA history, and has won all three national championships at UNC.

This is not the most incredible thing about Williams though. What is it? Regarding the fact of how he looked in 29 NCAA tournaments, he did not lose a single game in the first round. Without fail, their teams always made it to at least the second round of March Madness. In North Carolina, he has posted a record of 15–0 in Round 1 and won the opening round games, seeded 1–4 as the No. 6 seed, and as the No. 8 seed.

How UNC has performed as a lower-ranked seed

Therefore, Williams has been very good at winning the first round. But how has it performed as a lower-order seed? Well, his Tar Heels have made the tournament on only three occasions as a non-top-four seed, twice as a No. 6 seed and once as a No. 8 seed, so it is a smaller sample size. In each of those appearances, UNC won the first round but lost in the second round.

It is probably safe to expect No. 8 UNC to beat No. 9 Wisconsin, a team that has lost nine of its last 14 matches, in Round 1 given the ancient record of Williams in the Round of 64. The Tee expects the Ter Heels to go deep into this tournament, especially with a possible second-round matchup with Bayer Looming. When Williams’ team is not the cream of the crop, they struggle to deliver in March.

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Tom Izzo’s NCAA Tournament Record in Round 1

Ezzo has been the head coach at Michigan State since 1998 and led the Spartans to 23 NCAA tournaments. In his last 22 years as head coach, Izzo has led the first round to a record of 17–5.

In total, Izzo has 52 wins in March Madness along with two National Championship wins. He ranks fourth among active coaches in the NCAA tournament, behind Mike Kreiszski, Williams and Jim Boeheim.

How has Michigan State performed as a lower-ranked seed?

Spartans had more variability in seedbed under Ezo than Tar Heels Williams. Michigan State is ranked anywhere from No. 1 through No. 10 in Izzo’s time. The only exception is that he never produced the number 8 seed under his watch.

Unlike Williams, seedling does not matter much for Izzo’s Spartans. On seven occasions, he has been awarded number 7 or more points in the tournament. Despite this, he has a 4-3 mark in the opening game during those campaigns. And while Izzo has helped his team win, they have scored some long runs in the past.

Izzo may not be a little safe to win Michigan State’s first-round matchup as Williams would win in North Carolina, especially since Michigan State is playing in the first four, but the fact remains that if the Spartans win early, they will Can be heated. They are only a few favorites from UCLA in the 11th seed play-in game, but if they can win that game, they should have a good chance of upsetting BYU in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Obviously, nothing is guaranteed, but the Spartans do not sleep on it. Just because their seed is in double digits, does not mean that they cannot pull off a win.

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Jim Boehm’s NCAA Tournament Record in Round 1

If you think Williams and Izzo have been around a long time, just look at the history of Boehm. He has been in Syracuse since 1976 and has won 70.7 percent during that time. And during the NCAA tournament, he has also been solid.

Boehm posted a 23-5 record in the first round of the tournament, dating back to an expansion of 64 teams in 1985. Like Izzo, his Orange team was ranked No. 1 seed to No. 11. 11. The only seed of the range that is not Syracuse? number nine.

How Syracuse Acted as a Lower Sort Seed

The 2021 March Madness tournament marks the third time that Syracuse is a double-digit seed. The last two came in 2016 and 2018.

In ’16, Boehm led the Orange to a run in the final four as a 10 seed. He defeated the seventh-seeded Dayton Flyers before facing a two-digit seed, Middle Tennessee State and Gonzaga. He made his run in the final four with a win over Virginia before losing to UNC in the final four.

In ’18, Syracuse was a part of the First Four, but would kickstart their run, defeating Arizona State. He no. The 6 seed upset the TCU Horned Frogs and defeated No. 3 seed Michigan State before losing to Duke in the Meat 16.

Those success stories affect well for Syracuse which is possibly a big grosser against San Diego State. This only goes to show that Boehm’s teams are hard to play no matter where they’re playing, so the Aztec vs. Orange game could be one of the more exciting ones of Round 1.