Sixty eight college teams will compete to play in this year’s All-American tradition. Although the tournament wouldn’t be played in 2020 due the pandemic, with certain guidelines by the country and states across the US the tournament was a go. March Madness has been a tournament since 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The idea of this tournament was from Ohio State coach Harold Olsen. Not every game may be played in March, however the madness for these colleges to prove they are the best is played throughout March. Since the first tournament in 1939, March Madness has become very popular in common culture.

The Elite Eight

The final four would be set on the last day of March, the number 1 seed Baylor would end up defeating number 3 seed Arkansas with the score 81 to 72. With that victory Baylor has punched their ticket into the final four.  The Matchup between number 2 seed Houston and number 12 seed Oregon State would be won by Houston. It was a close matchup between the two teams, Houston with the win 61 to 67 final score. With that victory Houston would be set to face Baylor for a classic 2 seed vs 1 seed.

In the west side battle of the tournament the other number 1 seed Gonzaga faced number 6 seed USC. USC in their previous game defeated the number 7 seed Oregon to reach the Elite Eight. Gonzaga would end up defeating USC to reach the final four. The number 1 seed team Michigan would face the underdogs UCLA who are the number 11 seed team. UCLA had just defeated the number 2 seed team Alabama, 88 to 78 the score. After beating a number 2 seed, UCLA would have big shoes to fill to defeat the number 1 seed Michigan.

UCLA being the underdogs, would end up defeating Michigan in a close match up. It was a close battle between these two colleges, UCLA took the win with the score 51 to 49. UCLA was the last team to punch their ticket to the final four, setting up a match up with number 1 seed Gonzaga.

Final Four

The first game of the final four would be the match between the Houston Cougars against the Baylor Bears. The Baylor Bears would take the first quarter, leading the Cougars 20 to 45 going into halftime. As for the second half of the game, the Cougars would score 6 points more than the Bears. However it was not enough to defeat the Bears, 59 to 78 was the final score.

Perhaps the best game yet in the tournament this year was with the UCLA Bruins against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. After the first half of the match up, the Bulldogs were winning by 1 point over the Bruins going into halftime. It was a close one throughout the game between these two teams, both teams scored 81 points at the end of regulation. The game will go to overtime to determine the winner to play for the championship. Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs made the game winning 3 point buzzer from downtown to send Gonzaga to the championship.

The Championship

The moment of truth would be determined on April 5th, 2021 to crown a champion between these two number 1 seed teams. Gonzaga has a chance to make history with a victory to have a perfect season. Last team to do so was the Indiana Hoosiers back in 1976. However the Baylor Bears wasted no time in the start of the game. Baylor was able to shut down Gonzaga since the start, Gonzaga would trail by 10 going into halftime. At the end the Baylor Bears would take the championship over the then undefeated team in the tournament. It was a good tournament run for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, unfortunately that one loss came in the championship. Final score 86 to 70, Baylor Bears are the 2021 NCAA National Champions.