The date is March 11, 2020. After speculation about the mysterious COVID-19 virus has caused fear and chaos across the United States, the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association are pulled off the court just before tip-off because a member of the Jazz has tested positive for the virus. Shortly thereafter, the NBA officially announces the suspension of all game play until further notice.
The next day, numerous basketball conferences in the NCAA, including powerhouses like the ACC, SEC, and Big-10, announce the cancellation of their league tournaments as well, soon followed by the NCAA itself.
This marked the beginning of an unprecedented time in US history: a time without sports as we have known them.
More than a year later, normalcy does not seem so distant on the horizon. With many professional stadiums open to fans, game schedules starting to resemble previous years, and the return of postseason play, it seems that sports are making their full return. This meant that the most important postseason, at least in my opinion, made its return as well, and what a return it was.
In a year where excitement in the sports world was hard to come by, it was only fitting that this year’s NCAA men’s March Madness basketball tournament was one for the ages. The fact that the tournament was even able to happen is a wonder in its own right; however, what separated this specific March Madness from the rest was the number of upsets, buzzer-beaters, and heart-breaking moments that happened from the first game to the last.
While COVID-19 impacted many different aspects of the tournament, perhaps the most noticeable change was the location of each game. Normally, these games take place all over the country; however, this year, with the new COVID-19 regulations in place in order to ensure player safety, all of the games took place at various arenas in Indianapolis, Ind., such as Lucas Oil Stadium (the home of the National Football League’s Indianapolis Colts), the Mackey Complex (the Purdue Boilermakers’ basketball arena), and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (the Indiana Hoosiers’ basketball arena).
Other COVID-19 regulations included the frequent testing of players, coaches, and other staff for the participating teams, the use of a COVID-19 controlled environment to house the teams, the requirement for everyone except for the actively participating players to wear a mask (including the coaches), and the disqualification of a team who does not have five players who tested negative for the virus the seven consecutive days leading up to the tournament.
The final rule actually did come into effect during the tournament as the 10th-seeded VCU Rams in the West Region were forced to leave the tournament after multiple players on the team tested positive for COVID-19.
Although these many new regulations caused the tournament to be different from those in past years, the many draw-dropping moments that fans enjoyed throughout the 2021 March Madness were what made the tournament so interesting and unique.
Perhaps the most shocking moment of the tournament came when the No. 2 seed in the South Region, the Ohio State Buckeyes, were upset in a three-point thriller by the 15th-seeded Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, 75-72. The Golden Eagles were led by the dynamic duo of sophomore guard Max Abmas and redshirt junior forward Kevin Obanor. Obanor had a game-high 30 points while his teammate Abmas ended up with 29.
The Buckeyes were led in scoring by sophomore forward E.J. Liddell, who ended the game with 23 points, and junior guard Duane Washington Jr., who finished with 18 points. Washington started the game incredibly strong by hitting four consecutive shots but went cold down the stretch, shooting an abysmal 18% from the field, including an open look from the top of the key that would have tied the game at the buzzer.
The Buckeyes were picked by more than 22% of the millions of players in the NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge to not only win this game, but to also make it to the Final Four, and for good reason. Not only were the odds in the Buckeyes’ favor because they had a better record than Oral Roberts while playing in the much more competitive Big-10 Conference, but also due to the historic record of two seeds vs. 15 seeds. Throughout history, 15 seeds have only a 6.25% win percentage against two seeds and have won just nine of the 144 games that have taken place between these seeds.
What separated this 15 seed from some of the others who accomplished the same feat, however, was that after defeating the second-seeded Buckeyes they followed up the victory with another win against the seventh-seeded Florida Gators. This meant that they were only the second-ever 15 seed to make it to the Sweet 16, following in the footsteps of the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
This Cinderella team met the same fate as their fellow Eagle predecessors as they sadly lost in the Sweet 16 in thrilling fashion to the third-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks, 72-70.
Another Cinderella story that was just as exciting featured the No. 11 seed in the East region, the UCLA Bruins. The Bruins went from defeating the Michigan State Spartans in the First Four to taking the No. 1 seed in the West region (and overwhelming favorite to win the tournament) the Gonzaga Bulldogs, to overtime and lost by way of a game-winning, buzzer-beating, half-court heave by Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs in the Final Four.
The game, which was one of the most mesmerizing in recent history, was back and forth for the entire 45 minutes. While sophomore forward Drew Timme (25 points) and redshirt junior guard Joel Ayayi (22 points) of Gonzaga both had incredible performances, UCLA sophomore guard Johnny Juzang’s game-high 29 points stood out the most to me. This total included his last-second effort to tie the game in which he drove to the basket, put up a runner (which fell short), gathered his own miss, and put it back in. This scoring outburst was just one of Juzang’s many spectacular performances throughout the Bruins’ remarkable journey.
