Madness:
The Bust
Hello, my dear reader. I hope your March is lovely and your bracket is intact. However, I’m almost certain that it isn’t. How do I know? Well, because as I’m writing this - there is only one perfect bracket left and, unless you are that person, in which case I am humbled that you are reading my blog, then your bracket was busted.
This year’s tourney, however, hasn’t had too many upsets. It’s been a pretty chalky year. One seeded University of Houston and Florida had their hands full in their second round matchups with Gonzaga and UConn respectively - but they managed to weather the storms. UConn had Florida against the ropes, the Gators only beating the defending Champion Huskies by two points, while Gonzaga punished Houston in the paint - the Cougars were able to keep the Bulldogs at arm’s length, winning by five points.
The other one seeds, Duke and Auburn had much easier times with their second round opponents, waltzing into the Sweet Sixteen with decisive victories.
While there weren't many surprises in the first weekend, there were few. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons your bracket may have busted:
10 New Mexico upsets 7 Marquette
Final Score - 75-66
Not a huge upset, but an upset nonetheless. A double digit seed beating a single digit is big, however 10 seeds take out 7 seeds all of the time, although a lot of people will always choose the higher seed in a coin flip situation. New Mexico’s Donovan Dent scored 21 points as the Lobos dominated the paint with 34 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 38 points in the paint. This upset won’t destroy anyone’s bracket, but any loss feels like the end of the world during March Madness.
11 Drake upsets 6 Missouri:
Final Score - 67-57
Bennett Stirtz of Drake would play all 40 minutes of this first round contest, ending the game with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Drake controlled the game from tip off, ending the first half up by 7 and winning the game by 10. It wasn’t a blowout, but the victory of the Champion of the Missouri Valley Conference was never really in doubt - they played calm and collected - and they completed the upset.
12 McNeese State upsets 5 Clemson:
Final Score - 69-67
This game was the biggest upset for my bracket - I had the Clemson Tigers going to the Sweet Sixteen. A nail biting, two point loss against the McNeese State Cowboys, with the Cowboy’s Brandon Murray coming off the bench to score a team high 21 points. Defense was the difference in this game - McNeese had 7 steals and 6 blocks compared to Clemson’s 6 steals and zero blocks. McNeese led by as much as 24 points, ending the first half up 31-13, but the Tigers came clawing back in the end just to ultimately lose by two points.
12 Colorado State upsets 5 Memphis
Final Score - 78-70
In another 12 over 5 seed upset in the first round Colorado State’s Kyan Evans scored 23 points as he helped his Rams squad come back from a 12 point Memphis lead. Despite Memphis’ large advantage in both rebounds and blocks, Colorado State almost doubled the Tigers in three point makes at 11-6 and scored 19 points at the free throw stripe compared to Memphis’ 14. That combined 20 point advantage in two major stats is what pushed the Rams ahead of the Tigers when the clock hit all zeroes.
Best Buzzer Beater of the First Round - Derik Queen - Maryland Terapins
The Colorado State Rams made a fantastic bid to be the Cinderella Story of the 2025 Tournament. After knocking out the 5 seeded Memphis Tigers, Colorado would take Maryland to the wire. Colorado’s Jalen Lake, with the team down 2 points with 11 seconds to go, hit a big three pointer to put the Rams up by 1 with 7 seconds left in the game. This would have been the best shot of the first round, except that Maryland, who has lost to several buzzer-beating shots this year, called a timeout with 3 seconds left. They inbounded the ball into Derik Queen, who took the ball in the lane to hit the tough fade away jumper as the clock struck 0.00 - sending the Terrapins onto the Sweet Sixteen.
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That’s March folks - upsets, comebacks, buzzer beaters and busted brackets. Don’t worry, there’s more excitement and heartbreak to come. The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight are on deck, as well as more drama and, above all, more Madness.
Walker’s Weekly Wrecommendations
Each week I’m gonna review and recommend random things - TV shows, music, or a restaurant. IDK. Whatever I feel like. This is my blog.
This week's Triple W is Disney Plus’ Marvel Studios Production “Daredevil: Reborn”. A continuation of the widely acclaimed Netflix Series, Daredevil: Reborn takes us back to New York City as we follow our favorite Vigilante Lawyer Matt Murdock, played by Charlie Cox, as he deals with the trauma that comes with being a superhero and the newly elected mayor of New York City - his long time nemesis, Wilson Fisk - the Kingpin - played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Daredevil: Reborn is a brilliantly dark show - full of twists and turns - and every episode leads you wanting more.
NEXT WEEK: Walker’s Wranting’s presents “Madness: Sweet and Elite”