The Round of Thirty Two
Bold denotes team selected to advance
Duke vs the University of Central Florida: Though I picked Duke to win, I secretly was hoping for my bracket to be busted here too. The University of Central Florida, like New Mexico State earlier in the NCAA Tournament, came so close to being the talk of the tournament so far. The battle of Zion Williamson and Tacko Fall took place as Duke hung on in a game of inches. Seriously, if a UCF shot in the final seconds was just a lad to the left, we’re talking about Duke disappointing in the NCAA Tournament again. Duke survived UCF, 77-76.
Liberty vs Virginia Tech: So, to let you all know, my theory of the twelfth seed had some bracket depth to it. Virginia Tech took control in the second half and kept the lead away from Liberty, winning 67-58. This is Virginia Tech’s first Sweet Sixteen appearance in fifty-two years.
Maryland vs Louisiana State University: Another toss-up game that I knew would come down to the wire if they met in the round of thirty-two. LSU gained the lead with 1.6 seconds left in the game from a Tremont Waters lay up to win, 69-67.
Minnesota vs Michigan State: To be fair, I never had Minnesota escaping the round of sixty-four, so of course my pick here was Michigan State. To my credit, it ultimately worked out for me in the round of thirty-two. Michigan State got the lead early and never looked back as they advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2015 with a 70-50 win.
Gonzaga vs Baylor: Both teams were selections of mine to advance into the round of thirty-two. I decided to go with Gonzaga because, from the beginning of this tournament, I thought they had more mileage than Baylor. Brandon Clarke scores 36 as Gonzaga wins, 83-71.
Murray State vs Florida State: I didn’t have FSU making it out of the round of sixty-four and Ja Morant was a player that I thought would have Murray State defy odds throughout the NCAA Tournament. It happened against Marquette, so I was liking the opportunity against FSU. FSU figured out how to defensively slow down Morant and the final score showed it, 90-62.
Buffalo vs Texas Tech: Both were correct selections to make it to the round of thirty-two, but I had selected Texas Tech to advance from here. This one wasn’t as tough of a selection as LSU was against Maryland for me, but that could be because of the small amount of Maryland bias that I have. Anyway, Texas Tech and Jarrett Culver played good defense to once again reach the Sweet Sixteen by a score of 78-58.
Florida vs Michigan: This is where I have a conundrum. Earlier on, I chose Nevada and Michigan to advance into the round of thirty-two. Nevada didn’t, but Florida did. I was right about Michigan. However, I doubled down on Nevada to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, effectively making this game not really matter as far as my bracket is concerned. Michigan is going to the Sweet Sixteen for a third consecutive year, winning 64-49. This is only the first of the big busts of this bracket to come to attention.
Virginia vs Oklahoma: Earlier, I picked Ole Miss to beat Oklahoma in the round of sixty-four. Virginia defeats Oklahoma in the round of thirty-two, so the damage isn’t too severe here. Virginia led most of the game against Oklahoma on the way to a 63-51 victory.
Oregon vs UC Irvine: I picked correctly for both teams to get to the round of thirty-two here. Oregon advanced in my bracket as they did in reality. Ehab Amin got the offense back on track in the second half for Oregon to secure the win, 73-54.
Villanova vs Purdue: I didn’t have Villanova escaping the first round, so Purdue was who I had advancing in my bracket. That was duplicated in reality in easy fashion. This is what I was talking about when I said that Villanova didn’t impress me. They weren’t the “defending champion” caliber team all season long. Carsen Edwards had a career-high 42 points in the 87-61 rout.
Iowa vs Tennessee: Iowa is another team that I didn’t predict making the round of thirty-two, but they were up against Tennessee, who I did have advancing into the Sweet Sixteen. That was accurate. It was very close to not being the case as Tennessee blew a 25 point lead that allowed Iowa to force overtime. Grant Williams played a key role in overtime to secure the win for Tennessee, 83-77.
North Carolina vs Washington: The smarter pick would have been to select Washington to make it into the round of thirty-two, but I still would have had North Carolina advancing into the Sweet Sixteen. Luke Maye and Nassir Little both score 20 points as North Carolina steadily defeated Washington, 81-59.
Auburn vs Kansas: Remember when I wrote earlier that I didn’t have Auburn or Kansas making it out of the round of sixty-four? Yeah, I’m an idiot. I actually had New Mexico State in the Elite Eight, which meant they would beat North Carolina in my bracket. That still isn’t the biggest conundrum of my March Madness bracket so far. Auburn controlled the entire game against Kansas to an 89-75 victory.
Ohio State vs Houston: Ohio State made me a fool already in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Iowa State. Fool me once, shame on you. I had Houston advancing into the Sweet Sixteen here, so there was no fooling me twice…yet. Houston is in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 35 years with a 74-59 victory.
Wofford vs Kentucky: Oh, I promise you I saved my biggest, most baffling conundrum with my March Madness bracket for last. Let me tell you one thing, this almost happened! Only a six-point loss to Kentucky. My instincts in the round of sixty-four told me that Wofford was going to be the sleeper pick for the entire NCAA Tournament. Wofford was still in the game and even had a lead in the second half, but Kentucky just was able to close the game with a 62-56 win. This was the biggest blow to my bracket. I put a lot of faith into Wofford this year. So much faith that they made the NCAA Tournament championship game in my bracket. Let that sink in for a moment. Also, if there is a soul out there who had Wofford in their NCAA Tournament championship game, let me know you exist. The better defense won in this game and it cost me my bracket as early as the round of thirty-two, rendering the whole rest of the Midwest bracket to be completely obsolete.
As March Madness picks back up on March 28th and March 29th, I will follow up with the disasterpiece of my NCAA Tournament bracket just before the beginning of the Final Four on April 6th. As of this moment, my current bracket on ESPN has an accuracy of 43%. For a guy who was out on Louisville, I’ve just been keeping my hands warm next to a dumpster fire. Wofford losing to Kentucky changed this dumpster fire to a dumpster inferno.
Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock -USA TODAY Sports
