Earlier this week, both the Men’s and Women’s March Madness competitions wrapped up. Despite the 34 million brackets created, not a single one was perfect, which is why we love March. In case you missed out, here’s a recap on this year’s March Madness Championships.
UConn Huskies vs South Carolina Gamecocks
Coming off a major final four win against UCLA, the UConn Huskies faced defending champion South Carolina, who topped Texas two days prior. This time last year, UConn had been knocked out of the tournament by Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the semifinals. This year, the Huskies wrote a new story. The team was led by Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong to a historic 82-59 against the Gamecocks. The last time UConn won the tournament was back in 2016 when the team was led by Kia Nurse, Gabby Williams and Katie Lou Samuelson. Fudd was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and finished the championship game with 24 points. Freshman phenomenon Strong added 24 points and 15 rebounds in her first ever collegiate tournament championship. Bueckers, the anticipated number one draft pick, closed out her senior season with 17 points. The game started fairly even as both teams traded points back and forth. UConn led with a comfortable 10 points as they entered the second half. The Gamecocks did their best to keep up, but UConn’s strong defense and unstoppable offense quickly took over. A 12-3 run in the final quarter sealed the deal for the Huskies, and they were named champions. Coach Geno Auriemma adds yet another championship ring to his collection of 11. Auriemma has led an iconic team of female basketball players since 1985, coaching stars like Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore. Despite being named a second seed, the Huskies are now back on top of women’s basketball. Over 8.5 million tuned in to watch the show down Sunday afternoon.
Florida Gators vs Houston Cougars
After defeating Auburn in the Final Four, Florida rallied to beat Houston 65-63 to claim the NCAA title. Cougars guard Emanuel Sharp had the chance to shoot a potential game-winning three, but Walter Clayton Jr flew towards him to defend. Sharp dropped the ball with 4.2 seconds left in the game, and after everyone paused, Alex Condon dove on the ball with 2.0 seconds left in the game to secure the win for the Gators. The Gators came back from a 12-point second half deficit, tied for the third-largest deficit overcome to win a national championship. Although the game was advertised as Florida’s offense versus Houston’s defense, it was the Gators’ defense that sealed their victory. Houston only had four turnovers for the first 36:35 but proceeded to give the ball away five times in the final 3:24, three of which occurred in the final minute. During a stretch in the final half, the Gators stopped nine straight Houston possessions. The Gators had fewer offensive rebounds than Houston but put up more second-chance points. Once Houston had to play four guards due to turnovers, Florida dominated. Clayton hit two three-pointers in less than a minute and put a third up to tie the game. He finished with 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists to win the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award.
