UCLA Eliminates Alabama in Overtime

Only one compelling basketball game on Sunday in the Sweet 16 as the 11th seeded UCLA Bruins continued their grind to an Elite 8 matchup with Michigan by defeating Alabama in overtime.

I thought this was one of the best games of the tournament so far as we now begin Elite 8 games today with a Baylor vs. Arkansas matchup and a Houston vs. Oregon State battle to give us our first two members of the Final Four.

On Tuesday we get Gonzaga vs. USC and Michigan vs. UCLA. Despite some of the normal upsets along the way in the first two rounds…we have the top three teams in college basketball still standing in Gonzaga, Baylor, and Michigan.

Both Baylor and Michigan have come back to their norms after serious Covid issues derailed their seasons in mid to late February. In Houston we have a team which has been on a solid trajectory all season long. Arkansas is on a tear and winners of eleven straight and is the sole SEC team left standing.

The Big 12 and the Big Ten have both been whittled down to one team apiece. The surprise in this tournament is that three PAC 12 teams in USC, UCLA, and 12th seeded Oregon State are still alive on this Monday morning.

Houston vs. Oregon State should be a war with the primary focus being if Houston’s tough defense can grind down Ethan Thompson’s star studded run in this tournament so far.

Then there’s Gonzaga the No. 1 team in the tournament with Evan Mobley and Company standing in their way to a Final Four opportunity to create a another shot at their elusive first ever NCAA mens hoops championship.

We’ve gotten this far in Indiana with this bubble approach to pulling off the tournament and the teams we have left standing should give us a compelling finish.

From a regional view in the Big 12 both Oklahoma and Texas sometime this week will both probably be naming new basketball coaches while Indiana named Mike Woodson their head coach yesterday.

In the NBA…the question to be answered is if LeBron and AD can both get healthy and win another ring. Not much competitive drama if they both get healthy. But if one of them doesn’t get back in form, unlike last season, we could have an interesting spring of NBA Playoffs.

But for now…it’s March Madness front and center heading towards Easter week-end.

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