The first weekend of March Madness was full of upsets and excitement. Everyone’s brackets took a hit during the first and second rounds. Four top seeded teams such as Villanova, Duke, Louisville, and Florida State lost, and Gonzaga and Kentucky almost fell to Northwestern and Wichita State, respectively.
Villanova lost to the Wisconsin Badgers, 65-62 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They struggled with injuries all season, coming off of their national championship last April. The star of their team, Kris Jenkins who scored the game winning shot in last year, made just 2 of 9 shots the entire game against the Badgers. That was his last game in college before venturing into the NBA draft. This loss was shocking, considering Villanova has remained number one in the Big East rankings since the beginning of the season.
Duke lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 88-81. They have been overwhelmingly overrated this entire bracket process. 87% of participants placed Duke in the Sweet 16 for this season. Though they went 28-9 in the regular season, including embarrassing losses to non-ranked teams such as Miami and NC State, so they are pretty average. They have had disciplinary problems throughout the season from Grayson Allen, for acting like an immature five year old, and they have received a lot of public scrutiny. Why was Duke a number two seed? This upset was not surprising at all.
Louisville lost to Michigan, 73-69. The game was close, but a surge by Michigan player Moe Wagner pushed the Wolverines past the Cardinals. With Wagner scoring the game winning shot with 29 seconds left, they just let the game slip away from them. Their lack of defense during the game made them weak and vulnerable. According to the ESPN Tournament Challenge, 69% of participants placed Louisville in the Sweet 16 portion of their brackets.
Florida State lost to Xavier 91-66 by a whopping 25 point margin. For a team that only lost by 10 to the top seeded North Carolina in the middle of the season, this was a shock. They were ranked second in the ACC for majority of the season, closely followed by Duke.The closest margin was 10 points. Their size was projected to be a problem for Xavier, but their game plan was proven to be effective.
Gonzaga and Kentucky did not perform up to their full potential this weekend either. They were both expected to blow out their opponents, yet the Bulldogs won by a slim 6 points and the Wildcats by 3. Shouldn’t these games just be a complete shutout?
Nobody’s bracket is safe. The next round of the tournament continues next weekend and there is sure to be more upsets.
Picture Credits: The Feminist Wire