It is March Madness time, and I am here to break down my personal bracket. I will analyze my final four as well as my upsets (when a lower seed team beats the higher seed). I used this article to help me fill out the bracket and choose my upsets. (This article was written on March 17th and updated throughout the first two rounds)
My Upsets:
First Found
UCSB over Creighton - Creighton was the favorite going into the Big East championship, but underdog and Cinderella story, Georgetown, destroyed Creighton and won the Big East. A lot of experts also have this victory as one of their upsets, and I believe Creighton will fall to another underdog.
UCLA over BYU - UCLA is a good team with some big victories. I feel like UCLA will pull off the upset over BYU although BYU almost beat my champion, Gonzaga.
Maryland over UConn - Maryland was a good team in a very difficult Big Ten and according to the article, the most common upset is a ten seed over a seven.
Wisconsin over North Carolina - These two very dominant programs struggled this year. I believe this game will be a coin flip and I will take Wisconsin winning this game.
Virginia Tech over Florida -This is another ten seed over seven; a lot of experts are picking this upset. This is the first game of March Madness and it should be a good one.
Syracuse over San Diego State - Syracuse was a good team in the ACC Tournament and only got knocked out over a crazy last second buzzer beater by Virginia. This game will most likely be close and I hope Syracuse will not be screwed by another buzzer beater.
Rutgers over Clemson - Both teams competed in difficult divisions this year, however, I feel like Rutgers should get more recognition in a Big Ten league that holds two one seed in the tournament.
Second Round
USC over Kansas - USC has some first round NBA draft talent and I believe they could make a run for the Final Four, but I believe this will be the last win in USC road to the final four.
Tennessee over Oklahoma St. - This should be a great match-up and will be another 50-50 game. I believe that Tennessee will come out on top.
I don’t have any upsets in my other round but things could change and stories could be written. It is called March Madness for a reason, and with everything going on this year I believe that this will be a great tournament.
My Final Four-
Gonzaga over Alabama - I have Gonzaga winning the whole tournament and I believe that while Alabama is a good team, I will go with Gonzaga.
Illinois over Baylor - Illinois is one of the best teams in this tournament and while Baylor should be a tough match-up, I believe Illinois will come out on top.
Gonzaga over Illinois - Gonzaga is undefeated for a reason and I believe that the streak will continue. They will be able to beat Illinois in a good championship game.
This article was written on March 17th and since then a lot of games have happened. You can see an updated bracket that will show which of my picks were right and wrong.
Here is the official bracket and the upsets that have happened
Upsets
Round One-
Ohio over Virginia - Both teams were close the whole time but in the end, Ohio was able to pull in front and upset the reigning champions.
UCLA over BYU - Many predicted this game to be an upset (including me) and the experts were right. UCLA upset BYU and they did it handily.
Abilene Christan over Texas - Texas should have won this game but they just played horribly. Texas just didn’t show up while Abilene did and in the end, Abilene was able to pull off the upset.
Maryland over UConn - Just like the UCLA game many (including me) predicted this to be an upset and just like the BYU game Maryland won handily over the Huskies.
Wisconsin over North Carolina - It was a fifty-fifty matchup and North Carolina did not come to play. Wisconsin beat the Tar Heels by twenty-three in a very unentertaining game.
North Texas over Purdue - It was a great week for Texas teams (except Texas) as North Texas beat Purdue by nine points. It was a shocker but not as big as our next upset.
Oral Roberts over Ohio State - Our first bracket buster. Everyone was stunned when Ohio State (the two seed) was upset by Oral Roberts (the fifteen seed). Little did anyone know that this would be the beginning of a Cinderella run by Oral Roberts.
Oregon State over Tennessee - Just like some of our other matchups, Tennessee did not show up. They were close a couple of times throughout the game but Oregon State just kept pulling ahead until they won.
Syracuse over San Diego State - Another predictable upset that turned out to be true. Syracuse came ready to play and proved why they shouldn’t have been the 11th seed.
Rutgers over Clemson - I predicted this upset and it indeed happened. It was a fun and close game but in the end, Rutgers was able to pull off the four point upset.
Round Two-
Oral Roberts over Florida - Florida was able to escape and upset against Virginia Tech but Oral Roberts was on a streak and was able to get an upset win over the Gators.
Loyola Chicago over Illinois - This was considered an upset since a number one seed lost but this wasn’t a surprise. Loyola Chicago is a good team and is a new favorite to make a run for the Final Four.
Oregon State over Oklahoma State - Oklahoma State was in the game at the end but Oregon State was able to keep their lead and win in a big upset.
Syracuse over West Virginia - Syracuse is a good team but no one thought that they would be this good. Syracuse stunned everyone when they defeated West Virginia by three.
Oregon over Iowa - Another huge upset. Iowa was in it at some points but Oregon was in the lead most of the game and was able to pull out the upset win.
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