March Madness, the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament, is back and in full swing once again. It’s been an exciting couple of weeks, so let’s take a look back at the most exciting and impactful games so far.
As far as the first round is concerned, the game most worth highlighting in the east portion of the bracket was the 13-seed Yale, upsetting the 4-seed Auburn. With 2:30 left on the clock, the game was tied 70-70. However, after Auburn took a brief 72-70 lead, Yale changed the momentum entirely with a well-timed 3-pointer from John Poulakidas. This allowed them to maintain a slight lead, ending 78-76.
Another upset worth noting, this time coming from the west section, was the 12-seed Grand Canyon taking down 5-seed Saint Mary’s. This wasn’t nearly as close as the previous upset, ending 75-66.
On the other side of the bracket, the south portion of the bracket saw more upsets than either of the previous sections. Firstly, the 12-seed James Madison beat the 5-seed Wisconsin in a very similar fashion to the previous upset. They won pretty handily, ending 72-61.
The 11-seed NC State managed to upset the 6-seed Texas Tech pretty easily, ending 80-67.
In a high-scoring shootout, the 10-seed Colorado managed to pull out a win against the 7-seed Florida. With a little over 5:00 left on the clock, Colorado was up 90-77. The Gators managed to stifle Colorado’s offense enough to start making their comeback to 99-97 with 22 seconds left. After a free throw from Colorado, Walter Clayton Jr. splashed a 3-point shot to tie the game 100-100 with 11 seconds remaining. In the end, the Gators choked away their comeback by allowing KJ Simpson to land one last bucket with two seconds left.
The fact that that wasn’t the most surprising outcome of the south quarter of the bracket is a testament to the unpredictability of March Madness. There was mourning through the city of Lexington as the 3-seed UK lost to the 14-seed Oakland. It was a close game the whole way through. Oakland led 75-74 with a minute left. However, a 3-pointer from DQ Cole sealed UK’s fate, with the final score being 80-76.
The only big surprise from the midwest section was the 11-seed Oregon beating the 6-seed South Carolina, 87-73.
In round two, things were much more straightforward. Only two upsets occurred, the first of which occurred in the west, which was the 6-seed Clemson beating the 3-seed Baylor. At one point, Clemson had a sizeable 48-34 lead. Baylor pushed for a comeback, bringing the score to 66-64 with a minute left. Clemson ultimately ended Baylor’s hopes, with the final score being 72-64.
The other upset of the second round was the 5-seed Gonzaga beating the 4-seed Kansas. Both teams are usually very competitive in March Madness, but this time around, Gonzaga beat them pretty handily, ending with a dominant score of 89-68.
The Sweet 16 saw the 1-seed UConn continue to dominate their opponents in the east, this time walloping the 5-seed San Diego St., ending with a score of 82-52.
The 3-seed Illinois’ victory over the 2-seed Iowa St. was significantly more exciting. Illinois didn’t give up their lead for the entirety of the game, but not due to a lack of effort from Iowa St. The score was 56-54 with 5:00 left, but Illinois kept padding their lead up until the very end, with the final score being 72-69.
The west saw two upsets. The first was the 4-seed Alabama beating the 1-seed North Carolina. This one could’ve gone either way, going back and forth for the lead the whole game. With a little over 5 minutes left, the score was tied 75-75. With 39 seconds left, Grant Nelson took the lead for Alabama, followed by a handful of free throws, which won them the game 89-87.
The other upset was also very close the whole way through, with the 6-seed Clemson beating the 2-seed Arizona. With 10 minutes to go, the score was tied 56-56. However, Clemson was able to take the lead and stay a few points ahead through the end, with a final score of 77-72.
The south also saw two upsets. The first was the low-scoring victory of the 4-seed Duke over the 1-seed Houston. Houston led through most of the first half, but the second was neck-and-neck to the end. With a little over 7 minutes left, the score was 45-44. Houston was unable to secure the lead through the end, with a final score of 54-51.
The other was the 11-seed NC State somehow handling the 2-seed Marquette. It wasn’t a blowout, but it wasn’t all that close either, ending 67-58.
In the midwest, things were much more predictable. The 1-seed beat the 5-seed Gonzaga pretty easily, ending 80-68.
The 2-seed Tennessee also beat the 3-seed Creighton. It was close throughout the first half, but Tennessee started to pull away in the second. Creighton was able to tighten things up again, bringing the score to 65-62 with 4:44 to go. However, it was too little too late, with a final score of 82-75.
The 1-seed UConn obliterated their Elite Eight opponent, the 3-seed Illinois, 77-52, to go on to represent the east in the Final Four.
In the west, the 4-seed Alabama beat the 6-seed Clemson. Despite Alabama leading through the first part of the second half, with 11:28 left, Clemson was able to tie the game at 53-53. Afterward, they were able to pull away with the lead, ending the game 85-77.
The 11-seed NC State cemented themselves as the Cinderella squad for the year, surprising the world with their second major upset, this time against the 4-seed Duke. They won the game 76-64.
The game between the 2-seed Tennessee and the 1-seed Purdue for the midwest was a lotcloser. With 7 minutes left, the game was tied 56-56. Purdue was able to do just enough to take and keep the lead, winning 72-66.
Moving into the Final Four, neither game was particularly close. The 1-seed UConn smoked the 4-seed Alabama 86-72. Similarly, the 1-seed Purdue ended the 11-seed NC State’s run in a low-scoring game, ending 63-50.