March Madness Update
The 75th annual NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship has been nothing short of mad thus far. Some major upsets have occurred all across the board, with plenty of brackets having suffered in the process. Here’s a quick look at some of the highlights from the tournament in the first three rounds.
The University of Mississippi, better known as Ole Miss, was seeded 12th in the West and started the tournament against number five seed, Wisconsin. They pulled off a huge first-round upset, trumping Wisconsin 57-46.
Florida Gulf Coast University has become the first 15th seed to ever reach the Sweet 16, overthrowing Georgetown and San Diego State by 10 points each. They played The University of Florida on Friday Mar. 29, holding a solid lead towards the beginning of the game, but eventually were knocked off.
La Salle University upset both Kansas State and Ole Miss to reach the Sweet 16 before finally succumbing to Wichita State. Wichita proceeded to defeat every other team they played in the tournament, moving all the way to the Final Four for the first time in 48 years. They will be playing Louisville on April 6th to decide who will play in the championship game. No one expected Wichita to upset Gonzaga, the number one seed in the West. Gonzaga became the first number one seed to lose in the tournament, followed by Indiana University.
The University of Miami reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in the school’s history. They looked to reach the Elite 8 for the first time, but fell to Marquette.
In the second-round game between Ohio State and Iowa State, Ohio’s Aaron Craft scored a last-second three-pointer to edge them past Iowa and onto the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year. However, they fell to dark horse Wichita State in a huge upset and did not move on to the Elite 8.
During the Elite 8 game against Duke, Louisville’s Kevin Ware suffered a devastating leg injury. He landed awkwardly while trying to block a shot and broke it in two places, shocking both teams and everyone watching. Ware was carried away on a stretcher and Louisville, running on the emotion, managed to turn a very close game into a blowout. Ware had a successful surgery that night.
The semifinal games will both be played on Saturday, April 6. Louisville will play Wichita and Michigan will play Syracuse. The tournament will continue until the championship game on April 8. As of April 2, BU Now’s March Madness bracket challenge was being led by a bracket named “Mike,” which led with a score of 82. Remember to continue checking the standings to see if you have a chance at the $100 grand prize!
Nicholas Cellucci is in the class of 2016 at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He is studying Mass Communications and is a BUnow staff writer in addition to serving as Executive Producer for BUnow Radio.
