March Madness is in full swing, and only 16 teams remain to crown a national champion.
In an NCAA Men’s Tournament that has been full of upsets, the ‘madness’ will continue as the sweet sixteen face off to advance and keep their championship hopes alive.
Four teams seeded No. 10 or higher remain in the tournament, but it is the No. 15 seed, St. Peter’s, that has shown up to the dance with glass slipper in hand. The Peacocks have knocked No. 2 Kentucky and No. 7 Murray State, both by six or more points. The Cinderella team has another powerhouse team to defeat in order to keep dancing, and that’s the No. 3 seed of Purdue.
Only three of the four No. 1 seeds remain: Kansas, Gonzaga and Arizona; after No. 9 North Carolina knocked No. 1 Baylor in an overtime thriller.
So, with the sweet sixteen set, it’s now time for the inaugural ’Cody’s Sweet Sixteen Pick ‘em.’
West region: No. 1 Gonzaga over No. 4 Arkansas; No. 2 Duke over No. 3 Texas Tech.
East region: No. 8 North Carolina over No. 4 UCLA; No. 3 Purdue over No. 15 Saint Peter’s.
South Region: No. 1 Arizona over No. 5 Houston; No. 11 Michigan over No. 2 Villanova.
Midwest region: No. 1 Kansas over No. 4 Providence; No. 10 Miami Over No. 11 Iowa State
Elite Eight
West: Duke over Gonzaga.
East: North Carolina over Purdue.
South: Arizona over Michigan.
Midwest: Kansas over Miami.
Final Four
East vs West: Duke over North Carolina.
South vs Midwest: Arizona over Kansas.
National Championship
Duke over Arizona; 84-76
Coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke is coaching in the final tournament of his illustrious career. Krzyzewski became the head coach of Duke in 1980 and has since won five national titles and holds the record for most wins in NCAA Division I men’s basketball with 1,200 career wins; 1,127 of those came at Duke.
It’s hard to bet against a guy that’s considered the greatest head coach in basketball and wants to end his career on the highest note of them all: a national championship.
So order some pizza and kick back, because the excitement is just beginning. It’s March Madness.
