By Hunter Milligan

March Madness is by far the craziest time of year for sports enthusiasts, especially those who enjoy their daily dose of college basketball. With crazy upsets and the takedown of undefeated Gonzaga, this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament was one to remember. 

With what has already been a wild year for sports due to COVID-19, college basketball was no different. Unlike other years, when the round of 64 and round of 32 games were played across the country, every game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year took place in the Indianapolis area, with limited fans. Players, coaches, and NCAA staff were all being treated similarly to how the NBA operated last season: in a bubble. Some players voiced their opinion on the matter before the tournament started, like Missouri forward Jeremiah Tilmon, “They’ve got us in a room 24-7… We can’t leave. So I’m not looking forward to that at all. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to make sure I stay safe, but I don’t think any of us are looking forward to that.” 

Similarly to the players, fans were disappointed that they couldn’t follow their respective teams throughout the tournament in person. Fans of East Tennessee State, for example, a team that has made the tournament only ten times in the history of their program, were livid when they heard they wouldn’t be allowed to attend. ETSU fan Jeff Blake told Johnson City Press, “I was really expecting to go and have a big time and watch our Bucs make some noise in the tournament. I really feel bad for them. I think it’s terrible for the kids.” Regardless, many fans were just excited to see the tournament happening, as 2020 didn’t crown a NCAA national champion in basketball for the first time since its inception in 1939.  

It was an extremely exciting start to the tournament, as many underdogs won in the first two rounds. As a result, this year’s tournament had the highest average seed in the Sweet Sixteen of any year in the tournament’s history, with an average of 5.88. To put it into perspective, the average seed in the Sweet Sixteen from 1985-2021 was 4.45, with 2019 being as low as 3.09. 

This year’s Cinderella story was by far the 15th seed Oral Roberts University out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In what many people considered to be a lock, Oral Roberts took down the second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the tournament on March 19. Just 4.8% of brackets had Oral Roberts outing the dominant Buckeyes. To everyone’s surprise, Oral Roberts went on to win in the round of 32, beating the SEC powerhouse, the University of Florida. Only 1.9% of brackets had Oral Roberts beating Florida in the second round. Moving into the Sweet Sixteen, they took on the number three-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks, in which they had a buzzer-beating three-point opportunity, which was unfortunately missed, resulting in a narrow and painful loss on March 27. Regardless of their loss, they made history, becoming the second team ever to make the Sweet Sixteen as a 15th seed. 

Oral Roberts taking on South Dakota early in the regular season. Photo credit: Peyton Beyers.

Along with Oral Roberts providing one of the best March Madness underdog stories of all time, the 2021 March Madness tournament included arguably one of the best college basketball teams ever in the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The undefeated, 29-0 men of Spokane, Washington continued to storm through their opponents with ease throughout much of the tournament. Gonzaga was so dominant that the team broke the record for most consecutive games won by double digits, at 26. Unlike powerhouse basketball teams in the past, such as Duke’s 1992 team, featuring Christian Laettner, or 2015’s Kentucky team, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, Gonzaga didn’t have that lottery pick that these other teams had. Instead, Gonzaga made up for their lack of an individual standout with their extreme chemistry and fundamentals. As March Madness fan Grayson Boyd (‘21) said, “They don’t have that one guy who can take over the game. They just play so smoothly.” Gonzaga was the favorite to win it all this year, but they were outplayed by the athletic Baylor Bears in the tournament championship, 86-70, on April 5. 

What many people thought was going to be an easy route to the Championship for Gonzaga turned out to be a grueling defeat, as the Baylor Bears were clearly more athletic and more aggressive. While the final game might not have been the best of championship games in recent memory, as Baylor arguably won in the first five minutes, this NCAA Tournament offered plenty of upsets and great games. I’m just happy we got March Madness back.

MORE: Read about VCU’s men’s basketball season in an opinion by Will Hanson.