The Hoosier State is home to a multitude of basketball enthusiasts. For students at Gibson Southern, it can be a time to compete against friends by making brackets and showing off their basketball knowledge. Although it may seem like fun and games, making the perfect bracket drives most to have a very competitive edge.

“I look forward to March Madness every single year,” sophomore Brodey Toy said.

This March Madness may hold even more value because of the fact that it didn’t happen last year. Although fans were limited and players were isolated in a bubble, one thing was for sure: there were going to be some competitive basketball games. 

This year was full of upsets and broken brackets. There were upsets from No. 15 Oral Roberts, No. 13 North Texas, No. 12 Oregon State and No. 11 Syracuse. Oral Roberts was the cause of many people’s ruined brackets, especially after they made it past the first and second rounds in tournament play. 

“My bracket was completely ruined after the first round,” sophomore Allison Adler said.

Although there were many upsets and shocking games, one team in particular shocked nobody with their constant winning. No.1 Gonzaga had an undefeated season going into March Madness, and they were the expected winners for a lot of brackets. With their star starting lineup and a killer bench, there was no way they could be beaten … right?

In the final four, Gonzaga and No. 11 UCLA faced off against each other, and those who had Gonzaga winning it all had reasons to start to worry. Gonzaga took the win 93-90 with a last second three-pointer by freshman Jalen Suggs. The other final four matchup was between No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Houston. Many thought it would be a great, close game between the two teams, but Baylor ended up defeating the Cougars 78-59.

“I wanted UCLA to win just because nobody expected it,” sophomore Vann Rose said.

On April 5, the NCAA National Championship was held at Lucas Oil Stadium between two No. 1 seeds: Gonzaga and Baylor. Baylor commanded the lead right away, and at one point in the first half, led by 19 points. They eventually won against the undefeated Gonzaga, and won the national championship for the first time in school history.

“I was so happy Baylor beat Gonzaga because I was tired of seeing Gonzaga win,” junior Kennedy Wilzbacher said.

With Baylor’s win, the March Madness tournament came to an end but left the nation talking about some of the best basketball they’ve seen played in years.