The Madness Of March: Writer Reflects On March Madness Upsets

Michael Crouchley
Staff Writer

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, it’s truth might as well not exist. There are no rules in March.

An absurd amount of upsets in the first two rounds of this year’s tournament have left experts confounded and brackets busted beyond repair. Let’s take a look at some of the best stories from the tournament so far.

David Takes Down Goliath

Every year we hear the talk, “Could this be it? Could this be the year that a 16-seed beats a one-seed?” But it never is. That is, until last Friday when the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers took down the No. 1 overall seed Virginia Cavaliers 74-54. Graduate guard Jairus Lyles exploded for 28 points and Virginia just didn’t have an answer.

“These are the moments that you dream of,” Lyles said after the game.

What makes this result so unfathomable is that it wasn’t a fluke, UMBC didn’t win on a lucky last second shot against a team that shouldn’t have really been a one seed. They beat the best team in college basketball, and they did it handily.

What’s going on down there?

The rest of the South bracket was ravaged by upsets too. Eleven-seed Loyola-Chicago took down six-seed Miami and three-seed Tennessee in the first two rounds to advance to the Sweet 16. Loyola has made headlines not only for their two impressive wins, but for their 98-year-old chaplin, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.

Sister Jean, reportedly, had picked Loyola to advance to, and lose in, the Sweet 16 in her own bracket.

Thursday night, Loyola busted her bracket by advancing to the Elite Eight with a one-point win over Nevada. Their three tournament wins have come by a combined four points.
&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>

Nine-seed Kansas State took down UMBC in the second round, and followed that up with an upset over five-seed Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Now, KSU will take on Loyola for a trip to the Final Four.

In the same quadrant, four-seed Arizona was a hot pick to make the Final Four due in large part to freshman center DeAndre Ayton. Ayton is thought by many to be the best player in college basketball and has a good chance to be the first overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, but he wasn’t able to save his Wildcat’s from getting blown out in the first round by the 13-seed Buffalo Bulls.

Second Round Cinderellas

The rest of the first round was relatively tame, but if anyone thought that the madness was over, they were sorely mistaken. Two-seed Cincinnati lost to seven-seed Nevada, leaving all of the South bracket’s top four teams eliminated going into the Sweet 16.

The West’s one-seed Xavier was taken down by Florida State in the second round 75-70. Two-seed and defending champion North Carolina didn’t fare any better against Texas A&M, losing 86-65 after shooting only 33 percent from the field. And the Seminoles continued their chopping Thursday when they took down No. 4 Gonzaga, 75-60.
&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>&’ async type=’text/javascript’>

Despite being only a three-seed, Michigan State was a team that was looking to make a run at a title. Combining forwards Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges, both likely to be lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft, with good role players, including sophomore guards Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford, was enough to convince people the Spartans could make some noise. I was among the convinced, giving Michigan State a spot in my championship game.

Sunday saw the 11-seed Syracuse Orange take down Michigan St. 55-53 after Winston’s shot at the buzzer fell just short, crushing the Spartans’ hope at a championship, and my hope at winning any bracket challenges.

This Is Why They Call It “March Madness”

This year might end up being the craziest NCAA tournament of all time. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, we are only four years removed from seeing a seven-seed and an eight-seed go head-to-head in the championship game (the same year Dayton made it all the way to the Elite Eight!). But hey, a school better known for chess (and the one time that someone put a tennis ball in the mouth of a statue of their mascot) than basketball took down a bona fide powerhouse, so anything can happen.

For now, let’s just sit back and enjoy the most unpredictable event in all of sports while we still can. Maybe ‘Cuse will keep on cruisin’ against two-seed Duke. Who knows?

Photos Taken from si.com, nydailynews.com, nytimes.com, ironmountaindailynews.com and wsbtv.com.