Corbin Hubert is a freshman journalism and telecommunications major and writes for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
68 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball programs will hear their name called for a spot in the NCAA Tournament March 13. Although the tournament technically ends in April, I believe March Madness is the best three-week stretch in sports.
The tournament has provided some of the greatest moments in sports history. With so many teams given an opportunity, chaos is bound to happen.
I'll never forget the 2018 NCAA Tournament when No. 1 overall seed Virginia lost to No. 16 seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County, becoming the first-ever No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed since the tournament expanded in 1985. The Cavaliers had developed a reputation of choking in March, but this was supposed to be their year. They were the No. 1 overall seed and had won the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) regular season and conference tournament championships.
The upset busted nearly everyone's bracket, including mine.
In 2010, Butler head coach Brad Stevens and forward Gordon Hayward entered the NCAA Tournament as No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region and left as one of the biggest “what-if’s” of college basketball.
The Bulldogs knocked off No. 4 Syracuse, No. 7 Kansas State and No. 12 Michigan State in their path to the National Championship in Indianapolis against No. 3 Duke April 5, 2010. After 40 minutes of play, Duke escaped with a 61-59 win after Hayward nabbed a rebound off a missed free-throw and unsuccessfully heaved a half-court shot that bounced off the rim.
The seating area at Bankers Life Fieldhouse is empty as media and staff mill about, Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Indianapolis, after the Big Ten Conference announced that remainder of the men's NCAA college basketball games tournament was cancelled. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Even though Hayward departed Butler for the NBA after this loss, the Bulldogs ran it back and went to the National Championship the next year but fell to Connecticut 53-41 April 4, 2011.
In 2015, Georgia State was one of four No. 14 seeds and matched up with No. 3 seed Baylor in the West Region. Georgia State head coach Ron Hunter tore his achilles while celebrating the Panthers victory in the Sun Belt Championship a week prior. Hunter was relegated to coaching from a stool against the Bears March 9, 2015. Hunter’s son, RJ Hunter, played for Georgia State and hit the game-clinching shot to advance Georgia State to the next round. When RJ hit the shot, Ron fell off his stool from the excitement.
The NCAA Tournament experience was adjusted in 2021 due to COVID-19, but moments were still made.
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) is a perennial blue blood in college basketball, but the Bruins had mostly struggled following head coach John Wooden's retirement in 1975. There was success here and there, including a National Championship in 1995, but by the time head coach Mick Cronin took the job in 2019, Bruins fans were hungry for success. In his second year with the program, Cronin had UCLA back in the tournament as a No. 11 seed. Somehow, the Bruins caught fire and played their way from the First Four to the Final Four, where they were matched up against No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga.
The Bulldogs were hoping to be the first program since Indiana in 1976 to finish the season undefeated and were heavily favored against UCLA April 3, 2021. The Bruins kept it close and forced overtime, where UCLA sophomore guard Johnny Juzang hit a floater in traffic to tie the game. As the Bulldogs inbounded the ball, Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs dribbled swiftly down the court and banked a 3-pointer at the buzzer to win and keep Gonzaga’s hopes for an undefeated season alive.
While fans of other sports try and argue their respective sport produces the best moments, nothing from a single day, event or series compares to an entire month of pure excitement.
If you have never been a fan of March Madness, I encourage you to watch the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Even if you do not like sports, the emotion from the players and the stories developed over March is like some form of scripted TV, but it isn’t.
Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_.
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