The biggest tournament of the year began yesterday, March 21. March Madness is considered the second largest sporting event of the year in the United States, closely following the Super Bowl. However, this college basketball tournament lasts longer, is more interactive, and tends to be more exciting than the Super Bowl due to the massive amounts of upsets.
The tournament began with number 3 seed Michigan State playing number 14 seed Valparaiso. The game was close considering the difference in the seeds, but Michigan State pulled out the win 65-54.
Later, 6 seed Butler competed against 11 seed Bucknell. This was also a good game for much of the game until Butler pulled away at the end, winning 68-56.
A hard pick for many, 8 seed Pittsburg played 9 seed Wichita State. Many picked Pitt to win, but Wichita State played a good game and won by the largest margin thus far into the day, with a final score of 73-55.
4 seed St. Louis played 13 seed New Mexico State and many anticipated for St. Louis to receive the win. They were correct, with the final score being 64-44 in favor of St. Louis, making the biggest win up until this point.
Getting later into the day, 6 seed Memphis played 11 seed St. Mary’s. It was a close game all the way through, but Memphis pulled out the win with the smallest margin this far into the tournament, 54-52.
The game causing a lot of uproar throughout it was when 3 seed Marquette played 14 seed Davidson. Many avid sports’ fans chose for Marquette to win, and while they did pull out the win with a buzzer beater, it was a close game all the way through. This was the smallest margin all day, with Marquette winning 59-58.
1 seed Gonzaga played 16 seed Southern U and it was a fairly close game in the beginning. This was a big deal since a 16 seed has never in history beaten a 1 seed in the first round of the tournament, but Gonzaga pulled out the win in the end with a final score of 64-58.
A big game of the day, 5 seed Oklahoma State competed against 12 seed Oregon. While Oklahoma State had the higher seeding in the tournament, many anticipated Oregon’s upset coming in the first round and they were right. The final score was 68-55, with Oregon winning.
Later, another 1 seed Louisville played N.C. A&T and Louisville dominated the entire game. The final score was a final 79-48. There were two more blowouts following, with 4 seed Michigan beating 13 seed South Dakota State 71-56. Following, 6 seed Arizona beat 11 seed Belmont 81-64.
A close game followed when 5 seed UNLV played 12 seed California. It was a close game all the way through, but California succeeded in pulling the infamous 12 over 5 upset with a final score of 64-61.
The tough 8 or 9 pick got numerous people in their bracket when 8 seed Colorado State played 9 seed Missouri. However, Colorado State pulled out the win, 84-72.
Watching 5 seed VCU come into the tournament this year after shocking the nation the past couple of years has been anticipated. They played 12 seed Akron in the first round and no one picked this game to possess the 12 over 5 upset. VCU won by a significant amount, with a final score of 88-42.
3 New Mexico played 14 Harvard last night and this was the game that messed up everyone’s bracket. A predicted 95% of people that filled out brackets chose New Mexico to win this game, but Harvard pulled the huge upset in the first round, winning 68-62.
The final game of the day was between 4 seed Syracuse and 13 seed Montana where Syracuse dominated. This was the largest margin of the day, with a final score of 81-34.
The madness of March continues today in the second day of the first round of 64 teams. There are still many games to come, and many more upsets to follow the first day, as well.
