The Madness of March
March 2022 - In case you live under a rock, here are the details on the United States' latest sporting season.
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThe men’s NCAA March Madness tournament has not disappointed in the “madness” division this year. This tournament is one of the most popular sporting events in the US, so popular that 30% more money is wagered on March Madness than on the Super Bowl. This year, there have been nine upsets in the first round alone and six in the second round. There were two upsets though that seemed to wreck people’s brackets more than the others.
In the first round, Saint Peter’s beat Kentucky in overtime. Kentucky was a fan favorite and expected to go very far in the tournament. Saint Peter’s is a team that many people haven’t heard of since their college is so small, having only about 2,360 students. Saint Peter’s University is in Jersey City, New Jersey. Including this year, Saint Peter’s has only appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times and of those four times they have lost in the first round three times. This is the first year that they have made it past the first round and that is pretty incredible. The Saint Peter’s Peacocks were 21-11 this year with only one ranked opponent all year, which they lost to. The Peacocks’ Doug Edert leads the way with 302 points in 31 games this season. He had 20 points and 4 rebounds in their game against Kentucky. Doug will most likely continue to lead his team, hopefully further in the tournament. Considering that they were a 15th seed and Kentucky was a 2nd seed, this outcome is pretty crazy.
Another upset that destroyed people’s brackets was No. 8 North Carolina beating No. 1 Baylor. The Baylor Bears were the defending national champions and not expected to go out near this quickly. North Carolina shocked a lot of people but they have proved in the process that they are a force to be reckoned with and much more of a contender than most people had expected. Prior to the tournament, North Carolina was 0-4 up against ranked teams and then they came out beating the defending national champs in the second round to punch their ticket to the sweet sixteen. This game became considerably more heated in the beginning of the second half when North Carolina’s Brady Manek was ejected after a questionable flagrant two foul after elbowing Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan in the face. Many people believe that it was not intentional but in the end, it was the referees’ decision and they decided that it was dangerous and intentional. When Manek was ejected, he had 26 points, contributing to the team’s 25 point lead. This game ended up going into overtime but, as you can see, the Tar Heels pulled out a win. These games just prove that your rank or popularity doesn’t necessarily portray the outcome of the game
