By Greyson Potter, ’29

Staff Writer

Every year in March, everybody gets their hopes sky high, wishing against reason that they will make history. But it’s not through some outstanding talent; it’s sheer luck. In fact, your odds of making this kind of history are 1 in 9.2 quintillion (1 in 120.2 billion for knowledgeable fans).

If you guessed that I’m talking about the odds of making a perfect March Madness bracket, you are right. It has never been done. This year, an 8th-grader made it through the first two rounds of the women’s tournament, something that had only been done one other time in tournament history, men’s or women’s. The longest perfect streak ever is 50 games, which is only two games into the third round.

Now that Michigan has claimed their National Championship, here is a recap of the men’s tournament, round by round, in case you missed some.

First Round

Ah, the opening round of March Madness. Everyone’s heart is light with hope, because nobody has lost their bracket yet. Sadly, most people will be heartbroken within two days, or even hours of the start of the very first game. Without a doubt, the first round is the hardest to get through.

We Saw It Coming:

(1) Florida 114, (16) Prairie View A&M 55

A 16-seed has only beaten a 1-seed twice in tourney history, and this year came and went as expected. All 1-seeds made it to the second round very comfortably. Florida really handled business here, beating a First Four team by 59. The 2nd and 3rd seeds also took care of business, many of them blowing out their first-round opponents.

Bracket-Busters

(9) TCU 66, (8) Ohio State 64

The very first game of the tournament ruined almost half of people’s brackets. Games between the 8th and 9th seeds are always a toss-up; they have virtually a .500 record against each other. But losing your bracket on the first game is rough.

(11) VCU 82, (6) North Carolina 78

North Carolina had a great regular season, but late in the season lost their star freshman, Caleb Wilson, to injury. He was the driving force of this squad, a surefire All-American and lottery pick in the NBA draft, and without him they got a lower seed and had to play a VCU squad that felt slightly under-seeded.

(12) High Point 83, (5) Wisconsin 82

This rare 12-5 upset was up there with the TCU-Ohio State game as one of the biggest bracket busters. And it was also within the first 5 games played. It’s very exciting to see upsets like this, unless you’re like me and found it ruined your bracket.

(11) Texas 79, (6) BYU 71

This season, BYU had their biggest basketball recruit since Danny Ainge in the 1980s. And what did they do? Pack their bags after the very first round. AJ Dybantsa, the stud freshman out of Brockton who is a favorite to be the first pick in this year’s NBA draft, certainly played his part for the Cougars. The D-I scoring leader dropped a 35-point, 10-rebound double-double while playing every second of the game. The problem is, he didn’t get much help, like he hasn’t all season, evidenced by the fact that he scored half of his team’s points.

Other First Round Notes:

• Alabama, after losing second-leading scorer Aden Holloway, who was arrested two days before the tournament on felony drug charges, showed they can still score with the best of them by dropping 90 on (13) Hofstra
• Miami (OH), who lost their one game all season about a week before the tournament, suffered a first-round exit after facing questions on whether or not their schedule was too easy (apparently it was)
• (1) Duke kept their matchup against 16-seeded Siena too close for comfort, and actually trailed by 11 at halftime, the largest halftime deficit for a 1-seed against a 16-seed ever
• All-American guard Braden Smith broke Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record in (2) Purdue’s win over (15) Queens (NC)

Second Round

The rare brackets that make it through the first round usually meet their doom in the second round. Only two recorded brackets have made it past. The upsets, while still quite shocking, usually don’t live up to the first round. There were, however, a few shockers this year.

(9) Iowa 73, (1) Florida 72

Merely two days after flexing their first-seeded muscles on Prairie View A&M with a 55-point victory, Florida was the first 1-seed to pack their bags with an upset loss to 9-seeded Iowa, thanks to a clutch 3 from Alvaro Folgueiras.

(11) Texas 74, (3) Gonzaga 68

Texas followed up their upset over one of the top players in the country by beating a high-seeded Gonzaga squad that is in the mix every year. They were well on their way to being 2026’s Cinderella team.

Other Second Round Notes:

• (6) Tennessee beat a tough 3-seeded Virginia crew that gave Duke a run for their money in the ACC Championship Game
• Speaking of the Blue Devils, they kept everybody on the edge of their seats again with a close game at halftime against (9) TCU, but pulled away for a big win

Sweet 16

The Sweet 16 is where each year’s Cinderella stories are made. Yeah, a first- or second- round upset is great, but winning in the Sweet 16 and going to the Elite 8 shows you are a legitimate threat that may have been under-seeded. Here are the top contenders for this year’s Sweet 16 Cinderellas:

(6) Tennessee: Tennessee had a played a few quality teams, taking down a Miami (OH) team that almost had an undefeated season, a 3-seeded Virginia team that almost won an ACC that had Duke in it, and then beat a top-notch defensive squad in (2) Iowa State.

