Just as students settle back in to classes after relaxing and restful spring breaks, we are thrown into the what is both the greatest and most stress-inducing time of the year: March Madness. As we all fill out numerous brackets, some serious, and others determined by mascot type or a quarter, we can’t help but hope that at least one of our brackets will be perfect.
Whether you are a dedicated basketball fan or you just filled your bracket based on who was the higher seed, everybody wants to win. But every year, there are some teams that never cease to let us down, while others continue to surprise us, all at the expense of our brackets. So as our brackets become tainted with unforeseen wins, here are some of the games behind all of this madness:
First Round:
Number 9 UConn knocks out number 8 Colorado
After being down 36 to 27 at the half, the UConn Huskies came back to defeat Colorado 74 to 67, with leading scorer Rodney Purvis, who had 19 points.
Number 12 Yale takes down number 5 Baylor
With Makai Mason’s 31 points, the Bulldogs upset Baylor, 79 to 75.
Number 9 Butler eliminates number 8 Texas Tech
While it was a smaller upset, Butler still took Texas Tech out by beating them 71 to 61.
Number 12 Little Rock defeats 5 seed Purdue
After two over times, Little Rock bested Purdue 85 to 83.
Number 13 Hawaii upsets number 4 Cal
The Rainbow Warriors won their first NCAA game in history, 77 to 66.
Number 11 Wichita St. beats number 6 Arizona
With 16 points, Witchita State's Fred VanVleet led the team in points to their 65 to 55 point victory over the Wildcats.
Number 11 Northern Iowa takes out number 6 Texas
A half-court buzzer beater by Northern Iowa University's Paul Jesperson put the Panthers at 75, just enough to take the Texas Longhorns out of the tournament with 72 points.
Number 10 VCU says goodbye to number 7 Oregon State
The Virginia Commonwealth University beat the Cardinals 75 to 67.
Number 9 Providence slips past number 8 USC
While close in ranking, Providence upset USC 70 to 69.
Number 14 Stephan F. Austin upsets number 3 West Virginia University
In a game that took its toll on many brackets, West Virginia University was defeated by SFA 70 to 56.
Number 11 Gonzaga knocks number 6 Seton Hall out of the tournament
After a successful game from Gonzaga's Domontas Sabonis and his 21 points and 16 rebounds, the Bulldogs defeated the Pirates 68 to 52.
Number 10 Syracuse beats number 7 Dayton
Syracuse Orange beat the Flyers, 70 to 51.
Number 15 Middle Tennessee upsets number 2 Michigan State
In what is most likely the greats bracket-buster so far, Middle Tennessee knocked one-seed Michigan State out of the tournament early by beating them 90 to 81.
Second Round:
Number 5 Indiana eliminates number 4 Kentucky
The Hoosiers are on their way to the Sweet Sixteen after beating Kentucky 73 to 67.
Number 7 Wisconsin tops number 2 Xavier
With a buzzer beater three-pointer by Bronson Koenig, the Badgers upset the Musketeers 66 to 63.
Number 11 Gonzaga upsets number 3 Utah
Gonzaga continues on their upset-streak by winning 82 to 59.
After all of those upsets, most of our brackets are at least a little bruised. Lucky for us, we have a few more weeks of the madness that we love so much. So good luck, and may the tournament be ever in your favor.
