Every year, the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball tournament, otherwise known as March Madness, offers plenty of upsets, game winners, and fantastic storylines. This year was no different. 

From last second buzzer beaters, threes from the logo, and wild upsets, this year’s matchups were truly madness. Here are some of the best storylines from this year’s tournament.

Wild Finishes and Upset Runs:

In just the second game of the first round, the 13-seeded Furman Paladins shocked the 4-seeded Virginia Cavaliers 68-67 in a wild final sequence. The Paladins found themselves down by 11 points early in the second half but were able to climb back into the game. With 12.3 seconds remaining and down by two, the Paladins were on defense and were able to trap senior guard Kihei Clark in the corner. Clark was overcome by the pressure and threw an ill-advised pass to midcourt rather than calling timeout. The Paladins were able to intercept the throw and get the ball into the hands of JP Pegues who cashed in a three with just over two seconds remaining, giving Furman their second March Madness win in school history and advancing them to the second round. This was the first time the Paladins found themselves in the tournament since 1980, and they made the most of the appearance. 

Later that day, the 15-seeded Princeton Tigers captured a 59-55 upset win of their own over the 2-seeded Arizona Wildcats. The Wildcats had a lot of momentum going into the tournament, having just won the PAC-12 tournament. The Tigers were only given a 3.7% chance to the game at one point by ESPN analytics but were able to defy the odds. About halfway through the second half, the Tigers found themselves in a 10 point hole but were able to mount the comeback and win by 4. They were able to feed off of stout defense down the stretch and didn’t allow a Wildcats score in the last four minutes of the game. This wasn’t the end of Princeton’s run however, as they defeated the Missouri Tigers in the next round 78-63, advancing to their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 1967. They would then fall to the Creighton Bluejays 86-75 in the Sweet Sixteen but still exhilarated the country with their tournament run.

In the Sweet Sixteen, the 3-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs and the 2-seeded UCLA Bruins met in a highly-anticipated matchup. Gonzaga found themselves down for a decent amount of the first half but were able to claw their way back into the game. With just over ten seconds left in the game, UCLA Guard Amari Bailey made a clutch three pointer to put the Bruins up by one. On the next possession, Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther responded with a deep three of his own that would end up being the nail in the coffin in a 79-76 Bulldog win. This wasn’t the first time that Gonzaga and UCLA had met in a March Madness game that came down to the wire. In 2006, UCLA got the best of Gonzaga and won 73-71 in a wild Sweet Sixteen victory. In the 2021 Final Four, Gonzaga beat UCLA 93-90 on a long distance buzzer beater from Jalen Suggs, sending the Bulldogs to the National Championship.

In the only overtime game of the entire tournament, the 3-seeded Kansas State Wildcats defeated the 7-seeded Michigan State Spartans in a 98-93 thriller. The Sweet Sixteen matchup was back and forth throughout. With one minute left in overtime, an alley-oop from Markquis Nowell to Keynote Johnson gave the Wildcats the lead and they never gave it back. Nowell shined in the win, stacking up 20 points and 19 assists in the victory, sending the Wildcats through to an Elite Eight appearance.

A Bad Year for the One Seeds:

Prior to this year’s tournament, the last five champions were one seeds. However, in this year’s tournament, none of the four one seeds were able to advance to the Elite Eight.

The first one seed fell during the first round, in arguably the biggest upset in March Madness history. In a wild game the 16-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson Knights took down the Purdue Boilermakers 63-58. This was the second 16 seed to take down a one seed in tournament history.

The next one seed to fall were the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks. They lost to the 8-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks 72-71 in a wild game that came down to the final seconds. Junior Guards Devonte Davis and Ricky Council IV led the way for the Razorbacks in scoring, contributing a combined 46 points in the winning effort.

In the Sweet Sixteen, the number one overall seed Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the 5-seeded San Diego State Aztecs 71-64. The game was tight for most of the way but the Aztecs were able to pull away and fend off any last efforts from the Crimson Tide. Senior Darrion Trammell led the Aztecs in scoring with 21 points. This game was a shocking turn of events as many experts and fans felt that Alabama was the most complete team in the field and had an easy path to the Final Four. 

In just the next game, the last one seed fell. The 1-seeded Houston Cougars lost 89-75 to the 5-seeded Miami Hurricanes, ruining the Cougars hopes to reach the Final Four and play in Houston. The Hurricanes were firing on all cylinders on the offensive side of the ball with all five starters scoring in double figures. Nijel Pack led the way in scoring, going an impressive 7-10 from three point line, on the way to the Hurricanes second straight Elite Eight appearance.

Final Four:

This year’s Final Four featured an unlikely group, with the highest seed being a four. 

In the first matchup of the Final Four, the winner of the South Region, San Diego State Aztecs faced off against the winner from the East Region, the 9-seeded Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Owls. After finding themselves down by 14 in the second half, the Aztecs started to mount their comeback. The final 10 minutes the game was back and forth with each team vying for every point they could get. After collecting a defensive rebound, the Aztecs found themselves down by one, flying down the court with ten seconds remaining. Junior guard Lamont Butler pushed the attack and maneuvered his way to a shot on the baseline. He took the shot as time expired and buried it, sending the Aztecs to the National Championship via a 72-71 win. Alongside Butler, Matt Bradley was the offensive engine who posted 21 points. In the losing effort, Alijah Martin scored an impressive 26 points for the Owls. This was a classic March Madness game with a dramatic finish that sent the Aztecs into a night of celebration.

In the other semifinal matchup, the 4-seeded UConn Huskies asserted their dominance versus the Miami Hurricanes, winning 72-59. At the halftime break, the Huskies held a 13 point lead, and never seemed to look back. Junior Forward Adama Sanogo scored 21 points with an efficient field goal percentage of 81.8. 

In the National Championship, the UConn Huskies continued their run and ended up winning by a score of 76-59 over the San Diego State Aztecs. The Aztecs were able to cut the lead to five with just over five minutes remaining in the game but a Jordan Hawkins three was the dagger. UConn impressively won all of their tournament games by double figures. This was the program’s fifth championship since 1999, and capped off another exciting March Madness.