When students think of March, the average student thinks spring is about to start, Spring Break, and school is getting close to the end of the year. But the best part of March for a basketball-loving student is the NCAA tournament called March Madness.  This is regarded as one of the best sporting events of the year. From 16 seeds beating a 1 seed to an 8 seed winning it all. The story lines of March Madness propel college basketball into the biggest talk in the sports world for a whole month or more. With the Sweet Sixteen being set, here are the highlights of rounds 64 and 32.

First Round – 64 teams that made it to the bracket

One of the best games of the round of 64 was Kentucky vs Santa Clara. Santa Clara big man Allen Graves hit a clutch three pointer with 2.6 seconds left and the entire Kentucky fan base rethinking their life choices, but then Kentucky quickly got the ball in after the three, and SEC preseason player of the year, Otega Oweh, hit a game logo three to tie the game back up. The Wildcats pulled it out in OT to win by 89-84 with Oweh having 35 pts. Other notable wins are the 12 seed High Point University who upset 5 seed Wisconsin. As well as 11 seed VCU Rams who beat 6 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. No 8 seed won, the 9 seeds had a complete sweep over the 8 seeds this year. The only other upset in the round of 64 was 10 seeded Texas A & M beating 7 seeded Saint Mary’s and 11 seed Texas beating 6 seed BYU. 

Second Round – 32 teams that set the Sweet Sixteen

Round 32 was the definition of March Madness. Saturday was calm with the higher seeds winning every game beside 11 seed Texas beating 3 seed Gonzaga 74 to 68 establishing Texas as a legit contender, but Sunday is when the madness unfolded with with 5th seeded Saint Johns Beating 4th seeded Kansas on a buzzer beating lay-up from Saint John’s Dylan Darling,  which was his first made shot of the day and he won the game of his first made shot 67-65. 6 seed Tennessee beat 3 seed Virginia 79 to 72. But the craziest upset of the year was 9 seeded Iowa upsetting 1 seeded and defending champs the Florida Gators. Bennett, Iowa point guard, came up the court and made a quick pass to Alvaro Folgueiras in the corner for the game winning three pointer with 4.5 seconds on the clock. The Gators come down with David Lee their star point guard and he gets to the basket and passes but the pass is not caught and Iowa wins 73-72 and caps off one of the biggest upsets of this tournament and maybe ever. 

Looking forward to the National Championship

And the anticipation and excitement for the final rounds is set for basketball fans to see more of the Madness of this basketball tournament. The teams that look the strongest coming into the Sweet Sixteen are obviously the one seeds, but Iowa State looks really good being one of the best shooting teams in the country. Games to look forward to are 1 seed Arizona and 4 seed Arkansas. Arizona will be led by Koa Peat vs Arkansas led by the best player in the SEC, Darius Acuff. This match-up will be the make or break for many brackets.  This is the joy of experiencing all of the Madness this March.