March is the best month of the year.
Not only is it my birth month, but it's also the month of NCAA basketball Madness. The past few tournaments have been nothing short of fantastic, however, something about this years tournament makes it truly feel like madness. The madness kicked off by making history.
This year is the first time in NCAA history that a 16 seeded team defeated a 1st seed in the first round. UMBC took down 1 seeded Virginia. 42.19% of brackets picked Virginia to make it all the way to the final four and 13.73% of brackets had them winning it all. Most brackets, including mine, were busted after the first round because of this record breaking victory by UMBC, The University of Maryland, Baltimore County. That, however, was just the beginning of the madness.
One of the bigger stories of this years tournament, if not the biggest, is the fairy tail run that brought 11th seeded Loyola-Chicago into the final four. They started the tournament on a high note, defeating 6th seeded Miami in the first round. Not only did they win, but they won on a buzzer beater from near half court. That shot seemed to have given Loyola-Chicago the energy and confidence to believe that they could win it all. Sadly, Loyola was defeated by Michigan in the final four, putting an end to the historic run.
Team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt was basically their mascot throughout the tournament, bringing spirit and energy to the team. Loyola-Chicago also took down the 3rd seeded Tennessee in the second round, only two days after defeating Miami at the buzzer. This Loyola took the lead after a huge shot with 3.3 seconds left and they were able to hold off Tennessee until the buzzer. No one will forget the name Loyola-Chicago. One of the best games of the tournament was undoubtedly Buffalo against Arizona. 13th seeded Buffalo made an amazing second half comeback to defeat 4th seeded Arizona. Not only was Arizona the seventh most popular pick to win it all, but only 5.4% of brackets picked Buffalo to win in the first round. Buffalo won the game 89-68, completely blowing Arizona out of the water.
Finally, another unforgettable upset came at the hands of 11th seeded Syracuse. Syracuse was able to defeat 3rd seeded Michigan State. Michigan State was a popular pick to win it all because of their defense. However, it was not enough to stop Syracuse from winning 55-53. This was possibly the most exciting defensive game of the tournament, with a total of only 108 points. If the finals is anywhere as exciting as the beginning to the tournament was, then fans are in for a treat. Villanova takes on Michigan on Monday, April 2nd.
