Every bracket has been broken. None are intact. It’s been that way since Round 1 of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. March Madness is in effect.
Tri-state area teams have done their part in wrecking the brackets. Fairleigh Dickinson University, a No. 16 seed, and Princeton, a No. 15 seed, both repping New Jersey, opened the first round with shocking upsets. FDU defeated No. 1 seed Purdue 63-58 last Friday in the East region, only the second time in the tournament’s history a 16-seed beat a 1-seed. Princeton knocked off No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 last Thursday in the South region.
Princeton, the fourth-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, chartered before the American Revolution, didn’t stop there. They advanced to Round 2 last week, decisively defeating 7-seeded Missouri last Saturday by 78-63, earning the right to play in this week’s Sweet 16, which begins today. They’ll face No. 6 seed Creighton tomorrow night.
FDU, looking to make it to Madison Square Garden, a short drive from their Teaneck campus and site of the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 for the East region, fell to Florida Atlantic University 78-70 on Sunday night. Creighton, one of three Big East teams in the Sweet 16, defeated NC State 72-63 and Baylor 85-76.
The University of Connecticut, out of the Big East and No. 4 in the West region, will meet up with No. 8 Arkansas this evening. UConn, projected by many pundits to go deep into the bracket, eliminated Iona in Round 1 by 87-63. They took care of No. 6 seed Saint Mary’s College 70-55. Days after Iona’s loss, their now former head coach, Rick Pitino, signed a six-year deal to become the new head coach for St. John’s.
Two No. 1 seeds remain: the Alabama Crimson Tide in the South, and the Houston Cougars in the Midwest. The Tide defeated Texas A&M by 96-75 and pulled away from Maryland in the second half for a 73-51 victory. The Tide will play No. 5 San Diego State tomorrow. Houston dismissed Northern Kentucky by 63-52 and battled Auburn for a 81-64 win.
The Cougars, which reached the Elite 8 last year and the Final Four in 2021, also plays tomorrow, facing the University of Miami. Houston had a major challenge getting past Auburn. “I was most disappointed in our competitiveness in the first half,” said their head coach, Kelvin Sampson, after his team was behind 41-31 at halftime. Sampson’s adjustments limited Auburn to 31 second half points while his offense picked it up and scored 50. “Second half, we made it hard for them to score,” he noted.
The Cougars have added incentive to reach the Final Four as it will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston.