NCAA’s “March Madness” college basketball playoff tournament ended last month with Florida coming out on top. It was only the second March Madness ever to have all of the number one seeded teams in the final four. Prior to the tournament, some Norwalk students said they were rooting for the favorite teams, but there was also some students who bet on the underdogs.
Blake Steenhoek, a freshman, said he had Duke winning the tournament due to their regular season record while topping the ACC.
“Duke is in as the one seed, and the amount of hype that they have is crazy,” Steenhoek said. “All I see on my feed is Duke edits.”
Arian Krasniqi, a sophomore, said he had Duke winning the bracket because of their star player, and Naismith Player of the Year award winner, Cooper Flagg.
“Cooper Flagg is huge, and is projected to go within the first round of the NBA draft,” Krasniqi said. “He is a dog and is going to be the reason Duke wins this jawn [tournament].”
Braden Plourde, a junior, said he had Florida winning the March Madness bracket solely because of the skill their players have, and how far they had made it by the time of the interview.
“Florida is deep in the bracket and Walter Clayton Jr. is the best guard in the nation,” said Plourde.
While these three students had the number one seeded teams winning, another student had an underdog winning. Isaac Binder, a senior, said he had Saint Xavier winning in his March Madness bracket because he could win money.
“Dude I could put 25 cents on them winning and win hundreds of bucks,” Binder said.
As it turned out, Saint Xavier lost in the round of 64 to Illinois, 86-73.
Florida would end up defeating Houston in the final round of March Madness to win the championship. The final score of the game was 65-63.
