1. K-STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The Kansas State women won their first round matchup against Washington State Saturday morning, 50-40. It was a gritty victory after falling behind as many as nine points before coming back to win. Ayoka Lee was dominant once again, posting 20 points and 15 rebounds. Next up is a battle with No. 1 seed NC State on Monday afternoon.

2. GENE TAYLOR: The K-State athletic director has navigated a swift coaching search. He wanted the hire to be made by the weekend of the Final Four and it is going to come much sooner than that benchmark.

3. BIG 12 HOOPS: What a tournament so far for the Big 12 on the men and women's side. The Big 12 men are 7-1 thus far and the women are 6-0. Both went 6-0 in the first round and no conference had ever gone 12-0 combined in the tournaments in NCAA history.

4. SHANE SOUTHWELL: Throughout the coaching search, Shane Southwell has essentially been the interim coach making and ensured no roster turnover or transfer portal entries. He has been recruiting and has kept everyone in tow. Not only that, the offseason workouts are being planned and organized as well.

5. FOOTBALL RECRUITING: Don't forget about football recruiting throughout the basketball coaching search. They are set to have two big-time prospects on campus Tuesday, as well as more in-state prospects in the next two weeks.

1. SEC: Kentucky and Tennessee were expected to make long runs in the NCAA Tournament and neither made it out of the first weekend. The Wildcats fell to St. Peter's, which is a team with a lower budget than the value of John Calipari's contract. The Volunteers lost to Michigan after winning the SEC Tournament the previous weekend.

2. MOUNTAIN WEST: After being tabbed as the best mid-major league this season, they fell flat on their faces with an 0-4 performance.

3. SEC COACHES: The pressure of the SEC has even taken over in basketball. Five SEC coaches have been fired and that doesn't include Mike White leaving Florida for the Georgia opening.

4. BRADY MANEK: It was a controversial ejection, but Brady Manek's flagrant two foul sparked the Baylor comeback on Saturday. Could you imagine your career ending with an ejection that ignited a comeback from down 25 points? It would have been the largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history had it come to fruition. Luckily for him, North Carolina held on in overtime.

5. IOWA: Iowa City is a somber place after the weekend. The men won the Big Ten Tournament, only to fall to Richmond in the first round. The women earned a No. 2 seed behind the sharpshooting of Caitlin Clark. However, Creighton's Lauren Jensen hit the game-winner on Sunday versus the Hawkeyes and upset the Big Ten champs. Making it worse was Jensen transferred after playing for Iowa a year ago.

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