(9) Iowa: The Hawkeyes won a close game against Clemson in the first round, not exactly a statement win. But their real signature game came in the second round by knocking Florida out and making them the first 1-seed to head home. They then beat a good Nebraska team to advance to the Elite 8.

Elite 8

The excitement for teams in the Elite 8 is tangible. Win, and you go to college basketball’s Garden of Eden: The Final Four. There still a good mix of favorites and underdogs, so that the upsets, if they happen, can be dramatic and very unprecedented.

Unfortunately, there were no massive upsets in this Elite 8. Our 6- and 9-seeds both lost. But there was still plenty of drama. Keaton Wagler, only a three-star recruit whose Illinois offer was one of his only two major conference offers, continued his fantastic season and led Illinois to their first Final Four since 2005. But the best drama came in a 1-2 game, again with Duke.

(2) UConn 73, (1) Duke 72

Throughout the years, there have been countless clutch moments etched in March Madness history. The first one I remember seeing is Jalen Suggs’ game-winning half court heave for Gonzaga in the 2021 Final Four. It was one of the best plays I have ever seen. But what happened in this Huskies-Blue Devils matchup will go down in history as well.

Duke inbounded the ball, up by two, with 10 seconds to play. The ball found its way to Cayden Boozer at midcourt with 7.5 seconds left. He could just dribble out, hold the ball, maybe get fouled and ice the game. But instead, with a double team coming, Boozer threw up a moronic pass to who-knows-where that was intercepted by UConn. The Huskies made a couple quick passes, eventually getting to Braylon Mullins, who hoisted up a desperation logo three. Nothing but net. UConn up by 1 with 0.3 seconds left. Goodbye, Duke.

This was one of those moments that I will remember where I was when it happened forever. I was at my end-of-season basketball banquet. Everybody was watching the game as we ate, but it took a backseat as the coaches started to talk to everyone. The varsity basketball head coach had just come up to speak with barely a minute or two left. He soon noticed everyone’s quick, furtive glances every couple of seconds at the game, and decided to wait until after the game to talk. I’m so glad he did. It was absolute pandemonium when Mullins hit that shot. An all-time March Madness classic.

The Final Four

Reaching the Final Four is one of the greatest achievements in basketball. Every great collegiate player, coach, and program is judged by their Final Four appearances. You can’t be a great if you’ve never made it; then you’re a choker. This year’s Final Four, however, was certainly great.

(1) Michigan 91, (1) Arizona 73

“The Game of the Year.” That’s what this was expected to be. Two of the select few truly elite teams in college basketball duking it out, the winner going to the national championship. Michigan lost only three games all year, Arizona two. The top two defenses in the country. But instead, Michigan laid it on them like they were playing an underdog nobody thought would be there. Michigan sprinted to a double-digit lead only 5 minutes into the game, and never looked back.

(2) UConn 71, (3) Illinois 62

Another year, another deep tournament run for Danny Hurley. This win sent him and the Huskies to his third national championship game in the last four years. But Illinois put up a fight, better than Arizona did. And this was certainly a great season for the Fighting Illini, Keaton Wagler especially. Wagler entered this year as an unheralded three-star recruit from Kansas, and left as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and NBA lottery lock.

National Championship

And now, we have made it. The final countdown. The last dance. Win or go home. The national championship on the line. A historic UConn team, looking for their third national championship in four years. A Michigan team that enjoyed success in the past, but hadn’t been able to reach their past heights in recent years.

The game was close, with Michigan taking a slim 4-point lead to intermission. The Wolverines pulled away at one point of the second half, but the Huskies weren’t quite done. Alex Karaban, their only remaining player from their 2024 championship team, showed the moment wasn’t too big for him and led UConn on a late rally. In the end, however, Elliot Cadeau and the Big Blue proved too much for UConn. With a 69-63 win, Michigan took home their second national championship in program history, the first since 1989.

So, despite the fact that over 40 million people had their brackets, and their hearts, broken by underdogs and upsets, we still believe March is by far the best month in college, and quite possibly the year. Nothing rivals the passion, intensity, and, well, madness of March.