Along this journey, they took down the sixth-seeded BYU Cougars, fellow Cinderella team the 14th-seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats, the second-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide, and the first-seeded Michigan Wolverines. They joined the 2011 VCU Rams as the only teams to ever go from the First Four to the Final Four since the First Four became an aspect of the tournament in 2011.
The Bruins’ victory over Michigan was not the only time a No. 1 seed lost to a lower-ranked team this tournament, however, as the Illinois Fighting Illini, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region and favorite to challenge the undefeated Bulldogs in the National Championship game were defeated by the eighth-seeded Loyola Chicago Ramblers, a fan-favorite Cinderella program who are used to taking down big-time opponents.
Just two tournaments ago, the 11th-seeded Ramblers went on a historic run in which they defeated prominent programs such as the Miami Hurricanes, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Kansas State Wildcats before falling to the Michigan Wolverines in the Final Four.
While the 2021 Ramblers were not as successful as their 2018 predecessors, the fact that they took down their first-seeded in-state rivals made this run memorable and added another interesting upset to the many that happened this past March.
What is better than one Cinderella upset? How about another Cinderella team upsetting the first one? While fans, except those who picked Illinois in their March Madness bracket, reveled at the sight of another upset when the Ramblers defeated the Illini, their jaws dropped even further when the 12th-seeded Oregon State Beavers took down the Ramblers just less than a week later.
The eighth-seeded Ramblers were actually the easiest opponent, at least by seed, that the Beavers faced throughout their Elite Eight run, as they took down both the fifth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers and the fourth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys, despite efforts by the consensus No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham, before falling to the second-seeded Houston Cougars.
These were just a few of the many upsets that transpired throughout the month of March that made this tournament an unforgettable one. Others included the 14th-seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats’ upset over the third-seeded Texas Longhorns, the 13th-seeded North Texas Mean Green’s (yes, that is their name) upset over the fourth-seeded Purdue Boilermakers, the 13th-seeded Ohio University Bobcats’ upset over the fourth-seeded Virginia Cavaliers, the 11th-seeded Syracuse Orange’s upset over the sixth-seeded San Diego State Aztecs in Round One and the third-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers in Round Two, the seventh-seeded Oregon Ducks’ upset over the second-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes, and finally, the first-seeded Baylor Bears’ upset over their fellow No. 1 seed, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, in the National Championship game (I know the last one is not technically an upset because they are both the same seed, but given that the Bulldogs were 31-0 up to that point and were looking to become the first undefeated national champion since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers, I would say that the Bears were the clear underdog).
These upsets made this year’s tournament the incredibly interesting March that it was because as humans, we are inclined to root for the underdog. It is simply in our nature. In fact, it has been scientifically proven that humans’ love for the underdog is very real.
According to Joseph Stromberg’s article for Vox titled “The Science of Why we Love to Root for Underdogs,” a series of studies have been conducted on the topic: “In one study, people who read descriptions of two fictional basketball teams playing each other in a seven-game series rooted for the team described as the underdog 88.1 percent of the time,” Stromberg wrote.
This love for underdogs is what makes the thrilling, single-elimination March Madness tournament, where there is a clear underdog and favorite, so enjoyable to watch. Fans who had never previously heard of colleges are compelled to see them win and feel upset when they lose. That is the beauty of the tournament. That is the beauty of March.
The single-elimination nature of March Madness not only emphasizes our love for the underdog but also makes the game-winning buzzer-beaters that happen every year all the more exciting. Compared to the playoff format of other leagues, such as the NHL and NBA, where each playoff round consists of a seven-game series in which a game-winner in games one or two are important, but not necessarily indicative of the outcome of the series, it is clear that this win-or-go-home format creates the best atmosphere for last-second victories.
This year, there was a buzzer-beater that fans will surely remember for years to come. As a basketball fan, it was hard to see the underdog 11th-seeded Bruins fall to heavily favored, first-seeded Bulldogs; however, watching Suggs’ incredible near half-court heave drop as the buzzer sounded did make the loss much easier to handle.
Despite their loss to Baylor in the final, Gonzaga’s performance this March and throughout the season was near perfect. By capping off this dominant run with a shot as unbelievable as that seemed only fitting and ensured that while they came up just short, their remarkable season would never be forgotten.
In the end, with a year as chaotic and difficult as this one, all of us around the world needed some form of joy to lift our spirits; this March Madness accomplished just that not only for me, but for college basketball fans throughout the nation. While there were some ups and downs along the way, the fact that organizers even managed to make the tournament happen and make it feel like a normal year is extraordinary in its own right. However, what made this particular tournament one that will never be forgotten were all the memorable plays, performances, and endings. It truly was an amazing March Madness, and in this devastating year, it was what we all needed.
