As March Madness comes to an end, I want to reveal the games I thought desired to be shared, which happens to be the games played in the Elite 8. After 64 NCAA tournament games, the Final Four was set and the teams were No. 1 seed North Carolina, No. 2 seed Oklahoma, No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 10 seed Syracuse. Of course, some of the teams wouldn’t have made it to the Final Four without upsets. With key players not playing at their best level, the way was paved for underdog teams to step up and take the win. Here’s a look at the match-ups that happened during the Elite 8 to advance to the Final Four.
No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas
The upsets started when Villanova beat Kansas in a close match-up winning 64-59. Being able to shut down Kansas Jayhawks's Forward Perry Ellis, who only scored four points in the game, was one of many problems the Jayhawks faced in their lose. Although the Jayhawks had a better shooting and three point shooting percentage than the Wildcats, Kansas had 16 turnovers that lead Villanova to score 13 points off those turnovers to get the victory. Villanova Wildcat’s players Hart, Arcidiacono and Jenkins had a combined 39 points with a 10-0 run at the end of the game to take the lead.
No.2 Oklahoma vs. No.1 Oregon
Two words come to mind when I think about this match-up and the two words are, Buddy Hield. Buddy Hield was a dominant player once the game began to when the game ended. Scoring 37 points, 27 of those points coming from three points shots, Hield was able to lead the team to an 80-68 victory over Oregon. Oklahoma started the game with an early lead of 11 points and Oregon could not seem to find their rhythm, resulting in seven turnovers in the first few minutes of the game. The Sooners additional contributor to the game was being able to shut down leading scorer Dillon Brooks, who only scored seven points before being fouled out.
No. 10 Syracuse vs. No.1 Virginia
The biggest upset was when No.10 seed Syracuse beat No.1 seed Virginia 68-62 to advance to the Final Four. Virginia had a dominating lead at the half surpassing Syracuse 54-39, but that all changed once Syracuse Orange’s Guard, Malachi Richardson, scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half. With the Orange’s 11 steals, they were able to come back into the game. With Perrantes’s 18 points and Brogdon’s 12 points, it still wasn’t enough for Virginia to keep the lead against Syracuse’s rapid offense.
