The name ‘March Madness’ was certainly fitting as this year’s tournament ended in well, madness. After a first round full of upsets and unpredictable endings, many brackets around the country were busted early. Eventually, no entered brackets remaining were the correct teams. Many brackets were first busted when Middle Tennessee State pulled a 15 seed over a 2 seed upset by defeating Michigan State in the first round. Another major upset was Steven F. Austin over West Virginia in the first round. S.F. Austin went on to play Notre Dame in the next round but lost a nail-biter by one point. After the next few rounds, it was time for the Final Four. This year’s Final Four featured just one 1 seed and a 10 seeded team. The first Final Four game was 2 seeded Villanova matched up with 2 seeded Oklahoma. Oklahoma was led by the phenomenal play of Buddy Hield. The game was one-sided from the opening tip as Villanova cruised to a 42-28 Halftime lead. Villanova never lifted their foot off the gas pedal as they accomplished something no team has ever done before. Villanova won by a score of 95-51. That was the largest margin of victory in the history of a Final Four game. Oklahoma’s high-caliber offense was held in check by the Wildcats’ outstanding shut-down defense.

Villanova versus Oklahoma was then followed by the second act of the evening. Syracuse pinned against the powerful Tar Heels of North Carolina. North Carolina was a heavy favorite to win the tournament heading into March and certainly lived up to the hype. Syracuse was a huge surprise to have made the Final Four. The team was even questioned in that they had enough of a well-played season to qualify for the tournament itself. Nonetheless, they made it and they went all the way to the Final Four. This one, like the first game of the night, seemed over from the start as UNC stretched their lead to 11 at Halftime. In the end, the Tar Heels coasted to an 83-66 victory and a chance at the National Title.

Now it’s the time everyone has been waiting for, the National Championship Game. The teams were Villanova and North Carolina and it was sure to be an historic matchup. The game was close all the way through with back and forth buckets from each offense. At halftime, the tar Heels lead the Wildcats 39-34. Despite the five point lead at Halftime, Villanova came out of the break with energy. As all these games do, it came down to the final few possessions. North Carolina was down by three points with less than 5 seconds left and needed a big shot by one of its big time players. Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch three point prayer with 4.7 seconds left to tie the game at 74-74. Villanova’s Head Coach, Jay Wright, called timeout at this point so his team could coordinate a play to win the game. The plan was for Ryan Arcidiacono to take the final shot for the Wildcats, but the Tar Heels anticipated that and double-teamed him immediately leaving someone open. That player was Kris Jenkins. Jenkins received a pass from Arcidiacono at the right elbow about 4 feet behind the three-point line. Jenkins rose up and let it fly as time expired. Jenkins had perfectly released the ball and it swished in the net for a wildcat victory. The Villanova Wildcats were crowned National Champions off of Jenkins’ buzzer-beater to win it. These types of endings do not come often and are especially remarkable to witness.