by Nick Morgan, Sports Editor
This year’s March Madness Tournament truly had it all; upsets, blowouts, buzzer beaters and even one beloved nun. If you filled one out, chances are your bracket was busted in the first weekend, which, for me, made the rest of the tournament all the more enjoyable. There were only five upsets in the first round (No. 9 seeds over No. 8 seeds are not considered upsets by ESPN Stats and Information Center), but in this case, it was quality over quantity. In the South region powerhouses Virginia and Arizona had swift first round exits in stunning defeats. Arizona was taken down by No. 13 Buffalo 89-68 in a game where future NBA Lottery Pick, Deandre Ayton’s collegiate career was cut short after putting up 14pts and 13rebs.
The greatest upset of the tournament and, according to USA Today, in all of tournament history, goes to No. 16 seed the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) as they shocked the world as they manhandled the number one overall seed Virginia Cavaliers 74-54. Virginia, a hard-nosed defensive team, did not allow 70 points to any team this season, but they found themselves on the wrong side of history as they became the only No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 seed. Previously, No. 1 seeds were 135-0 since the tournament expanded in 1985, but records like these are made to be broken. UMBC went on to lose to No. 9 seed Kansas State in the Round of 32, 50-43, putting an abrupt end to the Retriever’s season.
Also, in the South region, No. 11 seed the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers fought their way to wins over No. 6 Miami, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 7 Nevada to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1963 when they won the National Championship. Loyola won each of their games on three epic game-winning shots. Throughout all this, the most famous member of the Ramblers team ended up not being one of the players, but rather a 99-year-old nun named Sister Jean. Sister Jean rose to stardom as the chaplain of the Loyola Men’s Basketball team flashed her contagious smile and charming wit in interviews and press conferences. Each of the Ramblers’ late game heroics were attributed to divine intervention that Sister Jean prayed for.
The Final Four boiled down to Loyola-Chicago vs. Michigan and Villanova vs. Kansas. Of the 17 million brackets filled out on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge website, only 54 people chose the correct Final Four (0.000003%). In game one in San Antonio, Villanova took care of business as the 2016 national champions defeated the Jayhawks by a score of 95-79. On the other side of the bracket, Michigan put an end to Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella run, as they took down the Ramblers 69-57.
On April 2, the Villanova Wildcats took down the Michigan Wolverines to win their second national championship in three years. The Wildcats overcame poor early shooting to win 79-62 behind 30 points off the bench by Donte DiVincenzo. Villanova won each of their games during their tournament run by at least 12 point to move to 36-4 on the season and claim their third championship in program history.
