The March Madness tournament is known for its unpredictable nature and this year is no different. There were no perfect NCAA Tournament brackets after the first two days of action, and the latest bracket report shows that pretty much no one saw this Elite 8 coming.
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March Madness Brackets: Did Anyone See This Elite 8 Coming?
According to ESPN, just one bracket out of over 20 million correctly predicted the Elite 8.
Only
bracket picked this Elite Eight ? pic.twitter.com/spi5ZSYunB
— ESPN (@espn) March 25, 2023
The biggest March Madness bracket buster thus far has been the FAU Owls. After beating Memphis on a buzzer-beater in the first round, FAU defeated No. 16 seed Farleigh Dickinson to set up a Sweet 16 matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers. FAU put together their best performance of the tournament in that matchup, winning 62-55.
Now, FAU comes in as a slight two-point underdog against the Kansas State Wildcats with a trip to the Final Four on the line. FAU head coach Dusty May has a relationship with Wildcats star Keyontae Johnson from their days in the Florida Gators program.
“So I watched them a lot,” May said of Kansas State, per 247 Sports. “So very familiar. And obviously watching Keyontae (Johnson), last night he put on a show, just his ability to score, to impact every single possession. We’re not even talking about his defensive ability … it just shows how special he is as far as heart.”
The other shocking development has come from the San Diego State Aztecs program. SDSU came into the Sweet 16 as a heavy underdog against Alabama but was able to silence their critics with an upset 71-64 win. They became the first team from the Mountain West ever to make the Elite 8.
“It’s just who we are, we feel like we can beat any team in the country, ” Trammell said on the TBS broadcast after the game, per CNN Sports. “We work hard, and we feel like we have the DNA of a winning team that goes far in March. We have experience, we have grit, and we feel like this is what we’re supposed to do.”
San Diego State will now look to keep their run alive when meeting Creighton in the Elite 8 Sunday. With SDSU beating Alabama and Miami beating Alabama on Friday, this year now marks the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament that no No. 1 seed has advanced to the Sweet 16.
The NCAA Tournament has provided a ton of excitement, but the March Madness bracket report shows how nobody could have seen these eight teams being the last ones standing.
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