The men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) March Madness tournament concluded April 7, with the University of Florida beating the University of Houston 65-63 in the final game. The women’s championship game occurred April 6 with the University of Connecticut (UConn) beating the University of South Carolina in a blow out game of 82-59
For the men’s tournament, the Final Four was between Houston, Duke University, Auburn University and Florida. All of the teams in the Final Four were one seeds, which was the first time this happened since 2008.
Duke was attempting to win their first National Championship since 2015, but they failed in their efforts, losing to Houston in heartbreaking defeat, with a score of 70-67. Although star player Cooper Flagg missed a crucial shot late for Duke which ended up leading to a loss for the team, he still had 27 points.
On the other side of the Final Four bracket, Florida beat Auburn 79-73 in a highly exciting and fast-paced game. Florida guard Walter Clayton Junior scored 34 points leading them to a national championship appearance.
In the men’s final, Florida showed effort and resilience after being down early in the game. Will Richard led Florida in scoring with an 18 point performance to help them win it all. Clayton Junior had a down performance from the last couple of games but still managed to help his team by scoring 11 points. Although Houston lost, Lionel (L.J.) Cryer Jr. scored 19 points and hit important shots to keep Houston in the game. Florida won their third national championship, which was their first since 2007.
For the women’s Final Four, it was between the University of Texas Austin, South Carolina, UConn and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). South Carolina beat Texas 74-57 with a well rounded team performance, and UConn beat UCLA in a blowout of 85-51 where Sarah Strong dominated with 22 points.
The National Championship was between South Carolina vs. UConn, where fifth year senior guard Paige Bueckers claimed the national championship for her team. She had an impressive 17 points in the game. Another impressive performance was by Sarah Strong who had 24 points and 15 rebounds which were the most out of anyone in the game.
