Through three rounds in the NCAA Tournament, there have already been many upsets. Some of these might have been predictable, some were obvious upsets, and some slipped under the radar. All these upsets make for a crazy and excitement-filled tournament.
There have been a few major upsets in the first three rounds. The biggest came when the 14th seeded Mercer Bears beat the 3rd seeded Duke Blue Devils. Another came when the 11th seeded Dayton Flyers beat the 6th seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the round of 64 and also beat the 3rd seeded Syracuse Orangemen in the round of 32. The 10th seeded Stanford Cardinal upset the 2nd seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the round of 32 to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16. Another unpredictable upset took place when the 7th seeded Connecticut Huskies defeated the 2nd seeded Villanova Wildcats.
Some of the upsets were predictable. Many bracketologists predicted these upsets to take place. In the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, the bracket filled out by SI had predicted both the Harvard upset over Cincinnati and the Stephen F. Austin upset over Virginia Commonwealth University. These are the two upsets that were commonly picked to occur but are still considered upsets.
There have also been a few upsets that have slipped under the radar because of other bigger upsets that have taken place. One upset was the Tennessee win over UMass. The Tennessee Volunteers had to win a first four game against Iowa just to reach the field of 64. They now have quietly found their way into the Sweet 16. Another upset that went unnoticed was North Dakota State defeating Oklahoma. This was a 12 seed beating a 4 seed that didn’t get much attention.
The rounds of 64 and 32 have been exactly what March Madness is supposed to be- madness. The next four rounds have the stage set to be one of the best in tournament history.