The questions going into each tell us about a moment in time.
Last year, those questions centered on coronavirus restrictions and player-led protests over gender equity and the right for players to earn money for their fame.
Gonzaga tried to become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to run through a season unbeaten — until it lost to a worthy champion, Baylor, in the title game. There were upsets galore, with 12th-seeded Oregon State nearly making the Final Four, and indelible moments, like Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs’s nearly halfcourt heave that broke U.C.L.A.’s heart in the semifinals.