The NCAA Men’s basketball tournament is being hosted in only one state this year due to COVID-19: Indiana.

     The majority of the games are being played in Indianapolis. Due to Coronavirus regulations and restrictions, 25% of the full capacity is allowed in the sports centers,which includes essential staff and family members, resulting in limited general admission. Everyone attending the games is required to wear masks and be socially distanced at all times.

     ¨[I would like to go to the games] to learn about how the game is played at the college level and to see what I can take from it to better my game,¨ freshman men’s varsity basketball player Tyree White said.

     The games began with the ¨First Four¨ on Thursday, March 18 and will conclude with the Championship game on Monday, April 5th.

     ¨If I had to choose [who I think will win], it’ll probably be Gonzaga, Baylor, or Illinois. [I’m going to] go with Illinois cause Dosunmo is so good,¨ freshman Eric Lynn said.

     Former NBA player and early favorites Georgetown University men’s head coach Patrick Ewing has led his boys to the Final Four three times and won a national championship once. Ewing was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.

     In an interview with ESPN, Ewing stated, ¨I’m just looking forward to my guys continuing the path, continue taking steps, and hopefully at the end of the day you know, we’ll be champions again.¨ 

     Unfortunately for Ewing, the Colorado Buffaloes, a No.5 seed, surprised the Hoyas, knocking them out of the bracket with a final score of (96-73). 

          For the first time since 1976, the Duke University Blue Devils are not participating in the tourney due to a team Covid outbreak. Another team many are missing this season is Kentucky University who did not make it into the tournament after a disastrous season that saw Wildcats lose their highest number of games in a season in about a century.

     As of March 22nd, projected tournament champion and No. 1 seed Gonzaga (26-0) had defeated Norfolk State in the first-round and the Oklahoma University Sooners (87-71) as the final score.

    ¨I think Gonzaga will win the whole thing. They are the first team to go undefeated in the regular season since Kentucky in 2015,¨ White says.

     This past weekend saw huge upsets and bracket-breaking games as No.3 seed Texas lost to No.14 Abilene by 1 point (53-52); No.8 University of North Carolina Tar Heels lost to No.9 Wisconsin in their first-round game (62-85);  the second seed Buckeyes were defeated by the No.15 Golden Eagles (72-75); and No.1 seed Illinois fell victim in the second round to No.8 Loyala (58-71).

     ¨I was surprised that ACU beat Texas because Texas had a really good scoring and defensive team, I was also surprised that Loyola beat Illinois because they were ranked number one and had a really good team.¨freshman Marcus Ross said.

     Quite a few second-round games occurred Monday, March 22 for the NCAA Men’s Tournament!

     A close game between No.2 seed Iowa and No.7 seed Oregon ended with Oregon scoring 11 points in the final five minutes of the game, securing the win for the Ducks! No.1 seed Gonzaga continued their undefeated season with a win over No.8 seed Oklahoma. Fans saw close battling between UCLA and ACU, with UCLA taking the win by 20 points. No.5 seed Creighton fought with No.13 seed Ohio, and Creighton defeated Ohio in the second half. No.8 seed LSU put up a good fight against No.1 seed Michigan, but it just wasn’t enough to defeat the Wolverines. No.2 seed Alabama secured the win against No.10 seed Maryland with 96 points, the highest score all day! No.6 seed USC showed no mercy to No.3 seed Kansas with 45 points in the second half to secure the win for the Trojans.

      A short break from games this week until Saturday, March 27 at 2:40 P.M when Loyola battles Oregon State to start off the ¨Sweet 16¨ 2021!

Update 3/29

     Games on Saturday March 27, started off the Sweet Sixteen with a turn of events when No. 8 seed Loyola was defeated by No.12 seed Oregon State (58-65). Following the first game, No.5 seed Villanova worked hard to defeat No.1 seed Baylor but failed with Baylor taking the win by 11 points (62-51). The No.15 seed Oral Roberts put up a good fight against No.3 seed Arkansas, but Devonte Davis scored the game winning two pointer with 3 seconds left to secure the win (72-70). The last game on Saturday ended with Houston and Syracuse battling it out to a final score of (62-46), advancing Houston to the next round. On Sunday March 28, No.1 seed Gonzaga defeated No.5 seed Creighton (83-65). No.4 seed Florida St. will not be making it to the Elite Eight after No.1 seed Michigan knocked them out of the tourney by 18 points (76-58). No.2 seed Alabama was surprisingly shaken up by No.11 seed UCLA which cost them the win (78-88). In the last game of the Sweet Sixteen round, the Trojans defeated the Ducks to continue to the Elite Eight. Stay tuned for games tonight Monday March 29 to begin the Elite Eight round with the final eight teams.

Update 3/31

     On Monday, March 29, No.12 seed Oregon State took on No.2 Houston. As expected by many, Houston took the win (67-61). No.3 seed Arkansas put up a good fight with No.1 seed Baylor, but the Razorbacks just couldn’t keep up the fight and the Bears will continue to the next round with a final score of (72-81). 

     On Tuesday, March 30, No.1 seed Gonzaga secured the win again against No.6 seed USC(85-66). Some would argue the No.1 seed Michigan and No.11 seed UCLA game was one of the most surprising games of the season with UCLA securing the win by 1 shot (51-49) to continue to the final four games beginning with Houston and Baylor on Saturday, April 3 at 5:14 P.M.