UNITED STATES—Man, was last week one of the most exciting first week of March Madness I can recall in years. I mean the number of games with buzzer beating moments left me screaming and yelling at the TV scream. There were some upsets, and many brackets were busted as a result. First up, I have to talk about that game between Santa Clara and Kentucky.
I love a basketball game that is neck-and-neck, and this game was literally all of that up until the final seconds literally. Just when it looked like Kentucky had overpowered its opponent, but Santa Clara, the little school that it is, managed to score a three-pointer with just seconds left in the game. Yeah, it looked like it was over for Kentucky but wait for it because they get the ball and with less than 2 seconds from the other end of the court, they get the ball and wham a three-pointer was made.
If words could describe the feeling, I couldn’t put it into words. Mind you I was at work when this game was unfolding, so I cheated a bit, but wow, was it epic to witness. I loved it. The game went into overtime, and unfortunately, Kentucky came out on top. Oh Kentucky, you had a weekend, with 2 games so close it was not even funny. Why? They were taking on Iowa State and lost in a blowout unfortunately.
Another game that had me on edge was #4 seeded Kansas vs. #5 seeded St. John’s this game was looking like St. John’s all the way, but Kansas came roaring back and the game was tied with little to no seconds left in the game, when Dylan Darling from St. John’s scored a crazy shot to the hoop that gave his team the victory. Like that, Kansas was out and St. John’s is looking like a team not to mess around with.
The other major upset we have to talk about is the massive stunner of the 2025 NCAA Champion Florida Gators losing to #9 seeded Iowa with a buzzer beating shot that gave the Hawkeyes a 1-point lead. Yes, it was neck-and-neck and to see that shot land and see the heartbreak on the Gators fans faces was unbelievable, but that is March Madness. Upsets happen and teams not expected to move on, actually move on, and teams that should have won, actually lost.
So going into the second weekend of March Madness, we still 3 #1 seeds in the game, Duke, Arizona and Michigan. Duke can truly have a battle against Patino and St. John’s. That is a must-see game if you ask me. Then we have Michigan State and UConn, which looks like a good match-up between a #2 and #3 seed. I love my Spartans; they played well in the first weekend but really will have to step it up this weekend to take out the Huskies. The Michigan Wolverines and Arizona Wildcats are going to be tested with games against Alabama and Arkansas.
We have reached the Sweet 16, and you have 6 teams, count’em, 6 teams from the Big Ten Conference in the mix. Do I think all 6 teams will make it to the Elite 8? No. There will be more upsets along the way, and I do believe we could see a #1 seed or two get bounced from the tournament in the upcoming weekend.
Oh, the fun has started and the second weekend of March Madness is going to be an absolute madhouse with games that will leave basketball fans in a tizzy.
