March Madness seeks new champion

This March has been pretty mad. With wins in the Elite Eight, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Villanova, and Syracuse head to Houston for the Final Four.

Bahamian superstar Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners defeated the number one seeded Oregon Ducks by a score of 80-68. With Kobe Bryant in the building, Buddy Hield used this as motivation for his 37-point performance.

“As soon as I saw Kobe was here, I knew I had to put on a show. Blame it on Kobe.” said Hield in a radio interview. It has been fourteen years since the Sooners made a Final Four appearance.

After Villanova defeated the number one overall seed Kansas Jayhawks 64-59, Their defense proved to be the major aspect of the game as they locked up the Jayhawks’ leading scorer Perry Ellis, only allowing him 4 points. With clutch free throws from Kris Jenkins, and steals from Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart in the last minute to prevent a Kansas comeback, the Wildcats sealed a victory and a plane ticket to Houston where they will take on Oklahoma.

Kris Jenkins believes his team isn’t done yet as he said, ”Every guy on this team is willing to do whatever it takes to win, man, everybody on this team sacrifices. But we’re not satisfied. We’re looking forward to our next game in Houston. This definitely is a special feeling, but like I said before, we’re not satisfied.”

Syracuse was the big surprise in the tournament. Ranked as a number ten seed, the Orange found themselves in the Elite Eight playing against the number one Virginia Cavaliers who were highly favored to win. It was looking bleak for the Orange, as they were down, at one point, by a 14-point deficit in the second half. With the help from Freshman Malachi Richardson, Syracuse pulled off the comeback by going on a 21-2 run. With the final score being 68-62, Syracuse advances and will play another number one team, this time being North Carolina in an ACC matchup.

North Carolina’s strong offense took care of Notre Dame on Sunday night with a 88-74 win over the Irish. One of the top players in the nation, Brice Johnson, had a spectacular night. His 25 points along with his 12 rebounds lead the Tar Heels to a spot in the Final Four. North Carolina is the lone number one seed left in the tournament.

The games are now set. Will Villanova be able to stop Buddy Hield and the Sooners? Can Syracuse continue the Cinderella story and defeat the Tar Heels? These questions will be answered Saturday night in Houston in what will be a Final Four to remember.