NCAA Basketball crowns Villanova new champion in men’s tournament
64 teams battle for the trophy with some important upsets throughout the month of March
April 19, 2018
The madness of March might be over, but the NCAA Basketball Tournament did not disappoint college basketball fans this year.
The tournament starts with 64 teams and gradually whittles down to the Final Four.
It all culminates in a true national championship game against the top two teams in the country.
Along the way, fans compete to guess who they think will end up the top slots although a whole bracket can get ruined with an unexpected win or loss.
The round of 64 was one of the best in recent memory with upsets left and right.
For example the most significant upset was the 16 seed UMBC beating the first seed Virginia by 20 points.
Then later in the round the 13th seed Buffalo Bulls beat the 4th seed Arizona by 21 points.
Another upset was Marshall beating the 4th seed Wichita State, which was a dark horse to make it to the Final Four.
One of the last upsets, which was my personal favorite, was the Loyola beating Miami with a buzzer beater three-pointer from Donte Ingram.
The second round was just as exciting as the first round with a few great surprises.
One of my favorites of the tournament was win the Nevada Wolfpack came back from a 22-point deficit for a dazzling comeback over Cincinnati, which was a second seed team.
Texas A&M absolutely destroyed North Carolina by a score of 86-65.
The Tar Heels were one of the favorites to win the championship this year.
Xavier was the favorites in its match up against the Florida State Seminoles, which pulled off an upset by 5 points.
32 was Syracuse beating the 3 seed Michigan State Spartans in a close game with a score of 55-53.
Then Loyola Chicago, the “Cinderella team” that captured the hearts of those who root for the underdog, beat Tennessee with a wild shot from Clayton Custer with a few seconds remaining to win the game.
The Sweet Sixteen also featured several great games while The Elite Eight featured a fun ride with Duke and Kansas in an OT thriller.
Then the Final Four was set with a Michigan vs. Loyola matchup and Villanova pitted against Kansas.
Michigan and Villanova ended up in the final championship game.
The first half of the final game of the tournament was close, but the Nova exploded in the second half, turning into a blowout with Villanova winning their 2nd championship in a 3 year span.