The basketball gods gave us an unbelievable tournament after COVID-19 cancelled the tourney last year. I want to thank them. I forgot what it felt like to watch a March Madness game. All the buzzer beaters, upsets, cheers, boos, tears of joy, and tears of sadness. All of that combined is what makes March Madness the greatest tournament ever. I don’t want to hear anyone say that the NBA, NFL, or MLB Playoffs are better. I don’t want to hear anyone saying the Stanley Cup Playoffs are better. Nothing beats the NCAA Tournament. Anything can happen. All 68 teams give it their all because you have one game to win. No series. One loss, and you’re out. I saw some unbelievable games in the past few weeks. Here is my ranking of the top 10 best games of the tournament:
- #1 Gonzaga beats #11 UCLA in overtime, 93-90 – Final Four Nothing beats this. This is one of the best games I’ve ever seen live. I wasn’t alive to witness The Shot in 1992 or UConn shocking the world in 1999. I wasn’t old enough to remember the 6OT thriller between Syracuse and UConn. I agree with what Clark Kellogg said. Neither team lost, UCLA just ran out of time. Jalen Suggs made one of the greatest shots in NCAA Tournament history. This game was exciting from start to finish. Everyone thought Gonzaga would steamroll UCLA, but the Bruins wouldn’t go down without a fight. Johnny Juzang was on fire, with 29 points and shooting 66.7% from the field. Jaime Jaquez had 19. Cody Riley was clutch, as well as Tyger Campbell. The stakes were high, and the Zags move on to the National Championship Game. Drew Timme was incredible, putting up 25 points and drew a game-changing charge to force overtime. Joel Ayayi doesn’t get enough credit. Many of the starters for Gonzaga were in foul trouble, including Ayayi, but he was the best player on the floor for the first half and finished with 22 points. We’ll be talking about this game for the years to come. This game easily tops what happened in 2006. UCLA will be real good next season. Mick Cronin – you did a hell of a job. From the First Four to the Final Four.
- #11 UCLA upsets #2 Alabama in overtime, 88-78 – Sweet Sixteen People will disagree with me on this, but after this game, I knew UCLA would end up in the Final Four. They showed toughness and the great desire to win. Jaime Jaquez led the way with 17 points and 8 boards. He was the main reason UCLA got out of that battle with Nate Oats’s Crimson Tide. Alabama’s Alex Reese hit one of the most clutch shots of the tournament, hitting a three to play five more minutes. It was an incredible game and I really loved that East Region this year.
- #15 Oral Roberts upsets #2 Ohio State in overtime, 75-72 – First Round Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Max Abmas show! I didn’t know a lot about him coming into this first round matchup against Ohio State, but I predicted Ohio State would go to the Final Four, so that’s why this is so high. Ohio State was so close to winning the Big Ten Championship, but they end their season sour. Kevin Obanor had a 30 point double-double and Max Abmas couldn’t miss, putting up 29 points. Thank you, Oral Roberts, for busting my bracket.
- #11 UCLA upsets #1 Michigan, 51-49 – Elite Eight I don’t think, besides the #14 Abilene Christian game, that there was a game that wasn’t exciting. Johnny Juzang showed the country that UCLA is still one of the top programs of all time. 28 points from him, and UCLA heads to the Final Four. The Pac 12 was the winner of the conferences in this tournament, while the Big Ten was the opposite. Michigan was just one shot away from surviving, but they’ll go home to Ann Arbor and pay for the mistakes made in that game.
- #3 Arkansas survives against #15 Oral Roberts, 72-70 – Sweet Sixteen Sometimes, the outcome everyone wants has to come to an end. Oral Roberts was the second 15 seed in the tournament history to make it to the second weekend (FGCU, 2013), and they almost got to the regional final. Max Abmas almost took the game at the buzzer, but the ball bounced off the rim like it did for Gordon Hayward back in 2010. I want to applaud Oral Roberts. You’ve been heard. Thank you for an incredible Cinderella run that ended too short.
- #14 Abilene Christian stuns #3 Texas at the buzzer, 53-52 – First Round I knew there was going to be a 14-over-3 upset this year, but I didn’t think it would be this one. I picked Colgate, and I paid the price for picking a team, that went to the Elite Eight, to lose. Joe Pleasant was the player that stepped up for Abilene Christian. Pleasant got an offensive rebound and drew a foul with two seconds on the clock. He made both, and stole the inbound pass to send the Wildcats to the second round over Texas. I will not, however, overlook the performance Texas guard Andrew Jones had. He was clutch when the game went down to the wire, but didn’t get the outcome he wanted. I love his story too, as he beat leukemia less than two years ago.
- #11 UCLA survives against #11 Michigan State in overtime, 86-80 – First Four UCLA came into this game on a losing streak, but as the underdogs, they had a chip on their shoulder. Johnny Juzang was injured in this game, but thanks to a 27-point game from Jaime Jaquez Jr., they came out on top and advanced over Tom Izzo’s Spartans. This was the most exciting game I’ve ever seen in a First Four game. Usually, these games weren’t entertaining, but they were this year.
- #15 Oral Roberts shocks #7 Florida, 81-78 – Second Round This was by far the most exciting second round game. The Max Abmas-Kevin Obanor duo was at it again. Obanor put up a 28 point double-double, while Max Abmas finished with 26 points and made all of his free throws. These two are unbelievably talented. I feel for Tre Mann, who finished his collegiate career with 19 points.
- #7 Florida survives against #10 Virginia Tech in overtime, 75-70 – First Round Considering this was the first game of the first round, I felt like we were bound to have a great tournament. The Hokies moved the ball around beautifully and Nahiem Alleyne drilled a three to send the game into overtime. He finished with a game-high 28 points, but Florida had the toughness. Colin Castleton and Tre Mann led the way and overtime went the Gators’ way to advance to the second round.
- #2 Houston rallies to beat #10 Rutgers, 63-60 – Second Round And last but not least, I had to go with the great comeback Houston had against Steve Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights. Rutgers guard Geo Baker made costly mistakes down the stretch that helped Houston get to the second weekend. Rutgers had the game in their hands, but Quentin Grimes and DeJon Jarreau made them go back to New Jersey. What was incredible about this game was that Jarreau was dealing with shooting pains in his hip, but told coach Kelvin Sampson that he still wanted to play. That’s the toughness I love seeing in a March Madness game. Without Jarreau, we don’t know who would have played Baylor in the Final Four.
Honorable Mentions (not in order): #13 Ohio upsets #4 Virginia, 62-58; #5 Creighton barely gets by #12 UC Santa Barbara, 63-62; #11 Syracuse stuns #3 West Virginia, 75-72; #3 Arkansas gets by #6 Texas Tech, 68-66.
Calhoun's Corner 