March Madness was a story of upheaval in 2021. We are on the second day of the round of 32 and it is anyone’s guess who will fall today.
Sunday is the continuing Cinderella story of both Loyola Chicago and Oral Roberts. The 8-seeded Ramblers beat Illinois in a 71-58 victory, following Sister Jean’s prayers for the Illini to shoot below 30% from the 3-point line.
Just when you thought your bracket might not get much worse, Loyola upset Chicago Illinois 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ipwIYfPS9A
– ESPN (@espn) 21 March 2021
Everywhere Roberts, who was selected from the fifteenth, drove the Ohio State into the wheels and won 81-78 over Florida on Sunday. Everywhere Roberts has won his games by six points overall, and the Golden Eagles will face Arkansas in the top three in the first Sweet 16 series since 1974.
This was not the only upset that happened on Sunday. 11-seeded Syracuse looked like some of Jim Boeheim’s best teams in defeating three-seeded West Virginia, and 12-seeded Oregon State, after already defeating one orange team in 5-seeded Tennessee, it again against the four-seeded Oklahoma state.
Goodbye to Drew Timme’s mustache?
Gonzaga, No. 1 seed, outscored Drew Timme, the second forward, with his eight-seeded victory over Oklahoma. Timme dropped 30 points, deducted 13 rebounds and added 4 assistants. After the game, he was told that his mother had to shave his mustache if the Bulldogs won – which was news to him, as it turned out.
“This is news to me.” 😅😂
Drew Timme’s mother said he would have to shave his mustache if @ZagMBB has it to the # Soet16! # MaartMadness pic.twitter.com/52CZQPefmZ
– NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) 22 March 2021
Luka Garza’s emotional farewell
The second-seeded Iowa was knocked out by the 7-seeded Oregon on Monday, but that was not due to a lack of effort from Luka Garza. The Hawkeyes center has scored 36 of his team’s 80 points and added nine times. After the game, the senior reflected on his last game representing Iowa in an emotional news conference.
0:23
Iowa senior Luka Garza gets emotional when he leaves Hawkeye for the last time.
One thing that was more impressive to Garza’s line? Oregon earned him those points – the Ducks contested 16 of his 20 shots.
The slipper – umm, basketball shoe – does not fit
Remember when Zion Williamson cut so hard, his shoe fell apart in a Duke North Carolina game in 2019? Well, something similar happened to Ben Vander Plas in Ohio in the second round.
The 6-foot-8 junior stepped through his sole and needed a new pair of shoes halfway through the Bobcats game against fifth-seeded Creighton.
Ben Vander Plas literally walked through the sole of his shoes 😳 flashbacks to Zion Williamson … pic.twitter.com/w94OcU8L0i
– TSN (@TSN_Sports) 22 March 2021
Geaux Joe
Joe Burrow led LSU’s soccer team to the national championship in 2019. He had not yet applauded his school, but sat down to watch the eighth-seeded Tigers try to upset the top-seeded Michigan.
See who showed up at Hinkle Fieldhouse 👀
👋 @JoeyB. # MaartMadness pic.twitter.com/4eY5Q5VBTT
– NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) 22 March 2021