If you are a sports fan, there's a good chance you have a March Madness bracket. I don't take March Madness lightly; I had my school, USC, losing in the first round, and my other favorite university, Notre Dame, losing in the second round. I try not to be biased when it comes to March Madness. I thought I had a good shot at doing well, as I'm sure most of you did. But let me ask you, how's your bracket right now?
This is an especially crazy year for men's college basketball. So crazy that a number 15 seed beat a number two seed. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about -- Michigan's State's loss to Middle Tennessee. In the first round. It was the fourth-biggest upset in 20 years, and Michigan State was favorite to win by 16.5 points (SportsCenter).
Congratulations to Reggie Upshaw, a forward for Midd Tennessee, for his 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists (Tim Daniels, Bleacher Report). However, I'm still bitter because I was confident in my choice of putting Michigan State to win it all. And so were many others.
By the time this article is published, I might have to retract this comment. But I want to acknowledge, with maybe some bias, how well Notre Dame has done. A six seed, the team has managed to make it to the elite eight, and hopefully the final four if the University of North Carolina doesn't get the best of them. What scares me is that Notre Dame plays either fabulously or as if they are a high school basketball team.
This is so because this team's success relies heavily on three-pointers, mainly made by V.J. Beachem and Steve Vasturia. So it depends on the opposing teams defense and the quality of ND's teamwork. They didn't start off the season well, with losses to Alabama and Monmouth. (Really? Yes.) But they ended up making it this far. The Notre Dame-Wisconsin game was a nail-biter.
The Irish managed to steal the ball three times in the last 12 seconds of the game (Aidan Thomas, Vavel). The success can also be attributed to Zach Auguste, a center for ND, and the fact that Ethan Happ, 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, fouled out with just minutes to go. Many had doubts about the Irish even winning in the first round due to their unreliability and a rough start to the season, but watch them go.
I find it funny that President Barack Obama uploads his brackets on the ESPN featured bracket list, but he's surprisingly doing fairly well. And I say he is doing well because his two picks to be in the championship game, Kansas and UNC, are still in the running, unlike mine. President Obama, did you collaborate with Joe Biden?