After a whirlwind of a March Madness tournament, The University of Virginia are the new NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament champions! Let’s review the run they’ve had and what it took to get them to this point!

#1 Virginia v. #16 G. Webb

Virginia was obviously going to beat G. Webb, right? A #1 seed always beats a #16 seed… Unless your Virginia that is. This University of Virginia basketball team had something to prove after last year making history of being the only #1 seed defeated by a #16 seed in the first round, in tournament history. Going in to play G. Webb, the men’s basketball team of Virginia knew they could not mess around. Anything can happen in March Madness and the 2018 tournament was proof of that for them.

The game began shaky to say the least. Fans were wondering, “could a repeat of last year be in the future?” If the game had ended at halftime, this would have been the case. The Gardner Webb Bulldogs were leading the Virginia Cavaliers in a score of 36-30. Not to mention, at one point in the first half, the bulldogs had a lead of 14 points. However, the Cavaliers prevailed and were able to finish the game strong with a win of 71-56. This would allow them to a second round advancement where they would go on to play Oklahoma.

Virginia plays Oklahoma

This game was among the more underwhelming of Virginia’s games from this year’s tournament run. Although there was an early point during the first half when Oklahoma took the lead, Virginia maintained a substantial lead for the remainder of the game. The Cavaliers walked off the court having won the game 63-51.

Virginia advances to the Sweet 16

The University of Virginia Cavaliers went on to play the University of Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16 of the 2019 NCAA March Madness Tournament. Many fans had predicted UVA to play Wisconsin in this round, as Wisconsin was the #5 seed while Oregon was the #12 seed. Nevertheless. Oregon proved they had earned their spot after crushing Wisconsin in the first round 72-54.

Headed into the half, Virginia had a strong lead of 8 points, however, the second half things got close. The UVA team was challenged but ultimately persevered and were able to win the game, sending them into the Elite 8.

The tweet above is proof that even Wisconsin Badgers fans saw that Virginia was the stronger team. They were playing more consistently better.

Virginia plays Purdue in the Elite 8

Amongst all of the games I was able to watch this tournament season, this was one of the more interesting games. A lot of people had chosen Virginia to win the entire tournament from the beginning. This is when their fan base really rallied around them. Going into the game, Virginia had not been to the Final Four in over 30 years. They felt as though once again they had something to prove. The game was nothing short of extraordinary – and would go on to end in overtime.

Probably the most notable player of this game was Purdue’s pointguard, Carsen Edwards. He was carrying his team and in the last seconds allowed for Virginia to force an overtime. However his efforts for his team did not go unnoticed by social media.

Since the end of his season, Edwards has noted that he has signed with an agent to participate in the NBA draft. His future will be exciting to watch!

In overtime, Virginia was able to win by a difference of 5 points with the final score being 80-75. It was a game that inspired both fan bases in the nation, and made fans everywhere who had a love for the game, feel something special.

The Final Four & The Championship

This was a place Virginia had not been in years. Virginia went onto beat Auburn in a buzzer beater game by a difference of only a single point. In the championship they would go on to play Texas Tech which many found to be shocking. Nearly no one had Virginia and Texas Tech facing off in the Championship game. The Championship game had a competitive spirit and also ended in OT. To avoid to much game recap, here is a look at some fans point of view via social media.

Overall, it was quite a tournament. Records were broken, fans were invested, and legacies were created. It is the craziest month of the year for college basketball, and we have to wait until March 0f 2020 to see which new teams will create absolute “madness”

It has been a crazy month of college basketball and the NCAA Tournament. At this present moment, we have gone from 68 teams, t0 just 4. Within 8 days, a new champion will be named. The remaining teams include Michigan State, Texas Tech, Auburn, and Virginia. The Tournament was filled with upsets and victories. Let’s take the time to review some of the top moments from this year’s March Madness Tournament.

1. Let’s talk about Murray State!

Perhaps the first real upsets of the tournament came when Murray State upset Marquette. Marquette was granted the 5 seed while Murray State was given the 12. Murray State not only beat Marquette, but blew them away beating them 83-64. Although this was a 12 seed v. 5 seed game many people were not surprised and that was due to Murray State’s point guard Ja Morant’s incredible athletic ability.

Ja Morant has received national recognition as one of the best players in the country for college basketball. Therefore, many predicted the upset against Marquette. After Murray State’s big win, people shared their thoughts on twitter.

2. The Lowest Seed in the Second Round

Everybody remembers last year when UMBC had their miracle game where they beat the number 1 seed Virginia – the first time a 16 seed has every beat a one seed. In the past there have been other times when a team with a 15 or 14 seed makes it beyond the first round. In 2016, #15 Middle Tennessee beat #2 Michigan State which resulted in a lot of broken brackets after just the first round. This year, the lowest seed was #13 UC Irvine when they defeated Kansas State with a score of 70-64. This resulted in a lot of broken brackets and was one of the bigger upsets of this year’s tournament.

This would be the team’s first ever win in NCAA tournament history. They caught the eyes of the nation.

