Upset Madness
SOUTHEAST BRACKET- With the first weekend of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball tournament in the books, the madness of March has truly lived up to its name. The largest upset of the weekend saw No. 1 seed Pittsburgh fall to No. 8 Butler 71-70. Butler will face-off against No. 4 Wisconsin for a spot in the Elite 8. No. 3 BYU squares off against No. 2 Florida in the other Southeast Regional Semi-Final.
WEST BRACKET- Returning champion No. 1 Duke cruised past Hampton 87-45 in their first matchup. The Blue Devils survived a close second game escaping Michigan 73-71. They move into the regional semi-final to face No. 5 Arizona on Thursday March 24th. After an impressive 5 game run to wrap up the Big East Tournament the No. 3 UConn Huskies cruised to 2 straight double-digit victories over No. 14 Bucknell and No. 6 Cincinnati. They will play No. 2, San Diego State; the winner will await the Arizona/Duke matchup.
SOUTHWEST BRACKET- Perhaps the biggest bracket busters thus far are the No. 11 VCU Rams. After winning their round 1 game versus USC, in decisive fashion, the Rams have proved critics wrong beating up on No. 6 Georgetown 74-56 and No. 3 Purdue 94-76. VCU will play No. 10 Florida State after they handed No. 2 Notre Dame a 71-57 loss. The Sweet 16 will also be welcoming a number 12 seed. The Richmond Spiders smacked No. 13 Morehead State 65-48 after the Eagles stunning upset over No. 4 Louisville. Richmond will face No. 1 Kansas for a spot in the Southwest Regional Final.
EAST BRACKET- The Ohio State Buckeyes have shown they are the true number 1 seed in this year’s tournament after dismantling No. 8 George Mason 98-66 to secure their spot in the Sweet 16. They will now face the No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats. At the other end of the East Bracket, No. 2 North Carolina will face No. 11 Marquette, after they upset No. 3 Syracuse 66-62 on Saturday. This is Marquette’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2003 where they were lead by Dwayne Wade.
