March Madness Weekend Highlights and Takeaways and Predictions
An exciting and historic weekend of men’s college basketball
The biggest highlights of the weekend were the cinderella stories of Florida Atlantic, Fairleigh Dickinson University, and Princeton University. Florida Atlantic defeated Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Round of 32 to make the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) became only the second school in the tournament to be a #16 defeat the #1 seed prior to that. Purdue lost to the small school from New Jersey 63–58. Number 15 Princeton is still the lowest remaining seed in the tournament.
The Ivy League school took care of both No 2 Arizona and No 7 Missouri. The last game against Missouri was a blowout after they narrowly defeated Arizona in the first round. This is Princeton’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1967. Another notable surprise was the defending champion, #1 Kansas lost to #8 Arkansas in the second round. #13 Furman defeated #4 Virginia. #7 Michigan State defeated #2 Marquette in the East region in the round of 32. Some notable absences from the later rounds also include Duke who lost 65–52 to #4 Tennessee in the round of 32.
East Region: 3 Kansas State, 4 Tennessee, 7 Michigan State, 9 Florida Atlantic
Midwest Region: 1 Houston, 2 Texas, 3 Xavier, 5 Miami
South Region: 1 Alabama, 5 San Diego State, 6 Creighton, 15 Princeton
West Region: 2 UCLA, 3 Gonzaga, 4 UConn, 8 Arkansas
All times are U.S. Eastern time zone
March 23rd, 2023
- 3 Kansas State vs. 7 Michigan State | 6:30 p.m.
- 4 UConn vs. 8 Arkansas | 7:15 p.m.
- 4 Tennessee vs. 9 Florida Atlantic | 9 p.m.
- 2 UCLA vs. 3 Gonzaga | 9:45 p.m.
March 24, 2023
- 1 Alabama vs. 5 San Diego State | 6:30 p.m.
- 1 Houston vs. 4 Miami | 7:15 p.m.
- 6 Creighton vs. 15 Princeton | 9 p.m.
- 2 Texas vs. 3 Xavier | 9:45 p.m.
My personal picks for each game are below.
7 Michigan State, 4 UConn, 9 Florida Atlantic, 2 UCLA, 1 Alabama, 1 Houston, 6 Creighton, 3 Xavier. This Elite Eight looks like a very likely scenario as I think that Princeton’s Cinderella run will end against the more versatile and defensive-minded Creighton Blue Jays. PF #21 Adama Sanogo is currently the leading scorer still remaining in the tournament at 26.0 PPG, and 10.5 RPG. UConn will still be a force going forward because of this fact as well.
I still think that the championship will be one of three teams, either UCLA, Houston, or Alabama, so it’ll be fun to watch this play out as the tournament goes on. I didn’t do a bracket this year so I have no extra incentive to root for one team or another but it’s been exciting and interesting to watch everything play out. All I’m waiting to see at the end of the month when the championship comes around is who will be cutting the nets and hearing that iconic championship song.
