It’s been a wild ride that has lived up to the name of March Madness. If your bracket was busted, you are not alone. The way this tournament has played out has been far from predictable, and now it’s all over.
Many people filled out a bracket for March Madness, but only a few won their bracket pool. Senior Connor Durkin beat his friends this year by doing some research.
“A week before I filled out my bracket I read up on the different teams and saw what other people think about them,” said Durkin.
The Florida Gators, Connecticut Huskies, Wisconsin Badgers, and Kentucky Wildcats were all fighting for the crown of being National Champions.
The Gators were set to take on the Huskies in the first game. In the first 5 minutes, Florida jumped out to a 12 point lead. This was no surprise, as the top ranked Gators have played well all year. However, UConn and their star point guard Shabazz Napier were not going down without a fight. Napier rallied his team back to a close game by the half.
The push didn’t stop for UConn, increasing their lead to 9 at the start of the second half. From that point on the Huskies held at least a 5 point lead for the rest of the game as they won 63-53.
Napier led his team all season, yet he still received harsh criticism for his size. Senior Kyle Chmelewski thinks Napier is underrated.
“People really under rate him,” said Chmelewski. “ He is truly one of the better point guards in the NCAA.”
In the second game, Wisconsin took on Kentucky. The game was close from start to finish with both teams giving it everything they had. With 16 seconds to play, Wisconsin’s Traevon Jackson hit some free throws to take a 73-71 lead.
However, Kentucky had one more miracle win in them. With 7 seconds left Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison drilled a three point shot to take a 1 point lead. The sophomore hit a last second three point shot from the same spot in the team’s last game against Michigan.
So it all came down to a Monday night matchup between UConn and Kentucky. Both teams have won the tournament within the past 5 years, UConn in 2011 and Kentucky in 2012.
The game started with multiple turnovers by both teams, but the inexperience of the Wildcats would come back to haunt them. The team that consisted of mostly freshman has been criticized all year for making mistakes and giving games away. The Wildcats committed 13 turnovers in the game which helped the Huskies secure their victory. The Huskies jumped out to a 15 point lead in the first half and never surrendered the lead, winning 60-54.
The Huskies won the national title just one year removed from a suspension that did not allow them to participate in the tournament. With a new coach and multiple players transferring out, many fans thought that UConn would be going through a rebuilding period.
Senior Shabazz Napier scored 22 points in the victory and was very excited about his team’s victory that proved a lot of people wrong.
“You’re looking at the hungry Huskies,” said Napier. “Ladies and gentleman this is what happens when you banned us,” according to ESPN.
