March Madness has officially begun and teams are already dropping like flies. Buzzer beaters, blowouts, bracket busters, and upsets have been common throughout all the different tournaments throughout years, but there’s just something different about this year.

Number 1 seeded Virginia got smoked by the number 16 seed UMBC Retrievers in the first round by a score of 74-54. This was the first time in NCAA history that a 16 seed beat a number 1. The basketball world was in shock and it’s definitely something we aren’t going to see for a long time again. Other upsets included number 4 seeded Arizona losing 89-68 against #13 Buffalo. Not many people saw this one coming whatsoever, and the big reason was Arizona’s center and potential #1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Deandre Ayton. He lit up college all year but Buffalo had a plan for him and it worked to perfection. Over 1 million brackets were busted with their loss alone, and it just kept getting worse for everyone else.

#6 Miami lost to #11 Loyola 64-62 off an incredible buzzer beat to win the game. And another huge loss some would call an upset was #10 Oklahoma losing to #7 Rhode Island 83-78. Yes Rhode Island was a higher seed but they didn’t have Trae Young. He’s been compared to Steph Curry, the greatest shooter ever on more than one occasion. The loss may have definitely lowered his draft stock and now many NBA scouts and GMs are seeing his flaws.

Onto potential winners, Duke is starting to look like a bigger favorite then they even were before, as they’ve been lighting teams up and are already on their way to the Sweet Sixteen. Marvin Bagley and Wendell Carter, two potential top picks as well in this years draft and leading them to victory after victory, in what seems like their tournament to lose. The general consensus around the school is also that Duke will win it all. Sophomores Angelo DeVita and Justin Lawrence both had statements about the team this year. “Duke is going to win it all this year because of the strong powered offense powered by Grayson Allen, and the two bigs in Wenell Carter and Marvin Bagley. Their strong 2-3 zone also is slowing down opposing offenses significantly from the changes that they made at the beginning of the season” said Justin. Added Angelo, “Duke has the most talent in college basketball, and their always known to be a great team. On top of that Marvin Bagley is unguardable.”

I myself also have Duke winning it all just because of the fact that Marvin Bagley really can’t be touched. With his presence on the court as well as Coach K. drawing plays to free up the offense, there isn’t much anyone can really do.  But in college basketball nothing is for certain and anything can happen. Out of 17 million brackets made in the world, after just a few days 0 are left standing perfect. It just goes to show you that anything is possible and we’ll just have to let the madness ensue.