The second and third rounds of the NCAA Tournament played out between Thursday and Sunday. More than 60 students and teachers submitted brackets for the school’s March Madness Challenge. With the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 coming up starting Thursday, some brackets predicted well, some might redeem themselves this upcoming weekend, but upsets busted others beyond repair.
Second- and third-round bracket busters:
No. 9 Wichita State defeated No. 1 Gonzaga, eliminating the team several picked to win the tournament.
No. 12 Oregon defeated No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Saint Louis. Most brackets picked against Oregon’s run at the Sweet 16 and some favored Oklahoma State to go instead.
No. 14 Harvard defeated No. 3 New Mexico and then lost to No. 6 Arizona. Only two brackets picked Harvard to win the second-round game and several advanced UNM deeper into the tournament. Some brackets did advance Arizona to the Sweet 16.
No. 13 La Salle defeated No. 4 Kansas State and No. 12 Ole Miss. Only one bracket picked La Salle to win their second-round game after they beat Boise State for the 13 seed. None chose them to advance this far.
No. 12 Ole Miss defeated No. 5 Wisconsin. Most brackets advanced both Wisconsin and Kansas State into the Round of 32.
No. 15 Florida-Gulf Coast defeated No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State. Only two brackets chose FGCU to win their second-round game and one chose them to advance to the Sweet 16. Many brackets lost anywhere from Sweet 16 picks to one of two national championship spots.
The West and South brackets caused more busts than the other two brackets. Aside from No. 12 California defeating No. 5 UNLV, no unexpected upsets happened in the East and the top four seeds in that region will play in the Sweet 16. The Midwest went chalk save for Oregon’s two victories.
The West only features one top four seed (No. 2 Ohio State) and FGCU busted brackets that advanced Georgetown deep into the tournament. The Hoyas actually now hold the record for most consecutive losses to teams at least five seeds below them (five). Four of those losses, this one included, happened in round one. The only exception was when they lost to a No. 10 seed as a No. 2 seed in the Round of 32.
Top 10 Brackets through the Round of 32
T-1. Scott Sherrod, 460 (1040 possible points remaining)
T-1. Trevor Macklin, 460 (680)
T-3. Trey Harris, 450 (1120)
T-3. Coach Wade Williams, 450 (1000)
T-3. Cole Trowbridge, 450 (640)
T-6. Brice Boren, 440 (1240)
T-6. Austin Black, 440 (520)
T-8. Editor-In-Chief Cortlyn Dees, 430 (1120)
T-8. Grace Summerlin, 430 (1120)
T-8. Jacob Relyea, 430 (840)
Eliminated from contention after the Round of 32 (highest possible score was lower than the current score of the leading bracket(s))
Carmen Sitz
Aaron Shehan
Joshua Fetsch
