March Madness 2021

By Inbar Adiel ‘22
March Madness returned this year following the cancelation of the tournament last year as a result of the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it did not disappoint. It truly was an exciting roller coaster ride. 
This year, some major underdogs played excellently. For example, Oral Roberts, a 15 seed, made it to the Sweet 16. They started their journey in the tournament by defeating Ohio State, a two seed, and then later beating Florida, a seven seed, by three points. 

Another example of a major underdog who made it to the Sweet 16 was Loyola Chicago. This eight seed defeated Georgia Tech and later went on to defeat Illinois, a one seed, by a staggering 13 points. 
One player who played incredibly well was Iowa’s center, Luka Garza. Even though his team lost in the second round against Oregon, he played great as he finished with 36 points and nine rebounds. 
Additionally, UCLA guard Johnny Juzang was another great player in the tournament. UCLA was an 11 seed that made it to the Final Four, where Juzang dropped 29 points and six rebounds.
“Juzang is an amazing scorer and excellent shot creator,” junior Natty Bitran, a center-back for the Boys Varsity Soccer team, said. “He came up clutch when his team needed him most.”
Gonzaga, a one seed, was the favorite to win the championship heading into the tournament. They went 30-0 leading up to the National Championship. 
“[Gonzaga is] an amazing team. They are the best shooting team in all of March Madness,” junior Oren Ramer, center on the Boys Varsity Basketball team, said. “Drew Timme and Jalen Suggs, as well as Corey Kispert, are all great players, who will make it to the NBA. I think both Suggs and Kispert will be top 10 picks in the upcoming NBA draft.” 
Sadly for Ramer, Gonzaga met Baylor in the National Championship, another one seed. Baylor was 27-2 going into the game, and they were eager to upset Gonzaga, which is exactly what they did. Baylor came to play, blowing out Gonzaga by 16 points. Baylor played exceptional defense, holding Gonzaga’s Big Three; Timme, Suggs and Kispert; to a combined 46 points, compared to the 59 points they scored against USC, a six seed, just two games prior. 
“Baylor plays with so much energy,” junior Pacey Ely, said. “They have a great defense. Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler are great isolation players who are already very well-versed. I am positive they will have an immediate impact on their teams in the NBA.” 
Baylor was also able to hold Gonzaga to just five out of 17 three-pointers (29.4%), while they hit 10 out of 23 three-pointers. Even after their loss, Gonzaga will look to win the National Championship next year as they are the early favorites.