March Madness!

The best four days in college basketball define why we call the NCAA basketball tournament March Madness! We are now down to 16 teams from the field of 64 and it’s been madness. There is a one in 9,233,372,036,854,775,808 (quintillion) chance of having a perfect bracket and shocker, no one survived the first two rounds without busting their bracket.

I always do a paper bracket then enter the picks online. As soon as I was done filling it out, I hated it. I hated that I have bleeeeeping Purdue in the final four. Writing Alabama so many times disgust me. How are players still playing who supplied a gun for a murder of a mother? Gonzaga turns on me every year and yet I still pick them. I was happy that we did not have to see the Harry Potter wanna-be nun from Loyola Chicago. She sold her soul to the Devil in 2018 for the win over UT.

Madness

The first round we had pure MADNESS! And, boy it sure was fun. #4 UVA lost to #13 Furman. Kevin Harlan and Stan Van Gundy’s reaction to the end of the game was every UVA fans nightmare.

https://twitter.com/stadium/status/1637922641188212738?s=12

#2 Arizona lost to #15 Princeton and #1 Purdue lost to #16 FDU! The record for a #1 seed vs a #16 seed is now 2-150. (UVA lost to UMBC).

For the first time in my lifetime of filling out brackets a #12 seed did not upset a #5 seed.

Tennessee

Tennessee lost their point guard, Zakai Zeigler at the end of the regular season and that loss is why they fell to a #4 seed. The Vols also beat the #2 seed Texas and the #1 seeds Kansas and Alabama this year. (And #3 seed Gonzaga in a preseason game.) Tennessee is one of the best defensive teams in the country, but also can have games where they can’t make a bucket. All season my twin and I have said they could lose in the first round or win the whole dang bracket; it just depends on what Tennessee team shows up. The Louisiana game wasn’t great for your blood pressure but exposing how soft Duke is left me laughing and scrolling on Twitter for hours.

We know the ACC is not your father’s ACC basketball conference. Tennessee played tough, hard, grown men style defense holding Duke to 52 points, a season-low for the Blue Devils and also tied the Duke record for the fewest points in an NCAA Tournament game in school history.

Duke forward Kyle Filipowski: This isn't a hit on other teams we've played, but Tennessee was probably the most physical team we've played all year. Maybe more than Purdue.

— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) March 18, 2023

Leave it to the Duke fanbase to cry on social media about how “dirty” Tennessee played. Hilarious when they spent years cheering for the poster child of dirty basketball players, Grayson Allen. Down goes Duke, man, March Madness can be so romantic.

"The most impressive team today was Tennessee. They physically dominated Duke. Tennessee was awesome." – Charles Barkley

"Tennessee was awesome. They looked like a G-League team out there. They looked like real men." – Kenny Smith

— Vince Ferrara (@VinceSports) March 19, 2023

The University of Tennessee is the only school to have both the men AND women’s teams in the Sweet 16 AND a NY6 Bowl game. The Vols continue to be an “Everything School”

Rare air. #GBO pic.twitter.com/ZlA3aDeqgo

— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) March 22, 2023

Tennessee will play FAU on Thursday at 9:00 PM on TBS in the Sweet 16 round. FAU’s coach had some words on how to prepare for the Vols.

How is FAU coach Dusty May going to prepare for Tennessee?

A deep dive into Australian rugby rules.. pic.twitter.com/6cgEhGVBao

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) March 20, 2023

Sweet 16 games and Elite 8 games will happen all weekend, enjoy the Madness! GO VOLS!

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