SDS Mailbag: Best days on sports calendar, busted brackets, ranking open SEC jobs and SEC QB battles

Happy March Madness, y’all!

I hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day, full of fun and basketball. I know I did. Now, I can’t wait to binge on basketball for the next 3 days. It’s my favorite time of the year, but we’ll dive more into that with the last question this week.

With that tease out there, let’s get into your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

@SChinni12:

How’s your bracket doing after Day 1 of March Madness?

Terrible. I don’t want to talk about it.

Yes, I fell into the trap of picking 13-seed South Dakota State to upset Providence. Yes, I had Iowa in my Elite Eight. But, I didn’t pick the Hawkeyes to go as far as a lot of people I know did, choosing Auburn to go to the Final Four out of that region.

Most importantly, though, Kentucky lost to Saint Peter’s. I had Kentucky picked to win it all.

Normally, if I can keep 6 of my Elite Eight teams alive through the first round, I’d be thrilled. But, when 1 of those 2 that go out in Round 1 is your eventual champion, well, let’s just say my bracket deserves to go through the shredder.

I know no one cares about my bracket, so I’ll end this section with some lower seeds to keep an eye on today – No. 12 UAB (I have the Blazers as a Sweet 16 contender), Loyola-Chicago, Davidson and Virginia Tech. I have all 4 of those double-digit seeds advancing past Friday.

Robert:

Which SEC QB battle this spring is most intriguing to you?

Well, I’m biased towards Mizzou. Brady Cook, Tyler Macon and Sam Horn are the known contenders, but the Tigers might still land a commitment from transfer QB JT Daniels. I’d be very interested to see how Daniels did in a Mizzou uniform in 2022.

But, as an objective journalist, the answer is Texas A&M. The Aggies are built to win and win now. However, they didn’t quite have the great QB play you need to win it all after Haynes King went down with an injury against Colorado.

This offseason, King and LSU transfer Max Johnson are the favorites to win the job. Can either of them lead the Aggies to an SEC West title and/or a College Football Playoff berth?

That’s where we’re at with expectations for the Aggies these days. Whoever wins that job is going to have a lot of pressure on his shoulders this fall.

Marcus:

Six SEC men’s basketball teams have made head coaching changes this offseason (so far). Rank the jobs that came open.

The top job that’s open right now is Florida. That’s a painfully obvious answer to me. The Gators have more tradition and historic success than any other open SEC job.

But, beyond that, my rankings might surprise you. Here’s how I’d power rank the jobs that came open this offseason:

1. Florida
2. Mizzou
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. South Carolina
6. Mississippi State

My Mizzou bias aside, that job should be one of the better ones in the SEC. Missouri loves its basketball. It just hasn’t made the right hire since Frank Haith left the program in disarray. Mike Anderson had the Tigers where they should historically be (consistent NCAA Tournament appearances, occasional Elite Eight runs, the occasional conference tournament championship), but I don’t fault him for leaving for Arkansas, which he had deep personal ties to.

LSU would be higher if it didn’t have the cloud of potential NCAA sanctions hanging over it. Whoever takes that job is going to have a tough go of things in the next couple of years.

Georgia has plenty of money to invest. And, I truly believe, if the Dawgs put a good product on the court, fans will flock to Stegeman. South Carolina reached a new high under Frank Martin, but then also settled back into mediocrity the past couple of years.

Mississippi State has only made the NCAA Tournament 11 times in program history. That’s insane to me. I think there’s the opportunity to have success there, but it’s going to take the right coach (say, Andy Kennedy).

@Dobbe8:

Where do the first 2 days of March Madness stand in your rankings of the best days of the sports calendar?

They’re the best, no question about it. Thursday and Friday’s slate of games include 16 matchups on each day. Saturday and Sunday’s slates feature 8 games apiece. It’s absolutely incredible to sit back and watch all that college basketball action in 4 days.

Other contenders, in my opinion, are Opening Day for MLB, bowl season in college football, Super Bowl Sunday, Thanksgiving week (when NFL games, college basketball tournaments and college football rivalries dominate the schedule) and Christmas Day NBA action.

Here’s how I’d rank all those above sports calendar events:

1. First 2 days of March Madness
2. Thanksgiving week
3. Super Bowl Sunday
4. Bowl season
5. Christmas Day NBA
6. Opening Day MLB

You can’t go wrong with any of them, though. Sports are the best.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.