3. Virginia’s Comeback Run after 2018

Virginia made history last year – And not in a good way. Last year, the University of Virginia Cavaliers suffered an embarrassing loss to the UMBC Golden Retrievers. It was the first time a one seed had lost to a sixteen seed in the NCAA Tournament’s history. This year, the Cavaliers came back ready to play.

Although their first round game against 16 seed G-Webb began off shaky, they pushed their way through to the Final Four. Their most recent game was against #3 Purdue which ended in a close finish in overtime. In the last six years, UVA has earned itself a #1 seed on four different occasions. However, they have not reached the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament since 1984.

What comes next for UVA is uncertain. They are scheduled to play #5 Auburn next Saturday in the Semi-Final Round of the tournament. At this point, UVA is the highest seed remaining in the tournament, with the others being a #2, #3, and #5. Many people had Virginia taking the whole championship home while others elected Duke, UNC, and Gonzaga to win. When Duke finally lost, many people took to twitter to share their excitement. Below is an example.

What comes next? What is the talk?

Here are the facts. Next Monday, 4/8, a new NCAA Champion will be named. This Saturday, #3 Texas Tech will play #2 Michigan State while #5 Auburn will play #1 Virginia.

Duke was already picked as the favorite to win. But, in typical March Madness fashion, nothing ever goes as expected.

What do you think? Who will win? Comment below!

This year, Selection Sunday falls on March 17th 2019. To clarify, Selection Sunday is the Sunday evening when the 68 teams who have been chosen to play in the NCAA March Madness Tournament are revealed along with their seed. Every year, there are a few questions leading up to Selection Sunday. Who will the four one seeds be? Which teams are “on the bubble”? These are the questions that will be answered Sunday night. Here is some of the chatter regarding Selection Sunday.

The “Bubble”

According to Sports Illustrated, as of Saturday, 51 teams have officially locked a spot in the tournament. This leaves 17 teams to be determined for the remaining spots.

With the ever changing advancements with the internet and social media, March Madness has become far more than a three week tournament. Since 1939, men’s college basketball teams have competed on the league’s biggest stage in a bracket-styled tournament resulting in one champion team. With 2019 being the 81st year of the tournament, a lot has changed since this event’s humble beginnings in 1939.

SELECTION SUNDAY WILL TAKE PLACE ON MARCH 17th WITH THE FIRST FOUR GAMES STARTING ON THE 19th IN DAYTON, OHIO.

ncaa.com

1. New Selection System

Every year, there is a Selection Sunday show where the 68 teams who will play in the tournament are announced. Over the years, the logarithm that is used to select the teams has changed. This year, the NCAA decided to use an entirely new system to rank the collegiate basketball teams. In the past, a team’s RPI (Rating Percentage Index) is what was solely used to determine a team’s eligibility for tournament. In 2019, the committee is looking to examine more than just this simple metric. The newly developed ranking tool has been given the name of NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) and will look to take a more holistic approach in evaluating the teams.

2. Money

When the NCAA March Madness tournament began in the mid-twentieth century, there was no predicting the economical value it would have today. Today the NCAA grosses billions of dollars from the tournament. During the regular season, the league generates millions of dollars from their televised games.

Additionally, people have become incredibly competitive with the gambling aspect of the tournament which also produces more money for the NCAA.

3. Viewership

When the tournament first began, the games were not even televised. The first round of the 2018 tournament saw to almost 5 million viewers. This is an 11% increase from its previous year. Meanwhile, the championship game had about 23 million viewers. Another way that viewership has been improved is with the increasing use of apps. The NCAA now has their own app in addition to several other sports networks that allow streaming of the game.

4. The Bracket

March Madness has also become a huge social event. One way this works is through bracket competitions. When the tournament first began in 1939, only 8 teams competed. Today, the tournament begins with 68, adding even more excitement. Several different sports organizations encourage fans to make brackets predicting the winners of each game and enter pools to win cash prizes. Sports organizations such as the NCAA, CBS Sports and ESPN are included. Other companies that are not sports to their core like to get in on the fun as well, such as Yahoo. The bracket adding a social element causes sports fans to become more invested and everyone is determined to have the perfect bracket. Even celebrities such as the President of the United States get involved in the bracket madness. Below is a tweet from him from 2013.

Finish your bracket: It’s time for #MarchMadness. pic.twitter.com/gqOG63IWRs— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 21, 2013

twitter.com

5. The Leaders

In the sports world, the leaders of the tournament have changed. There are certain teams that seem to land themselves one seeds again and again, year after year. However when the tournament first started the teams looked a little different. Below is a list of teams who currently hold the most NCAA championship titles.

• UCLA (11)
• Kentucky (8)
• North Carolina (6)
• Duke (5)
• Indiana (5)

Some teams are suffering serious droughts. Although UCLA has the most titles to date, their last championship win was almost 25 years ago. Meanwhile teams like Duke, Kentucky, and Connecticut, continue to make appearances in the championship games and consistently earn one seeds in the tournament.