As flowers begin to bloom across the country, so too does the madness of March; where dreams are made, and brackets are shattered. This weekend, the men’s and women’s tournament sweet sixteen will tip off with the whole country watching.
On the men’s side, the first two rounds saw exciting basketball and unreal finishes; however, upsets weren’t as common, with most Cinderella stories ending in the round of 32. The most notable upset came by way of High Point University, who beat five seed Wisconsin in the first round, before barely losing to Darius Acuff Jr. and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Texas Longhorns also saw success as a first-four 11 seed, beating BYU and Gonzaga en route to a Sweet 16 appearance. The round of 32 also saw the fall of the defending champions and the No. 1-seeded Florida Gators. The Gators were shocked by an exciting Iowa squad, who will now look to carry their momentum into the third round against rivals Nebraska.
As the men’s tournament resumes, there are a few games our community should keep a close eye on. The biggest matchup is Illinois vs Houston. These two teams play different styles of basketball, with Houston being known for their physicality and defense, which contrasts with the Illini’s exciting perimeter game and uptempo play style.
The winner of this game will undoubtedly be favorites to win the Elite Eight matchup against either Iowa or Nebraska, so this matchup has heavy Final Four implications. Another game to keep tabs on is Duke vs St. Johns; St. Johns is coming in as one of the hottest teams in the country, and one of the best five seeds in the tournament.
Duke, on the other hand, looked very questionable against the 16 seed Siena, barely escaping with a win. The experience of St. John’s’ coaching staff paired against the inconsistency of the Blue Devils should make this an exciting Sweet Sixteen matchup.
On the women’s side, high seeds prevailed throughout the first and second rounds. Seven of the eight top seeds prevailed with just Iowa falling in the second round to 10 seed UVA.
South Carolina and UConn continued their dominant monopoly over women’s college basketball, as they thrashed their competition throughout the first and second rounds. They are once again heavy favorites to continue their dominance into the final four. Like the men’s tournament, there are a couple of games many people are following, with number one being 10 seed UVA vs 3 seed TCU.
Like Texas in the men’s tournament, UVA came in as a first four team, with upset wins over Georgia and Iowa. The Cavaliers are red hot, while TCU is fresh off a tight win against six seed Washington.
Another intriguing matchup is Vanderbilt vs Notre Dame happening today at 2:30 p.m. The Commodores have one of, if not the best, players in the nation in Mikayla Blakes. The Fighting Irish are known for their strong defense, so it will be interesting to see how they plan to defend against one of the top scorers in the country.
Every year, around this time, this tournament reminds us just why we love college basketball. The excitement, the skills and, of course, the madness will once again be on full display this weekend.
