It’s that time of year where we track the hopes and dreams of college basketball programs who have never made it to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, never made the Sweet Sixteen, in other words Never Been Kissed (NBK).

Last year we watched South Carolina go from the NBK all the way to the Final Four. We watched Northwestern make the tournament for the first time ever (never been..thumb-warred?), win a game, and grab all the preseason NBK buzz with a #18 KenPom ranking in the preseason. A lethargic, sub-.500 season (15-16) leaves them out of the NBK entirely.

TCU has a great offense, and also has a great offense. Houston features a more balanced ledger and should give Cincinnati and Wichita St a run in the American conference tournament. Creighton has been up and down of late but it coming off a big home OT win over #1 Villanova. Virginia Tech is two more sweat-soaked, discarded Buzz Williams shirts from beating Duke on ESPN.

Middle Tennessee has dominated the C-USA and lead the way for the mid-majors.  Nebraska and Boise St are currently on the outside looking in, but remain solidly in the conversation and hungry for case-making wins.

My alma mater Saint Louis University (SLU), for whom the NBK was created, lost four players in a Title IX scandal and are not in the Top 100.   The 16×18 Society mourns.