Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Sports Columnist
Ladies and gentlemen, grab your remotes and hold onto your hats because March Madness is officially underway. With the first week of games down and only one more week to go, this March Madness tournament is already shaping up to be one for the ages. Every play, every basket, every stop has been filled with heart wrenching emotion and sports bettors have gone from supremely confident to supremely in debt within a matter of minutes.
Nobodies have turned into a hero and narratives have simultaneously been written and thrown away after every game. The most significant case of this occurred in the first round matchup between Oakland and Kentucky. Heading into the tournament Kentucky was viewed as a top contender thanks to a strong freshman class led by guard Rod Dillingham. Unfortunately for Kentucky fans though, not even one round in, the basketball gods decided to throw a complete bracket buster at us.
Oakland upset Kentucky on the back of 10 three-pointers from Jack Gohlke who was just a few days previously, completely unknown. Oakland’s incredible upset was without a doubt the most exciting event from the first round of games. If only Oakland was not easily defeated by NC State the next game, then we would have had a REAL Cinderella story on our hands.
Speaking of Cinderella stories, it looked like we almost had another one after Yale upset 4th seeded Auburn to bust another side of the bracket. The disappointment of gamblers was only matched by the disappointment of SEC fans after 5 out of their 8 teams in the tournament were knocked out in lackadaisical fashion. This was especially pleasant for me considering I had stupidly picked 6 out of the 8 teams in the SEC to move on.
However, the Cinderella upsets and disappointments have not been the only surprising aspects of the tournament this year. Scores are somehow both lower and higher than ever before. Games such as Florida vs. Colorado have been shootouts with both teams scoring over 100 points each in a heartbreaking end to Florida season.
Meanwhile, you have teams such as MI State and MS state playing closer to a middle school basketball team then a group of D1 athletes scoring a measly 69 and 51 respectively in an absolute snooze fest of a match.
However what is done is done and what it is time to start doing is looking ahead to how the rest of the tournament could potentially pan out.
Surprisingly, all four one seeds(UCONN, Purdue, UNC, Houston) are still going strong in the direction of an NCAA title. Houston had a close call with Texas A&M in the previous round but nevertheless they are still standing their ground for now. The other one seeds however have done far more than just stand their ground. All three teams have proven why they were one seed in the first place, destroying the competition by 20 points or more in every single one of their games.
Unfortunately for three of these 1 seeds, however, each knows that they will have to face each other at some point if they want a shot at the title. With that being said, which of these four clear contenders will have the strength and resilience to win it all in the end.
The first and most obvious answer is of course the previous national champion UConn Huskies. Powered by a dedicated fan base and a 7 ‘2 monster holding the paint, UConn has already shown that they have what it takes to go all the way. Matched up with San Diego State (the very team they defeated in the championship last year), UConn looks poised to make a run at the championship and , at the bare minimum, a Final Four appearance.
However, a certain 7’4 freak of nature named Zach Edey might have something to say about that. It would be an understatement to say that Purdue has been anything but completely dominant this year. They won 31 games and just blew out Utah State by 40 in the previous round. Having been utterly humiliated last year losing to the 16th seed FDU in the first round, the Boilermakers are back for revenge and they have more than enough strength to take down a team like UConn in the championship.
However, while these two teams have proven to be powerhouses I am not sure about the other one seeds. Houston has already demonstrated a level of incompetence in a shaky win over Texas A&M and their lack of defense concerns me especially against a team like UConn.
UNC has fared slightly better but I believe that they are handicapped by a lack of star power especially compared to Purdue and UConn.
With that being said, the team that wins the Championship may not be one of the #1 seeds at all. If we know anything about this tournament, it is that seeds can be more of a recommendation of how teams should play rather than a true indicator. On any given night, one player could explode, or one team could pop off, or one coach could have an off night. It does not matter what seed you are or what your history is, once you secure a spot in that tournament anything and I mean absolutely anything can happen. That ladies and gentlemen is the true beauty of March Madness.