This year’s March Madness tournament was quite the year of upsets and surprises. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 March Madness competition was canceled; despite the struggles surrounding this virus continuing into 2021, with proper planning and precautions, the 2021 March Madness was well underway and was definitely something to look forward to. In fact, the pandemic played a huge role in this year’s tournament, as all athletes remained in a hotel in Indianapolis, referred to as a “bubble,” which they could not leave. They also were required to get mandatory COVID-19 testing frequently. However, despite these precautions, during the first round of March Madness, the Round of 64, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) was automatically disqualified as multiple players tested positive, ultimately leading to the win for Oregon.
This year, the majority of brackets had the winner of the tournament as one of the following: Baylor, Gonzaga, Illinois, and Iowa. The “year of the upsets” started with an Ohio State loss to Oral Roberts in the Round of 64, which was surely a shocker for most of us and our brackets. Not only did Oral Roberts, a 15-seed, beat Ohio State, a 2-seed, but they ended up making it all the way to the Sweet 16. In many sports, especially basketball, some teams are given a “seed” ranking and are “planted” into the bracket, with the intention that the strongest teams compete against each other in the later rounds of tournaments. Another upset in the Round of 64 was the Purdue vs. North Texas game where many favored Purdue. Unexpectedly, North Texas managed to clinch the win with a nine-point lead. In 2019, Virginia won the NCAA Tournament against Texas Tech; however, this year was a much different story, as they lost in the Round of 64 by four points, yet another upset. One of the most exceptional and unpredictable games this year was between 3-seed Texas and 14-seed Abilene Christian. Abilene Christian won that game with a one-point lead, which made it a stressful game for many fans, some of whom may have had their brackets busted after the buzzer.
During the round of 32, many were in shock as Illinois, a 1 seed, lost to Loyola Chicago, an 8 seed. Another game that hurt many brackets was Iowa versus Oregon, which Oregon won by fifteen points. As we approached the Sweet Sixteen, it was clear that the strongest teams left were UCLA, Michigan, Alabama, Houston, Baylor, and Gonzaga. In a nail-biting overtime game, 2 seed Alabama lost a shocker to UCLA by ten points! Heading into the elite eight, many fans had their fingers crossed for Michigan, Gonzaga, and Baylor; however, the powerful eleven seed, UCLA, destroyed Michigan with their powerful offense and elite three-point shooting.
One of the top tournament moments in history occurred during the Final Four game between Gonzaga and UCLA. A powerful performance from both sides led the game into overtime. With around three seconds left in overtime, Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga’s standout freshman point guard, shot a half-court buzzer-beater that sent Gonzaga to the National Championship game against Baylor University. Unfortunately, the game was a disaster for Gonzaga.
In the words of GA senior, Dean Millard, “Baylor outplayed Gonzaga. Plain and simple. They were much more aggressive than any team Gonzaga faced all season. Baylor had such great depth and coaching. They truly earned the National Championship.” As a team, Baylor was very strong both defensively and offensively, and Gonzaga seemed to lack power in both areas, causing the point difference between the teams to hover in the double digits throughout the game. Deservingly, Baylor beat Gonzaga in that game with a sixteen-point lead! This was a crazy year for any March Madness fans and possibly the most disappointing for those seeking a perfect bracket. Still, no matter what outcome fans had hoped for, this year’s March Madness will go down as one of the most unexpected and anticipated tournaments in sports history.