The Unpredictable March Madness 2023

The 2023 NCAA March Madness Tourney was headlined by dominance, cinderella stories, and a constant reminder that nothing is given in March. The overarching storyline of the tournament was the pure dominance the Connecticut Huskies displayed. Averaging a margin of victory of 20.4 points through all 6 tournament games is an example of the great basketball they played during the tournament. Led by Adam Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, and Andre Jackson, the 4-seeded Uconn Huskies caught fire in March and rolled to a dominant tourney victory.

Another big storyline was 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson upsetting number 1-seed, Purdue. Purdue was a top-ranked team all year, led by National Player of the Year Zach Edey. Edey averages 22.4 points and 13 rebounds a game, standing a staggering 7-4. FDU was, ironically, the shortest team in all of college basketball, averaging a height of 6-1. Against these odds, FDU became the second 16 seed to win in the opening round, beating Purdue 63-58. 

This wasn’t the only first-round shock either, as 15-seed Princeton upset number 2-seed Arizona in the first round and beat number 8 Missouri. They became only the 3rd-second seed ever to make the sweet sixteen and will be remembered as a Cinderella for years. 

This final four lacked the college basketball blue blood compared to last year. Miami, Florida Atlantic, Uconn, and San Diego St were the four teams to make it to Houston. This collection became the second-highest average seed, with the 2011 tournament coming first, which coincidentally also happened in Houston. Last year’s final four consisted of solely blue bloods, Villanova, Kansas, Duke, and UNC. 

The Final Four games were entertaining, as Lamont Butler of San Diego St hit a last-second buzzer-beater to send SDST to the final. In the other game, Uconn dominated most of the game, leading by 8-12 most of the time and advancing to the final. The final, Uconn vs. San Diego St, was marked by the large spread on Uconn. Uconn was favored by 8.5, a large spread for a national championship game. However, Vegas knew what they were doing as Uconn cruised to a 76-59 victory to cap off an incredible tournament.