March Are You Mad Yet?

You probably thought that your bracket was the perfect one–don’t we all? Even though the chances are minuscule of getting every game right, you still hope for the best. There are always unpredictable upsets, but this NCAA tournament busted brackets like never before and only two rounds have passed.

The first round was loaded with upsets. For the first time ever a one seed lost to a sixteen seed when UMBC laid a beating on UVA, 74-54. 18.5% of brackets had UVA winning the championship, and 5 out of 22 expert brackets picked. Arizona, a four seed, lost to thirteen seed Buffalo in the first round 89-69. Thirteen seed Marshall beat four seed Wichita State in a nail biter 81-75. Loyola-Chicago, an eleven seed, made a three as time expired to stun six seed Miami 64-62. Another 11 seed, Syracuse, who always seems to do well in the tournament, beat six seed TCU 57-52.

The second round, also making history, had just as many upsets as the first round. For the first time since seeding began in 1979, a region had its top-4 seeded teams lose before the sweet sixteen. Arizona, UVA, Cincinnati and Tennessee all lost in the South region.  Loyola-Chicago continued their run, beating Tennessee by one on a last second shot by Clayton Cluster. Nevada, a seven seed, shocked two seed Cincinnati. Xavier, a one seed lost to nine seed Florida State. Syracuse continued to thrive in the tournament, beating Michigan State, a favorite to win.

Since higher seeds have been knocked off, lower seeds will have a stronger chance to make a deeper run in the tournament. Although there are still some high seeds remaining, anything can happen at this point. No one could have predicted the amount of upsets this year, so don’t worry if your bracket is busted.