The NCAA basketball tournament that drew in an average of 10.2 million views per game produced several thrillers and entertaining matchups between some of the most skilled athletes in the world. The tournament stretched from March 18 to April 7, and included several historical moments that will be remembered.
An estimated 34 million brackets were filled out this year for the Men’s tournament, with the best bracket being one game away from perfect.
An immediate surprise for the fans was the lack of upsets, as there was not a single team higher than a twelve seed that survived the first round. This is the first time this has happened since 2017. This contributed to a larger amount of perfect brackets leading into the second round. 12-seed Colorado State overcame 5-seed Memphis, and 12-seed Mcneese shocked 5-seed Clemson by holding them to 13 points in the first half. There were several other upsets but none that were quite as notable.
A few incredible finishes within the tournament include freshman Derik Queen’s mid-range runner, buzzer beater to give 4-seed Maryland a 72-71 victory against 12-seed Colorado State in the second round. And a 3-seeded Wisconsin Badgers 11-2 run in the last two and a half minutes against 6-seeded BYU. Unfortunately for them, star point guard John Tonje, Wisconsin, left a game-tying baseline jumper short that resulted in a 89-91 loss for the Badgers. Also, an intense and physical game between a 2-seeded St. Johns and 10-seeded Arkansas resulted in a 75-66 win for the Razorbacks and gave them the biggest upset of this year’s tournament.
Another incredible feat is Alabama’s unreal performance from outside the arc against BYU in the Sweet Sixteen. With a final score of 113-88 and 25 threes, they broke the record for the most threes in a college basketball game by a single team and advance to the Elite Eight. Mark Sears, himself, contributed to 10 of those threes and had an astonishing 34 points.
The Elite Eight this year consisted of four SEC teams, proving to the country they are the strongest division in basketball. These teams consisted of Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and Auburn, who all performed at an extremely high level.
Throughout the tournament, the one seeds demonstrate their dominance, each winning their division and becoming a part of the second time that all four one seeds have made it to the final four. Florida, Auburn, Duke, and Houston’s success has brought controversy and discussion over the development of powerhouses thanks to the recent change in the transfer portal.
An intense and entertaining Final Four left the world shocked. Walter Clayton Jr. of Florida, put on a show with 34 points and led them to overcome Auburn 79-73, with some help from Alijah Martin.
But more interestingly, Houston put an end to Duke’s dominant run with an unimaginable comeback. Cooper Flagg’s 27 points allowed Duke to lead the majority of the game and build up a 14 point lead over Houston. The defense from Houston in the last ten minutes limited Duke to one field goal, while they were able to crawl back offensively and eventually trail by only six points with 30 seconds left. Emmanuel Sharp knocked down a huge 3, Joseph Tugler finished a huge dunk, and J’Wan Roberts’
clutch free throws put Duke in a poor position to win with limited time left. Flagg left a game-winning fade away short to give Houston the right to play in the Championship.
This sets the championship game to be Houston facing Florida.
Houston was led by LJ Cryer’s strong offensive game, averaging 18.6 points per game in the tournament, and a 26 point performance against Duke in the Final Four. He was a huge contributor to Houston’s offensive success, being able to create for the team.
Throughout the season Florida was led by star player Walter Clayton Jr. who averaged 24.6 points in the tournament, and put up a 34-point game in the Elite Eight, and 30-point game in the Final Four.
Shockingly, Clayton Jr. went scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the championship game, as well as contributing to multiple turnovers, but he was able to overcome his mental block, and finish with eleven points and seven assists.
Despite Clayton Jr.’s lackluster first half, Will Richard caught fire and made four of six 3-point attempts, and ended with 18 points, being the leading scorer for the Florida Gators, and a big reason Florida was able to stay in the game.
Florida won their 3rd championship 65-63 over Houston and completed an intense 12-point comeback, which is tied for the third largest comeback in NCAA National Championship history.
Houston’s incredible season fell short, with LJ Cryer the only one scoring double digits with 19 points. Even with limited scoring, they led for 30 minutes and 44 seconds of the game, proving it to be a more defensive battle. Houston trailed for only 64 seconds, but that was when it mattered.
Within the 63 games this year there were incredible moments and beautiful performances from players all over the country that created an exciting and entertaining tournament. March Madness continues to be one of the most watched and anticipated events in the world of sports.
