What is March without March Madness? In this year’s tournament, Madness was absent while people anxiously waited to watch their brackets make or break. Consequently, one of the most popular events in the nation became uninteresting.
The first round consisted of zero buzzer-beaters and no wild upsets. All top-four seeds in each region went a combined 16-0. That has not happened since 2017.
“I wasn’t thrilled during the first round,” sophomore Sawyer Wormald said. “I think the only entertaining upset was when Clemson lost to McNeese State.”
McNeese State entered as the 12th seed, they shockingly overcame the five-seeded Clemson Tigers 69-67. On the other hand, they weren’t the only fifth seed to lose to their 12-seeded counterpart as Colorado State defeated Memphis 78-70.
Little to no perfect brackets remained once the first round concluded. Wormald was involved in a pot worth more than $150, and all that mattered was how many games he could predict correctly.
“I only had a few games wrong going into the second round,” Wormald said. “I felt really good with how it was turning out, especially since I mainly just guessed.”
On the opposite side of that coin, those who weren’t so lucky watched as their brackets completely shattered.
“I made a couple of brackets and honestly, they were all pretty bad,” junior Caden Nelson said. “I was shocked with Clemson along with a couple others that broke my bracket pretty bad.”
According to the NCAA, the chances to guess every game correctly is 1 in 9.2 quintillion. There’s better odds of winning roulette 10 times in a row.
During the second round, the first and last buzzer-beater occurred when Maryland’s Derick Queen hit the last second shot against Colorado State. Arkansas, who was seeded 10th, upset the 2nd-seeded St. Johns 75-66.
“The second round was a little more exciting I guess,” senior Landon Smallwood said. “I stopped watching most of the games because it was getting boring.”
Although there were some miraculous runs, such as BYU’s dominance up until the Sweet 16, all four number one seeds ended up in the Final Four. The last time that took place was almost two decades ago in 2008.
The game between the Houston Cougars and Duke Blue Devils came down to the wire when the Blue Devils blew a 14-point lead. Ultimately, the Cougars would advance to the championship game against the Florida Gators after they defeated the Auburn Tigers 79-73.
“Even though there weren’t a lot of crazy underdogs, I was excited for the championship,” Wormald said. “I had Florida winning, so I just needed them to clutch up and I would win $175.”
Wormald’s gamble would pay off after Florida narrowly escaped Houston with a 65-63 triumph, crowning them as the National Champions.
Although a perfect bracket is extremely rare since there never has been one, a change in perspective might help. Lloyd’s infamous line in Dumb and Dumber, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance?” is not a bad way to go about a bracket.
“I do think a perfect bracket will come around eventually,” Nelson said. “People each year are getting closer and closer, and I think it’s bound to happen eventually.”
