The Madness of March

 It’s March, so that means all eyes are on men’s college basketball to see who will win the tournament dubbed “March Madness” and capture the NCAA national championship.

    The tournament tipped off on March 16 and there were many upsets that busted a lot of people’s brackets. Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), a 16-seed, beat 1-seed Purdue, just the second win for a 16-seed against a 1-seed in tournament history.

    “It was a big shock to me to see a team that I had going far in my bracket get taken down by a team I expected to be a first round exit,” said sophomore Dennis Morley.

    FDU, a member of the Northeast Conference, lost to Sacred Heart twice this season. 

    “It’s good for our conference because that gives our conference more attention and generates more money,” said sophomore Will Sullivan.

    Another huge upset from the round of 64 included 15-seed Princeton beating 2-seed Arizona. Princeton made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, but their Cinderella run was ended by Creighton on March 24.

    “It shows how the game is changing, as every year now you see an upset,” said Sullivan. “It shows the level of talent just keeps increasing.”

    Reigning champion Kansas was also quickly ousted as they did not make it out of the Round of 32 after losing to 8-seed Arkansas.

    Number one overall seed Alabama suffered one of the more surprising losses of the tournament when they were ousted by San Diego State in the Sweet Sixteen. Alabama was a popular pick in many brackets to win it all.

    As the tournament heads into the Final Four, there are zero one-seeded teams that remain.

    Florida Atlantic, a 9-seed from Conference USA, defeated number 3 seed Kansas State in the East regional final to advance to the Final Four for the first time, where they will play San Diego State.

    UConn, a 4-seed in the West, dispatched of 3-seed Gonzaga to reach their sixth Final Four and first since 2014. They will play Miami in the Final Four.

    The semifinal games will take place on Saturday, April 1, and the championship game will be on Monday, April 3.

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