Aday Mara turned 21 minutes after achieving something unprecedented in Spanish sports: winning the NCAA and doing so as a key player on both offense and defense for the Michigan Wolverines.
Just tried to be a voice and resource. Talking to the staff, I talked to Jon every other day. Players on the team would reach out. Just being an extended resource to the team and the guys that had any questions.
"You play, what, 36 games, and you try to put yourself in this situation as often as you can. I think every team that's here knows that this weekend is probably the biggest weekend of the year."
Last year's men's tournament produced only 13 outright underdog wins -- tied for the fewest since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The Elite Eight comprised only top-3 seeds, tying it with 2007 as the chalkiest quarterfinal round in tournament history. Additionally, for the first time in modern tournament history, we have witnessed three straight tournaments without multiple double-digit seeds reaching the Sweet 16.