March Madness is a college basketball tournament from the middle of March to the beginning of April. It has 68 men’s and women’s teams from schools across America.
The games are all single-elimination. That means that if a team loses one game, it is out. To be champion, the team that wins has to win six games in a row.
In this article, I will be talking about the best parts of the tournament, massive upsets, buzzer-beaters, star players that came out from the tournament, and who won from the men’s and women’s sides.
While the tournament didn’t have many huge upsets there were still a few.
No. 10 seed Arkansas beat No. 2 St. John’s in the second round 75-66, No. 12 McNeese stunned No. 5 seed Clemson 69-67, No. 12 Colorado State knocked out No. 5 Memphis 78-70, and No. 11 Drake took down No. 6 Missouri 67-57.
Although, the Final Four only had No. 1 seeds: Florida, Duke, Houston, and Auburn, for the second time since 2008. There were still some awesome games, Houston overcame a 14-point deficit and took down Duke 70-67, J’Wan Roberts and LJ Cryer delivered clutch performances.
The tournament has had exciting finishes, with games decided in the final seconds.
In a thrilling second-round game, Maryland’s freshman center Derik Queen banked in a running, fadeaway shot at the buzzer, putting the Terrapins into the Sweet 16.
Alabama State’s Amarr Knox scored a layup with 1.0 seconds left. This is the Hornet’s first NCAA tournament win, amazing!
Many players used the tournament to show how good they were and to expand their profiles.
Cooper Flagg, a freshman brought Duke to the Final Four averaging 19 points. He is likely to be the number one pick in the NBA draft.
Over on the women’s side, Paige Bueckers lead UConn to their 13th National Championship. They faced USC in the Elite Eight, and she played the whole game, scoring 31 points.
Even though TCU lost in the Elite Eight to USC, Hailey Van Lith had an amazing tournament and really made a name for herself. As a result, her WNBA draft stock is way up now.
The women’s tournament winner, No. 2 seed UConn dominated No. 1 seed South Carolina 82-59, securing their 12th national title. Azzi Fudd scored 24 points and was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player.
The men’s tournament winner, No. 1 Florida narrowly defeated No. 1 Houston 65-63, this is their 3rd national title. Will Richard led Florida with 18 points.