This past Thursday the 2018 edition
of the NCAA March Madness Tournament began, and I just like everybody else
thought I had the perfect bracket. Okay I didn’t really think I had a perfect
bracket, I am a realist when it comes to these things. If I could predict
college basketball that well I would be in Vegas, betting and winning big on
every upset. Speaking of upsets this years first 2 rounds of the tournament had
more upsets than I have seen in a long time, and I have been watching college
ball for a very long time. So, let’s start with the most historic of upsets to
take place in this year’s tourney as…
R1 #16 UMBC Retrievers drop overall #1 Virginia Cavaliers 74-54…
This
match up was the most surprising because, it has never happened before. Let me
repeat that for you it…has…never…. happened…. before, a 1 seed has never lost
an opening round game to a 16 seed in my 20+ yr. long memory of watching the
tournament. The Virginia Cavaliers came in as not only the number 1 seed in their
bracket but as the number one overall seed of the tournament. They were ousted
by a college from Maryland. A young Uni. Of Maryland, Baltimore Campus took out
the goliath and didn’t just beat them but sent them home with a 20+ point
beatdown and a reminder as this whole tourney has been so far through 2 rounds.
And let me tip my cap to the Retrievers because they almost had KSU before
eventually falling to the Wildcats 50-43 in Round 2…
R2 #9 Florida State Seminoles defeat #1 Xavier Musketeers 75-70…
The
Florida State win wasn’t really a surprise to me because I never really had
that much faith in the Musketeers to go that deep into the tournament. But they
made it through their 1t round matchup and almost beat the Seminoles if not for
a stout defensive stand late to hold on and beat Xavier. This made for the 2nd
#1 seed to fall in the tournament. The other 2 survived to round 3 and we will
see if any of them end up in a Final Four. The one thing I do know is that The Musketeers
won’t be playing for a National Championship this year. The Seminoles move on
to face a powerhouse Gonzaga team that is the number four seed in the sweet
sixteen…
R2 #7 Texas A&M Aggies defeat #2 N.Carolina Tar Heels 86-65…
The
Aggies dropping the Roy Williams led Tar Heels surprises me because he is one
coach kind of like Coach K who really shows up during tournament time. This
year the Aggies just had more heart and they outplayed the Tar Heels, as they
got a great game from Freshman G TJ Sparks. Who came in with 21 points on 7 of
15 shooting from the field and helped the Aggies cruise by 20 over a strong Heels
team. Texas A&M now moves on to face another tough test as they will now
face the 3 seed Michigan Wolverines, who just escaped with a win against the
Houston Cougars in round 1. So I know that’s a game I will be tuning into for
sure, as for the Tar Hells there is always next year for Roy and the boys, we
know it, you know it and most importantly they know it…
R2 #11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers defeat #3 Tennessee Volunteers 63-62…
The
Loyola Chicago is one of the only teams in this article that advanced past the
second round and that is why I focused just on the upset of the higher seeded
team (the Ramblers also beat the 6 seed TCU in the first round). The Volunteers
are another team that kind of underwhelmed me coming into the tournament. Basically,
I felt they should have been seeded lower than 3 and I think that showed in the
fact that they were beaten by a double-digit seed Ramblers in only the 2nd
round. Loyola Chicago will now go one to face another surprise team of sorts as
they face the 7 seed Nevada Wolfpack who are coming fresh off an upset of the 2
seed Cincinnati Bearcats in the Round of 32
R1 #13 Buffalo Bulls defeat #4 Arizona Wildcats 89-68…
Lastly
this one I had to cover because this was the highest seeded Pac 12 team in the
tournament, they were supposed to at least make it to the sweet 16. Deayden
Jorden and them boys were supposed to have found their groove and they get beat
right out the gate by a game Buffalo Squad. The Bulls were bounced in the
second round by a Kentucky squad who was ready for what they had. But they will
forever be left with the memory of beat the 4 seed Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA
Tournament…
If you want to
listen to the Double K’s Classroom show on the 4ACES network…
Every other Friday
nights at 8pm PST/ 11pm EST
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