After two years, one of the greatest events in all of sports returned in spectacular fashion as March Madness played out successfully after being tragically cancelled last year. It was definitely worth the wait, as this year included all of the upsets and spectacular moments to cover two years of action, with no shortage of incredible moments in the 2021 tournament. 

As expected, there were no perfect brackets this year, and just about everyone was knocked out of the running after only the first round. That was because of some unbelievable upsets headlined by 15-seeded Oral Roberts, whose Cinderella story consisted of defeating Ohio State and Florida. They could not finish the job, as they lost to Arkansas in a heart-breaker, but this team will forever be etched in the history books as they were just the second 15-seed in history to make the Sweet 16, the first being Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. 

Along with Oral Roberts, Abeline Christian pulled off a shocker as they took down powerhouse Texas out of nowhere. They came in as a 14-seed with no expectations, and while they did get eliminated in the second round, their first round performance will be one for the ages.

It is crazy to think that a 15-seed making the Sweet 16 may not have been the most impressive underdog story of the tournament, but that title might have to go to UCLA. Headlined by superstar sophomore Johnny Juzang, the Bruins were able to make it to the Final Four after playing in the First Four, and almost made it to the championship game before losing to heartbreak.

UCLA’s dramatic loss to Gonzaga was one of the greatest games I have ever had the privilege of watching and one I will never forget. Not only were there some incredible individual performances–Johnny Juzang scoring 29 points and Drew Timme going for 25–but it was truly a team effort on both sides and an incredibly well-played game. Additionally, the ending to this game could not have been written up any better. With the game winding down, Juzang was able to rebound his own miss and put up a game-tying layup with just 3.3 seconds remaining to tie the game. Fans were preparing for a second OT period, but Jalen Suggs had other plans. As time expired, he buried a near half-court shot to send the Bulldogs to the chip in what was one of the greatest shots in March Madness history.

After the shot by Suggs, Gonzaga looked primed to win it all as they were undefeated and led by three superstars, with Corey Kispert and Drew Timme accompanying Suggs. Together, they appeared to be unbeatable and were one of the most dominant teams the tournament has ever seen, but the impressive one-seeded Baylor Bears were not going to go down without a fight.

In what was a dominant outing, Baylor won by 16 headlined by Most Outstanding Player Jared Butler’s 22 points and seven assists. He did not do it alone, as MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell were key contributors and they got the job done as a group. While it was not the most exciting finish of all time, the outcome itself was very surprising and followed this year’s theme perfectly. This win for Baylor was their first men’s national championship in school history.

For NBA fans, there was no shortage of NBA talent in this year’s bracket as the projected top three picks all balled out. Projected #1 overall pick Cade Cunningham was able to propel his 12 seeded Oklahoma State squad to the elite eight and projected #2 pick Evan Mobley did the same with his sixth seeded USC team alongside his brother Isaiah. Jalen Suggs, a projected top five pick who was previously mentioned for his incredible game winner vs UCLA, was a huge reason Gonzaga made the championship game and he looks primed for a great career as well.

While there were many exciting and surprising stories from this year, there were also some disappointing ones. The most obvious were two seeded Ohio State losing to Oral Roberts and one seeded Illinois second round exit. I personally had picked Illinois to win it all, and after their first game, I was confident in my choice. Superstars Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn looked unstoppable in their first round matchup against Drexel, but that flame was quickly put out by Cameron Krutwig and Loyola Chicago. You may remember the Ramblers from 2018 when their good luck charm, Sister Jean, propelled them to make an incredible run to the final four. Well, her luck did not run out. as she was in attendance once again to watch her team exceed expectations.

2021 is already looking up compared to 2020 in many aspects, and having March Madness certainly helped in terms of sports. There was nothing left to be desired from this year’s tourney, as the amount of great moments and historic games will live on forever. With fans aching for college basketball’s biggest stage back, they got exactly what they wanted with an incredible end. I speak for myself. as well as millions of fans all over the world, when I say this year was truly special and I cannot wait until next year.