Top 10 moments of the first week of March Madness

Matthew FrankSports

UMBC (16) upsets Virginia (1) After 135 matchups between 1-seeds and 16-seeds over the course of decades of March Madness, a 16-seed has finally beaten a 1-seed. Although it will be regarded as the most shocking upset in the history of college basketball, it ended up being surprisingly anti-climatic. It was a 20-point victory against not just a No. 1 seed in the tournament, but the No. 1 team in the country. UMBC, who had lost to Albany by 44 points earlier in the season, managed to somehow defeat a team that many believed would win the National Championship.

Michigan vs. Houston buzzer-beater

With the shot of the tournament, freshman Jordan Poole sent the Michigan Wolverines to the Sweet Sixteen. Despite being multiple feet behind the 3-point line and having a hand in his face, Poole incredibly was able to will the ball to go in through skill, but mainly sheer luck. That type of shot doesn’t go in all too often, especially in a crucial situation like this one.

Loyola-Chicago Game-Winners

In a regular year without an unprecedented upset like the one UMBC pulled off, Loyola-Chicago would be the story of the week given the fact that they’re an 11-seed that beat both Miami and Tennessee in game-winning shot fashion. Loyola-Chicago has not been to the tournament since 1985, and it shows with both of their games having a surplus amount of their fans in attendance. They won both of their first two games by a combined three points, and they will need some more of that end-of-game luck if they want to advance any further.

Michigan State first half buzzer-beating 3-pointer Although not a game-breaker, this shot from Matt McQuaid was spectacular. He recovered from getting his original shot blocked, jumped to try to catch his own rebound, and while he was still in the air, banked in a miraculous 3-pointer.

URI vs. Oklahoma The first game of the tournament was quite possibly the most exciting one of the first week of action with a nail-biting finish deciding a game with one of the best players in the tournament. Trae Young, playing at his absolute best, finished with 29 points. The two biggest moments in the game ended up being an in-and-out miss at the buzzer for Rhode Island that would’ve won them the game in regulation and a dagger three to put Oklahoma in a hole they couldn’t manage to get out of in overtime.

Purdue dagger 3-pointer

Despite having arguably their best player Isaac Haas out with a broken elbow, Purdue managed to stay with Butler throughout the game, and this huge shot to put Purdue up two possessions sealed the game for them. In their upcoming game against Texas Tech, it will be interesting to see if the loss of their star center will cause even greater issues than it did against Butler.

Arizona upset in the first round Many had Arizona in their Final Fours with a relatively weak south region working to their advantage, but those thoughts were put to rest with a blowout loss coming at the hands of an upset-minded Buffalo team. In all honesty, this really should’ve been obvious given the fact their coach was literally involved in an FBI investigation with the potential of being fired merely weeks before the tournament began. Still though, a loss in the first round for a team with Deandre Ayton, the top player in the country slated by many to be the top pick in the upcoming draft, is incredibly surprising.

Gonzaga vs. UNCG game-winner

In an early game with the feeling of a potential early bracket-busting upset, Zach Norvell Jr., with the game tied at 64, hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds remaining that put Gonzaga in the driver’s seat for the rest of the game. It’ll be interesting to see how they fare in these next couple of rounds, having made the National Championship last year. It seems that they have a much weaker roster this time around.

Butler almost sends game to OT With the game on the line as Butler was down three with seconds left on the clock, Kamar Baldwin narrowly missed a shot that could’ve sent the game to overtime had it been ruled that he got the shot off before the buzzer. The shot ended up being very similar to the one Gordon Hayward had missed for Butler in the National Championship game years ago.

Sister Jean

You cannot mention this March Madness without talking about the star of the tournament that is 98 year-old Sister Jean of Loyola-Chicago. College basketball, especially in March with different mid-major teams coming into play, brings out the varying personalities and traits of each individual school. None have been as interesting as the fact that Loyola-Chicago is led and inspired by 98 year-old Sister Jean, who was also a pivotal factor in Loyola-Chicago’s 1963 National Championship. After both of their victories, the postgame interviews have not gone to their “coach.” Instead, Sister Jean seems to be the true alpha of Loyola-Chicago as she gives both the pre-game speeches and the post-game interviews for her team. We’ll see if this advantage wears off though because Sister Jean has her Ramblers losing in the Sweet Sixteen of her bracket to Cincinnati.

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