The first Bracketology update of March, plus Colin Morikawa makes history with WGC victory

Put your dancing shoes on

By Pete Blackburn

Mar 1, 2021 at 9:12 am ET • 7 min read

In the words of my colleague Jon Rothstein ..."this is March."

Hope you got your "rabbit rabbit" in before opening this newsletter because February is officially behind us. And even though seeing March on the calendar gives me some PTSD thanks to what happened this time last year, it seems like we are (hopefully) in store for a better go this time around. I just got a Nintendo Switch over the weekend so March is shaping up to be pretty cool, if you ask me.

At the very least, the NCAA Tournament looks like it's actually going to happen later this month, which means we'll get some long overdue Madness (please note the capitalization. Regular madness has been plentiful over the past year.) As such, we're going to dive into some bracketology updates this morning. Put your dancing shoes on.

📰 What you need to know

1. Baylor, Villanova slip in latest Bracketology projections 🏀

We're getting closer and closer to dancin' time in college basketball and that means every game from here on out means a whole lot. Whether you're a team at the top looking to lock up prime seeding or a team on the bubble just hoping to grind out enough wins to earn a spot, there's very little room for error at this point in the schedule.

This weekend's slate brought some very notable results in that regard, so let's consult Jerry Palm's latest edition of Bracketology to see where we stand as March begins:

Baylor slipped to No. 3 in the Top 25 but remains in line to grab a No. 1 seed despite its first loss of the season (to Kansas) on Saturday
Villanova has dropped from a projected No. 2 seed to a projected No. 3 seed after losing to Butler on Sunday
Gonzaga, Michigan, Baylor and Ohio State are sitting in position right now to secure top seeds in the tournament

It should be noted that Baylor didn't just lose this weekend -- they got smoked by the Jayhawks. Kansas held a lead at the half and they never relinquished it, winning by a final score of 71-58. Though the double-digit loss isn't necessarily going to unravel the Bears' season, it is a bit concerning for Baylor considering they've now had two games in a row where they looked nothing like the team that started out the season 17-0.

Is it just a little bit of rust after a 21-day layoff due to COVID shutdown? Or is this team in real trouble of a late-season collapse?

Here's a troubling statistic pointed out by our Gary Parrish: Before the COVID shutdown, Baylor was shooting a national-best 43.9% from 3-point range. In the two games since, the Bears are shooting just 27.5% from beyond the arc. Nice three-point percentage ... where's the rest of it?

2. Morikawa wins WGC-Workday Championship as golfers honor Tiger 🏌

Last week was a tough one for the golf world given Tiger Woods' car accident and the shadow of doubt that it cast on his future in the sport, but at least Sunday brought some tremendous action -- and some pretty cool tributes to Tiger -- to close out the week. The WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession Golf Club ended with Colin Morikawa finishing 18-under to win the event.

Morikawa finished three strokes clear of the rest of the field, with Billy Horschel, Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland all tying for 2nd at 15-under
Morikawa now has four PGA wins and joins Tiger Woods as the only players to win a major and WGC before turning 25
He becomes the seventh golfer to secure four PGA wins before the age of 25 (joining Tiger, Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jerry Pate)

In a pretty neat tribute to Woods, plenty of golfers wore their best Sunday red and black to mimic Tiger's signature fashion trend during yesterday's round. It was a gesture that was much appreciated by the recovering legend, he said in a statement.

Tiger: "It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the TV and saw all the red shirts. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time."

After a tough week, it was nice to be able to watch some great golf and hear a lot of the guys talk about how much Tiger means to them. As an added bonus, it seems to have helped Woods a little bit. Also, with Morikawa's win this weekend, the PGA continues to see a rare level of parity so far this season. No player has won multiple tournaments through 20 weeks, marking the longest such streak to start a season since 1994.

3. Breakout candidates for every MLB team ⚾

The real Spring Training action is officially underway. The Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues kicked off their spring schedules on Sunday and, even though the games don't technically count, it offers the opportunity for many players to show their worth. Every camp will have somewhat unfamiliar faces trying to squeeze their way into the mix, so our R.J. Anderson decided to highlight one player from all 30 teams as a potential breakout candidate.

Which players are ready to step up and assert themselves in the Major League ranks this year? Here are a few picks:

Jameson Taillon, Yankees: "Taillon hasn't pitched since May 2019 because of Tommy John surgery. He altered his arm stroke during the layoff ... that could entail further emphasizing his breaking balls, his best pitches statistically. If Taillon can stay healthy, he has a chance to provide the Yankees rotation with a big-time boost."
Jeff Hoffman, Reds: "Why is he on here? Three reasons. One: Hoffman is no longer a member of the Rockies, meaning he no longer has to pitch in Coors Field ... Two: He has better stuff than his results suggest ... Three: Hoffman now gets to perform under the tutelage of Derek Johnson, seemingly one of the top pitching coaches in the game."
Nick Solak, Rangers: "Solak finished last season with a 90.4 percent in-zone contact rate and an 89.9-mph exit velocity. If you can find it in your heart to round up his exit velocity to 90 mph, then he was one of five hitters (minimum 100 plate appearances) in the 90/90 club, joining Mookie Betts, DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rendon and Robinson Cano."

You can find all of Anderson's breakout candidates here.

4. Canelo Alvarez easily defeats Avni Yildirim 🥊

Canelo Alvarez is looking to unify all four super middleweight world titles this year, which means that he needed to defend his WBA and WBC titles at 168 pounds over the weekend. He successfully managed to do that at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday, beating Avni Yildirim via third-round TKO. Yildirim's corner called the fight due to the fighter's blank stare after Round 3.

Alvarez was a MASSIVE favorite (50-1) heading into Saturday night, and the fight honestly seemed more like a mandatory formality than anything, so it shouldn't really come as a major shock that he absolutely dominated. But, yeah ... it wasn't even close.

Alvarez outlanded Yildirimby a margin of 67 to 11. Of the 67 punches Alvarez landed, 58 were power shots
Alvarez: "I will fight anyone. I fight the best and I always fight the best. I fight the best at 168 and here I am, making history. I had to fight Yildirim to get the opportunity to fight the best at 168 and I had to do it. I defended my titles and am ready for what's next."

Well, we didn't have to wait long to find out what was next for Canelo: It was confirmed after the win that he'll be fighting Billy Joe Saunders next. It'll be a pretty quick turnaround, as Alvarez and Saunders are set to meet May 8 at a location to be determined, but it offers Canelo the chance to secure the WBO title. Keep in mind Alvarez's win this weekend came two months after he dominated unbeaten champion Callum Smith to unify a pair of super middleweight titles.

The man stays busy, and he also stays winning.