85 Expansion Day 4 Update - First Buzzer Beater
During another great day of college basketball, we saw our first buzzer beater as the Crab 5 stayed alive over Colorado State. A 3 pointer to take the lead with 6 seconds left wasn't enough for the Rams, as Maryland had Derik Queen going downhill, hitting a tough right handed fade while going to his left. Maryland, seeing their previous 4 losses all come on the final possession, finally ended up on the winning side and keep on (Crab) walking to the sweet 16.
UConn and Florida also had a fantastic game, as UConn played their absolute best game they had in them, showing their poise and experience. However, even as the game was tough, Florida held strong as great teams do. Two offensive rebounds off of missed free throws won the game for them - that and Walter Clayton Jr. This was arguably the best game of the tournament, as it was just good basketball and back and forth all game.
Duke handled Baylor with ease, Kentucky reminded everyone they're the true blue blood and there was a reason they were the #3 seed, even if the betting line favored Illinois, and Alabama handled St. Mary's more easily than 15 seed Robert Morris. Michigan State ensured no Pitino would be in the 2nd weekend, and Arizona sent the Ducks flying home.
Ole Miss beating Iowa State was a notable upset, as many people didn't think Ole Miss would get past UNC in the first round. Also, with Ole Miss advancing, the SEC set an NCAA tournament record with 7 teams in the sweet 16. A shout out to Casey and Cameron for picking Ole Miss, not that your bracket has much else to brag about... The Tennessee Kentucky matchup should be an interesting one, as the two SEC teams already played twice, Tennessee winning both matchups. But beating the same team 3 times in a season is tough...
In our bracket, Katherine takes sole possession of 1st with 12 correct games. More importantly, the dual Florida Alum Clouser Household (shout out to Katherine getting her MBA from Florida this winter!) does not need a refund on their flight just yet. I'm sure there was some pacing or tense moments during that game though.
Lelia is the only other person to get 12 games right, and her and Chris are the only two with all 8 elite 8 teams still alive. Between them and Caitie regaining 2nd place with her mother, sounds like that Piscataway Public School Education is something we should all be signing up for!
Despite being a sprinter and writing off the 800m in college, Joey is taking the race out slow but stays in striking distance with the rare Houston champion pick. He leads the internal high school grouping of Joey, Rob D, and myself. Thankfully, Rob is better at best man speeches than basketball knowledge, otherwise we'd need a lot more editing in our wedding video and we'd really never see the final product.
Just to not ignore, Meghan did lose her champion in Oregon, but self admitted she did zero research before making her picks. What was the logic in a 5 seed? Unsure. But she's been quite busy negotiating change orders since we're on our 12th iteration of design changes in 2025 alone (I'm only slightly exaggerating) so who am I to judge?
Games to watch:
At this point, I think it's fair to say there are no games that on paper look to be bad games to watch. The #1 seeds have the largest spreads heading into Thursday, and I predict they are the most likely to have less intense games, especially Duke who has not broken a sweat yet. Otherwise we tip off Thursday evening at 7:09 with Alabama and BYU.
Stay strong during these 3 sad days of no college basketball. We'll get through it together.
Rory F Beglane
Founder of the 85 Expansion Bracket Challenge
Villanova Enthusiast
0 Time Bracket Winner
0 Time Always March Winner