March Madness tournament best in recent years

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Ryan Schuckman

The Men’s March Madness Basketball Tournament finished April 5 with Baylor defeating Gonzaga 86-70.

This year’s March Madness for college basketball was one of the best in recent memory. Major upsets and close games highlighted the tournament. Additionally, with last year’s tournament being cancelled, it felt like teams were pushing themselves even more.

With 14 games being decided by a difference of five points or less, casual and hardcore fans alike could stay entertained. Possibly the best game in the tournament was the Final Four matchup of Gonzaga and UCLA.

With the clock counting down, Johnny Juzang of UCLA drove to the basket to break the 81-81 tie. However, Drew Timme of Gonzaga was able to pull the charge, which sent the game to overtime. UCLA was able to tighten the game again after an initial Gonzaga lead during overtime. Trailing 90-88, Juzang once again drove to the basket with less than seven seconds remaining on the clock. After initially missing, he got his own rebound and tied the game, sending the game to what appeared to be double overtime. However, Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs launched a buzzer-beating shot just after passing half court to win the game and send Gonzaga to the championship game.

The fact that UCLA, a No. 11 seed, was even playing in the Final Four is the story of the tournament as a whole. Low-ranked seeds continued to win, defying expectations. UCLA was able to beat No. 6 Brigham Young University (BYU), No. 2 Alabama and No. 1 Michigan before losing to Gonzaga.

In total, there were 12 games throughout the tournament in which a team facing a seeding differential of five or more spots won the game.

This year’s March Madness tournament was exhilarating and more than made up for the cancellation of last year’s tournament – although it might not have been as much fun watching all your brackets get busted by the lower seeds.