By: BHS Sports Staff
March 23, 2023
Beware the Ides of March, and if this past weekend is any indication, the Sweet 16 and beyond will be full of unpredictable and unprecedented upsets.
Kicking things off with the West Region, #1 seed Kansas, #2 UCLA, and #3 Gonzaga got first round victories; however, Kansas got knocked out in the second round against #8 Arkansas. Both UCLA and Gonzaga got victories in the second round and will face off against each other in the Sweet 16. The other Sweet 16 matchup will be between #8 Arkansas and #4 seed Connecticut. Other than Kansas losing in the second round, there were no upsets in the West Region.
With the East Region, the #16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) upset #1 seeded Purdue. This was an embarrassing loss for Purdue (Better luck next year, Mrs. Romano!) but a major, feel-good story for FDU. With the other games in the East, #7 seed Michigan State beat number #2 Marquette, edging them out 69-60. The rest of the games, however, were mostly predicted, but FDU beating Purdue ended every perfect bracket left in March Madness, including Mr. Holko’s. The two Sweet 16 matchups are #9 seed Florida Atlantic University taking on #4 seed Tennessee while the other matchup consists of #7 Michigan State facing off against #3 Kansas State.
In the Midwest Region, #1 seed Houston secured two wins and moves onto face #5 Miami. The Pittsburgh Panthers upset #6 Iowa State before falling to #3 Xavier. Texas won both of their games and will meet the Musketeers in the Sweet 16. For the rest of the Midwest, almost all of the other matchups went as predicted without any major upsets, but big games such as Xavier against Texas and Miami versus Houston are bound to bring major drama to the Final Four.
In the South Region, #13 seed Furman sent #4 Virginia home in the Round of 64, similar to the time UMBC defeated #1 seed Virginia in 2018 in one of the biggest upsets in March Madness history. Furman defeated the Cavaliers exactly five years apart from when UMBC did it. Alabama, Maryland, San Diego State, Creighton, Baylor, and Missouri advanced to the round of 32. However, #15 seed Princeton, an Ivy League school, defeated #2 seed Arizona 59-55. They’re still dancing to the sweet 16 where they’ll take on #6 seed Creighton. In the sweet 16 for the south region it’ll be #1 seed Alabama vs #5 seed San Diego State.
Since most of our initial brackets are in the garbage, we decided to repick our Final Four teams. Below is the Return of The Eye’s BHS Sports Staff’s updated Final Four predictions:
*Youssef:
West: UCLA
East: Kansas State
Midwest: Houston
South: Alabama
*Jacob:
West: Gonzaga
East: Kansas State
Midwest: Texas
South: Alabama
*Anthony:
West: UCLA
East: Michigan State
Midwest: Houston
South: Alabama
*Ayman:
West: UCLA
East: Michigan State
Midwest: Texas
South: Alabama
*Jaiden:
West: Arkansas
East: Kansas State
Midwest: Texas
South: Alabama
*Mr. Holko:
West: UCLA
East: Tennessee
Midwest: Houston
South: Alabama
The Sweet 16 games start today and end tomorrow. Then, the Elite 8 will conclude on Sunday with the Final Four intact.
To keep up with the matchups, scores, and game times, visit March Madness.
Chances are, your brackets are in better shape than ours, so tell us, who are your Final Four picks? Leave them in the comment section below.
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THE RETURN OF THE EYE 