And then there were four teams left. Did your bracket have Arizona, Michigan, UConn, and Illinois in the Final Four? The answer is no. No, you did not have those four. According to the NCAA, only 0.3358% of brackets predicted this year’s Final Four correctly.
Down Goes Duke
Duke was the highest picked team with 61.2% of brackets having the Blue Devils in the Final Four and 25.15% picking them to cut down the nets during One Shining Moment. But, Duke faced UConn in the Elite Eight and at one point the Huskies were down by 19 points! Most of you probably checked out and said this game is over.
For Duke, the game summary looked like this: A 19-point lead in the first half, a 15-point lead at halftime, a 10-point lead with just over six minutes left, and possession of the ball with a 2-point lead with 7 seconds left in the game. And then, a lazy throw by Duke turned into a turnover and UConn freshman Braylon Mullins hit a dramatic 35-foot 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left.
Watch the last 10 seconds:
Thirty-six years after Christian Laettner hit a buzzer-beater to beat UConn in the Elite Eight and send Duke to the men’s Final Four, the Huskies got their revenge and won 73-72. Down goes Duke!
Dan Hurley
Watching Dan Hurley on the sideline might be as entertaining as the basketball game. Intense, passionate, dramatic, and high energy can’t even describe the wildness that explodes from the Dan Hurley sideline show. But, man, he can coach basketball!
UConn’s historic 19-point comeback to upset Duke in the Elite Eight advances the Huskies to their third Final Four in four years. Let me say that last part again, their third Final Four in four years. Pretty impressive considering it hasn’t happened in over 25 years.
You can call him a psycho for the way he coaches or for his ridiculous superstitions, but it’s working.
Madness
Madness never disappoints. Chaos is a beautiful thing in March. For the first time, ever, number one seeds are now 134-1 when leading by 15 points at halftime. I should be mad about my bracket. I was doing great until the Sweet 16 and then it all just fell apart. I had St. John’s in the Final Four and Houston cutting down the nets. I only had six losses after 48 games to end up with five losses in the Elite Eight and one team (Arizona) left in the Final Four. Pure madness. But I’m rooting for UConn to win it all and stop others from jumping me in the bracket standings.
What a wild two weekends of college basketball. The Madness sure is fun. March doesn’t always crown the most talented team—it crowns the one that can survive the moment. UConn, go have another moment.
The Final Four starts with Illinois vs. UConn Saturday at 6:00 PM in Indianapolis followed by Michigan vs. Arizona at 9:00 PM on TBS.
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1 Comment.
The excitement of it all and a beautiful break down of the scoring! So much FUN!!