By: BHS Sports Staff
April 10, 2025
Be honest, when was your bracket busted? For our fellow sports staff writer Aiden, his was demolished in the first weekend when St. John’s went down. However, our fearless leader Mr. Holko won the BHS work bracket, his family bracket, and this class’s March Madness challenge. Simply, he is a winner, and the rest of us are losers!
Since March Madness is officially in the books, it’s time to recap how the final two weekends of the madness played out.
The Elite 8 tipped last Saturday in the West Region where #3 Texas Tech faced off against #1 Florida. The first half was pretty back-and-forth with both teams trading leads with the Gators holding a three-point lead at the half. However, the Red Raiders got going in the second half and held a 9-point lead with under three minutes left. But, the Gators rallied in the final minutes to pull off a comeback and avoided a major upset with an 84-79 win as they advanced to the Final Four.
The next game saw two of the top-scoring teams in the country from the East Region with #2 Alabama against #1 Duke. The Blue Devils cruised through the entire game as they advanced to the Final Four with a blowout victory, 85-65.
The other set of games last Sunday saw #2 Tennessee against #1 Houston from the Midwest Region and #2 Michigan State versus #1 Auburn from the South Region.
The Volunteers could not get anything to fall in the first half as they had just 15 points. Houston’s defense dominated throughout the entire game en route to a 69-50 win.
The final Elite 8 game saw the Auburn Tigers dominate and hold a multiple-possession lead through the first half and that momentum carried into the second half, enroute to a 70-64 victory over Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans.
The Final Four was now all set with all number one seeds, the first time since 2008. Florida faced off against Auburn, and Duke took on Houston.
Florida and Auburn played a tight and energetic game, but it was the Gators who prevailed with a 79-73 victory to advance to the National Championship.
The next matchup saw heartbreak for Duke fans (Sorry, Dr. Caleris!). The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 14-point lead. They held this lead until the Houston Cougars started to show some fight. The Cougars went on a 15-3 run to take the lead in the final seconds to pull out a comeback win, 70-67. The Blue Devils blew a six-point lead with 39 seconds remaining.
The championship game was set between the Florida Gators and the Houston Cougars.
A heavily-fought game between arguably two of the best teams in March Madness history ended with a comeback win from the Florida Gators, 65-63. The Gators did to Houston what the Cougars did to Duke: Improbable comeback!
Will Richard led the Gators in the scoring column, totalling 18 points, while Houston guard L.J. Cryer led his team with 19 points. Gator star Walter Clayton, Jr. finished with 11 points from the second half of play. Florida’s dominance and aggression throughout the whole season paved their way to a trophy finish as National Champions.
The final scoreboard for this class’s challenge is as follows:
- Mr. Holko – 17 (Stud!)
- Collin – 13 (Overachiever)
- Mr. Verba – 13 (Lord Basketball)
- Aiden – 13 (Recovered Nicely)
- Jacob – 9 (Embarrassing & Pathetic!)
Now, it is time to watch the Master’s and the Guardians.
{For up-to-date events and schedules, visit Brooklyn Hurricanes Athletics.}
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 