What Would’ve Been a Great March Madness
As I am sure you’ve heard by now… COVID-19 has ended the sports world until further notice. If you’re anything like me, you’re also tired of hearing about that virus. With that being said, I think that this is a perfect opportunity to talk about what could’ve (and would’ve) been a wonderful March Madness tournament.
A lot of people have taken creating a bracket into their own hands. Sports Illustrated, SBNation and ESPN are a few of the reputable organizations that gave fans a taste of what they thought the tournament could have been.
For the most part, these created brackets put the Number 1 seeds as Gonzaga, Dayton, Baylor and Kansas. While these powerhouse teams had a combined record of 114-11 this season, if you watched any college basketball this year it would be safe to say that the tournament would not have been this straight forward. The field of 68 would’ve been stacked with other teams that were on either side of an upset or had very impressive records themselves.
When the University of Evansville defeated Kentucky 67-64. Or that time when Stephen F. Austin beat Duke 85-83. Or when San Diego State Men came out of nowhere with a record of 30-2, not losing their first game until February 22nd. Or how Indiana was about to make the tournament for the first time since 2016. Or the fact that Indiana probably would’ve been joined by about 9 or 10 other Big Ten conference teams. Or how on the Women’s side of the sport, Sabrina Ionescu became the first NCAA basketball player ever to reach 2000 points, 1000 assists and 1000 rebounds.
I believe it is safe to say that the cancelled 2020 NCAA March Madness Tournament would have easily been one that college basketball fans could have enjoyed. It definitely would’ve brought lots of excitement and upsets to the world of basketball. But, it seems like fans will just have to wait and hope that the 2021 tournament will be able to offer the same things.
Until then, use these top moments of the college basketball season, brought to you by ESPN, to get you through this weird time.
Sports by Katie 