March Madness has been a story of upsets in 2021. We’re in the second day of the round of 32 and it’s anybody’s guess who will fall today.
Sunday saw the continued Cinderella stories of both Loyola Chicago and Oral Roberts. The 8-seed Ramblers knocked off Illinois in a 71-58 win that saw Sister Jean’s prayers for the Illini to shoot under 30% from the 3-point line come true.
Just when you thought your bracket couldn’t get much worse, Loyola Chicago upsets Illinois 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ipwIYfPS9A
— ESPN (@espn) March 21, 2021
Fifteenth-seeded Oral Roberts started off the tournament upsetting Ohio State, and on Sunday held on for an 81-78 win over 7-seed Florida. Oral Roberts has won its games by a combined six points, and the Golden Eagles will face 3-seed Arkansas in their first Sweet 16 since 1974.
Those weren’t the only upsets to happen on Sunday. No. 11 seed Syracuse looked like some of Jim Boeheim’s best teams in beating 3-seed West Virginia, and 12-seed Oregon State, having already defeated one orange team in 5-seed Tennessee, did so again against 4-seed Oklahoma State.
Goodbye to Drew Timme’s mustache?
No. 1 seed Gonzaga had a superb performance from sophomore forward Drew Timme in its win over 8-seed Oklahoma. Timme dropped 30 points, pulled down 13 rebounds, and added 4 assists for good measure. After the game, he was informed that his mom said he had to shave his mustache if the Bulldogs won — which was news to him, as it turns out.
“This is news to me.” 😅😂
Drew Timme’s mom said he would have to shave his mustache if @ZagMBB made it to the #Sweet16! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/52CZQPefmZ
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 22, 2021
Luka Garza’s emotional farewell
Second-seeded Iowa was knocked out by 7-seed Oregon on Monday, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort from Luka Garza. The Hawkeyes center scored 36 of his team’s 80 points and added nine rebounds for good measure. After the game, the senior reflected in an emotional news conference on his final game representing Iowa.
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Iowa senior Luka Garza gets emotional as he checks out of the game for the final time as a Hawkeye.
One thing that was more impressive about Garza’s line? Oregon made him earn those points — the Ducks contested 16 of his 20 shots.
The slipper — umm, basketball shoe — doesn’t fit
Remember when Zion Williamson cut so hard his shoe fell apart in a 2019 Duke-North Carolina game? Well, something similar happened to Ohio‘s Ben Vander Plas in the second round.
The 6-foot-8 junior stepped through his sole and needed a new pair of shoes midway through the Bobcats’ matchup against fifth-seeded Creighton.
Ben Vander Plas literally stepped through the sole of his shoe 😳 flashbacks to Zion Williamson… pic.twitter.com/w94OcU8L0i
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 22, 2021
Geaux Joe
Joe Burrow led LSU‘s football team to the 2019 national championship. He’s not done cheering on his school, taking in a seat to watch the eighth-seeded Tigers attempt to upset top-seeded Michigan.
Look who showed up at Hinkle Fieldhouse 👀
👋 @JoeyB. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/4eY5Q5VBTT
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 22, 2021
