This year’s March Madness tournament has been filled with, well, madness. As soon as the tournament began, there was craziness. Shortly into the tournament, fans were met with insanity..
One of the most exciting first-round games was High Point University against Wisconsin. High Point, a 12 seed, played its heart out the entire game, beating the much higher-ranked Wisconsin in a wild upset. High Point’s three-point specialist, Chase Johnston, scored his first (yes, first) two-pointer of the year in the final seconds of the game to secure High Point a berth in the second round of the tournament. Johnston ended hopes of tournament glory for Badgers fans and busted over 25 million brackets.
Even more thrilling was the end of the Kentucky v. Santa Clara game. Near the end of regulation, Kentucky was losing 70-73. With two seconds remaining, Otega Oweh hit a shot from over 40 feet away to tie the game. In a moment that quickly went viral, the referee appeared to celebrate Oweh’s shot, raising his arms in glee as the buzzer went off. Regardless of the referee’s supposed allegiance, Oweh’s shot sent the game into overtime, where Kentucky ultimately emerged victorious.
The second round was host to three more nail biters. When 9 seed Iowa played reigning NCAA champions 1 seed Florida, Hawkeye sharpshooter Alvaro Folguieras drained a three pointer with five seconds left, giving Iowa a 73-72 upset win against the Gators. St. Johns and Purdue also won in last-second winners in the round of 32.
Another crazy moment in this year’s madness was the University of Connecticut’s win over Duke. During this game, UConn trailed from the first two minutes all the way until the very end. To make matters worse, the team’s star forward Alex Karaban went for a diabolical one for eight from the field. Despite this, UConn stayed in striking range the entire game.In the final seconds of their elite eight matchup, UConn trailed Duke by 2 points. In a last-ditch shot, Freshman Braylon Mullins drained a 35-foot buzzerbeater that gave his team a lead and advanced them to the Final Four.
Notably, during Michigan v. Arizona in the final four matchup, the historic Fab Five, who played for Michigan in 1991 hosted an alternate broadcast. This included Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. When they played together, they effectively changed the culture of the game by popularizing the long shorts and black socks. For this, they faced racist backlash from fans and coaches for being “too black.” Despite the criticism, the all-freshman squad led their team to the final four.
The tournament culminated in an intense final matchup between UConn and Michigan. The Wolverines won by six points, winning their second national title ever, and their first since 1989. Because of new NIL regulations, this year’s tournament didn’t have that many upsets, but there was still just as much, if not more, “madness” as previous years.
