March Madness: Elite Eight Updated Bracket, Upsets, and Highlights
By Jamie Light
Did your picks make it past the Elite Eight? Get your March Madness Updated Bracket, Upsets, & Highlights. Plus, find out which teams are headed to the Final Four…
March Madness is beginning to wind itself down. The Elite Eight round has just passed and the winners of the four games have combined for an interesting mix headed into the Final Four. We have seen #1 seeds get knocked out in earlier rounds, and lower seeded teams upset teams ranked way higher than them. There have been teams that equally deserved a Final Four spot and fought tooth and nail to get to the Elite Eight, only to lose to another team with a similar story. There are only two No.1 seed teams that still remain in the NCAA Tournament heading into the Final Four and here they are…
No.1 seed North Carolina, appeared to have a close call against the Kentucky Wildcats, who were just behind them with a #2 ranking. However, this didn’t stop the Tar Heels from pulling out a win in the final seconds of the game. Both teams were considered tournament powerhouse programs according to CBS Sports, who reported that Kentucky had the most all-time tournament wins, with 124, and that the N. Carolina program fell just behind them with 120 all-time.
"North Carolina took control with 12 straight points over the final 5 minutes, a run similar to what it used a week ago to beat Arkansas. The Tar Heels finished this game with a 16-9 run. Kentucky’s freshmen De’Aaron Fox hit a 3 and Malik Monk quickly added two more, one with 7.2 seconds left and defenders in his face to tie the game at 73."
The teams played it out close, but the Tar Heels managed to dominate the majority of the final 5 mins. The game was tied 73-73, with just .03 seconds left, and Maye scored the final shot for N. Carolina giving them the win at 75-73. You can catch the #1 North Carolina Tar Heels, facing off against the #3 Oregon Ducks, who took down No. 1 seed Kansas. The game will be on Saturday, 4/1, at 8:49 pm on CBS.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs spoiled all Final Four hopes for the Xavier Musketeers, who upset not one, but two higher seeded teams to get to the Elite Eight. I know many of you were probably pulling for this team just because they evaded all the numbers to get to this point. Hell, I’m a FSU fan and they knocked them out in the second round, but I still wanted to see them make it. Even Bill Murray wanted them to win, even if he was a little biased. (His son, Luke is an assistant coach, so his appearance at the games, aligned with their wins, somehow made him their good luck charm.) Unfortunately, their exciting run came crashing to a halt this past Saturday. The Washington Post…
"Viewers got an unexpected surprise when Xavier, where Murray’s son Luke is an assistant coach, came within one game of the Final Four. If he was a little wacky at the baseball playoffs, he was a model dad in the stands cheering for Xavier."
Related Story: March Madness: Sweet Sixteen Bracket Updates, Upsets, and Highlights
Hey, if any team deserved to beat them it was Gonzaga. Going into the Elite Eight game, Gonzaga shared the exact same tourney history numbers with them, but Gonzaga played better than them this season, and it really showed in this round. Neither team had ever made it into the Final Four, but the Gonzaga Bulldogs got the win with a final score of 83-59.
You can watch the No.1 seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs first-ever Final Four appearance against #7 S. Carolina, on Saturday, April 1st, at 6:09 pm, on CBS. Can they pull off a win against South Carolina, which is a bit of an upset team themselves?
March Madness Updated Elite Eight Bracket…
3/27 March Madness Bracket Updated. Image Provided by FanSided.
Be sure and check back here for your Final Four Updates, following each game on April 1st.