Want to sound March Madness savvy? 5 things to know about the NCAA
There’s no way you missed the NCAA tournament this weekend. It was on CBS, TNT, TBS and even TruTV—marking the first and probably last time this year that you’ll look for that channel.
But there were a lot of games and plenty to talk about, so you could have missed some pretty important items. Here are 5 things you need to know about the NCAA tournament.
(1) N.C. State beat No. 1 seed Villanova: The Wolfpack is back in the Sweet 16 after a huge win Saturday night against the Wildcats. State has been involved in two of the best games of the tournament so far after beating LSU on a tip-in on Thursday night and then being the first to knock out a 1 seed. Next week the Wolfpack will be looking to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1986.
VIDEO: Crying Villanova piccolo player fought back tears while playing after loss vs. NC State http://t.co/cVPyDAUqp8 pic.twitter.com/RFK5n9S2WM
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2015
(2) UCLA isn’t that good: Yes, the Bruins are back in the Sweet 16, but that doesn’t mean they’re one of the best 16 teams in the country. Winners of 11 NCAA titles, UCLA snuck into the tournament as an 11 seed, much to surprise of many basketball observers. The Bruins upset Southern Methodist Thursday and then dispatched an up-and-coming but overmatched Alabama-Birmingham squad Saturday. These aren’t your grandparents’ Bruins.
UCLA is the first team in the Sweet 16! Bruins ride Tony Parker's career-high 28 Pts, 12 Reb in 92-75 win vs UAB. pic.twitter.com/6Oe2h7toRQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 21, 2015
(3) Three Triangle teams still dancing: North Carolina, North Carolina State and Duke are all in the Sweet 16 for only the fourth time in history. They last did that in 2005.
“Yeah, yeah. Unbelievable,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Sunday after his team made it a trio. “How about the Triangle region? It’s not bad.”
UNC beats Arkansas to return to Sweet 16 for first time since 2012(via @gbaumgaertner)http://t.co/dihU7Xs4F4 pic.twitter.com/VgxqzLijWo
— SI College Hoops (@si_ncaabb) March 22, 2015
(4) Unfortunately, Ron Hunter is no longer in the tournament: You may have heard about Georgia State basketball coach Ron Hunter. He tore his Achilles celebrating his team’s CAA tournament victory last week and wore a cast during the NCAA tournament. He was a great spirit about the whole thing throughout the week.
Then, Hunter fell out of his chair Thursday when his son hit the game-winning 3-pointer to send Georgia State to the next round past Baylor. Georgia State lost to Xavier on Saturday 75-67, and that sent one of the best characters in the entire tournament back home, but not after a very emotional post-game speech.
"The greatest week of my life."Ron Hunter breaks down during postgame press conference. #MarchMadnesshttps://t.co/hGoA4hhhLy
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 22, 2015
(5) No one cares about your bracket: Your bracket has been busted due to upsets you never saw coming. No one cares. We are sure you made several brackets, and you probably did it for fun or for an office betting pool (shhhh…we won’t tell). But every March there’s Bracket Guy/Girl, the person who thinks they’re the only one who made a bracket and that you should care about it. We don’t. Just sit back and enjoy the tournament.
My bracket is busted, but I acted in "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium."
— Dustin Hoffman Not (@BballHoffman) March 22, 2015
Photo by Tim Cowie,DavidsonPhotos.com
This story was originally published March 22, 2015 at 3:37 PM with the headline "Want to sound March Madness savvy? 5 things to know about the NCAA."