In order for this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament to be deemed a success, the final weekend had to deliver.
All week long heading into Monday, I saw plenty of fans clamoring for an entertaining Men’s Final Four. The intrigue of a Cinderella had been eliminated with all No. 1 seeds reaching the final Saturday.
“We deserve it,” said many.
Good news and bad news: The Final Four delivered, but the overall tournament did not.
Let’s start with the positive side of things because who doesn’t love a ray of sunshine after all. All three of Auburn vs. Florida, Duke vs. Houston and Florida vs. Houston delivered in a big way.
In Game 1 Saturday, Auburn and Florida battled ferociously with power punch after power punch by both offenses, shooting from anywhere and everywhere on the court. Walter Clayton Jr. played out of his mind for the Gators, scoring a career-high 34 points to push his team to the National Championship. Alijah Martin, from just down the road in Summit, hailing from North Pike, recorded 17 points and dropped two stellar, jaw-dropping dunks in the game.
For my money, easily the best game of the weekend came in the nightcap Saturday – and the Florida/Auburn game was no joke. Duke, led by phenom Cooper Flagg, led Houston by as many as 14 with under 10 minutes left in the game, but a mind-boggling collapse by the Blue Devils opened the door for a gritty Houston victory. Everything that could have gone wrong for Duke did, and Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars clawed all the way back through a 9-0 run in the final 33 seconds to put away Duke 70-67.
And then came Monday night. It sure wasn’t pretty – far from it – but Florida vs. Houston had all the drama fans could have asked for.
In a bit of an inverse of previous tournament contests, it was Houston that held a strong second half lead before surrendering it. The Cougars led by as many as 12, but sloppy possessions down the stretch paired with an opportunistic Florida attack allowed the Gators to pull ahead 65-63 with one possession left.
Houston’s Emmanuel Sharp, arguably the Cougars’ top scorer, had an opportunity at a deep three. He leaped in the air to begin his shooting motion, but he hesitated at the sight of Clayton coming in for a block. That hesitation proved costly, meaning that once Sharp landed back on the floor, he couldn’t touch the ball or else he’d be whistled for a double-dribble turnover. He backed away from the ball, allowing Florida to jump on a loose ball as time expired to clinch its third championship in school history.
The ultimate triumph for one team. The ultimate heartbreak for the other. That’s what March Madness is all about.
I really feel for Sharp. That’s the type of moment every kid dreams of – a chance to hit a game-winning shot in the championship game. It just wasn’t to be, and I hope one day soon he can find peace and clarity.
So Saturday and Monday were two great days for March Madness. But the days preceding were not as shiny as previous shining moments.
The lack of real upsets was glaring. McNeese State was the only true instance of an underdog double-digit seed beating a favored higher seed in the first round, and that game might require an asterisk considering Will Wade is an accomplished coach who accepted the North Carolina State head coaching position shortly after his Cowboys’ season was up.
Colorado State beating Memphis in a 12/5 matchup was an upset in seeding alone, as the Rams were favored over the Tigers.
A sizable upset did occur in the second round, though, as 10-seed Arkansas took down 2-seed St. John’s. But Arkansas was no Cinderella, being led by John Calipari.
The lone buzzer beater of the tournament came in the second round when Maryland took down Colorado State in a 12/4 matchup – a bit deflating of a result considering the more exciting team and lower-seeded squad lost.
So sure, the tournament lacked a lot of drama for the first two weeks, but even a down year for March Madness can still be incredibly entertaining. This year was definitely entertaining, even if it won’t go down in history.
And thus concludes a frankly epic sports weekend. Alex Ovechkin broke a once unthinkable record – Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career goals scored on the ice. It was a great moment Sunday and Gretzky showed great class in passing the torch. Even if you aren’t a hockey fan, it was great theater.
And then later on Sunday afternoon, Connecticut won its record 12th national title in women’s hoops under head coach Geno Auriemma. Paige Bueckers, who was slightly underrated due to the popularity and star power of Caitlin Clark and to a lesser extent Angel Reese, finally reached the pinnacle, etching her name in the storied history of UConn basketball.
As sports fans, we ate good.
