March Madness is half way through the second round of games. Round one featured twelve upsets in two days.

Perhaps the maddest portion of March Madness, the first round features 32 basketball games in a two day stretch. This naturally leads to big moments each year; we see breakout performances, underdog stories begin, and elite teams assert dominance. March Madness 2019 was no different, featuring all of the above.

Perhaps the most impressive individual performance came from Murray State’s Ja Morant, who had the tournament’s first triple double since 2012. Though Murray State upset Marquette as a 12 seed over a 5 seed, this could hardly be considered a breakout game for Morant. He has had the look of a top-3 draft prospect for months.

Murray State did fall back to Earth in round two, losing to Florida State University. We are seeing plenty of the nations top programs plow ahead through the second round such as Kentucky, Michigan, Gonzaga,and Michigan State. Kansas dropped a tough one to a surging Auburn squad, while LSU edged out Maryland. LSU is surprising some doubters after in-season turbulence (death of a player, suspension of their head coach).

Tennessee is underway now against Iowa and are off to a hot start. Other big programs such as Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia tip off this evening.

Villanova will not get to defend their title, losing to Purdue yesterday. All 1 seeds are still alive, but there are many games left to be played. While there have been plenty of upsets, none have been as surprising so far as what we saw last year from UMBC or Loyola. As the Sweet 16 takes shape, that may be subject to change.

Women’s NCAA update

The lady’s bracket only saw five first round upsets to the men’s 12, but still had plenty of exciting games. One of those upsets was the 11 seed Missouri State Lady Bears, who toppled 6 seed DePaul 89 to 78. The Lady Bears play again tomorrow at 8PM Central against Iowa State on ESPN.

A few of the top dogs in this bracket will be tested soon, so there will be plenty of opportunities for more drama. Things have played out as expected so far, so look for change any time now.

UCONN, seeded as a 2 (the lowest they have been in years) plays Buffalo tonight, who had an upset victory in the first round. A chip on the Huskies shoulder could prove dangerous for any team in their way. Will they storm back to the top of the NCAAW world? Or will Lousiville, Baylor, or someone else have their time to shine?

Tune in to find out!

Perhaps the most exciting stretch of basketball each year is upon us - NCAA March Madness is set to begin.

Get pumped basketball fans! The 2019 NCAA March Madness tournament bracket has been released. Last year’s tournament delivered generous amounts of madness, so hopefully this year can live up to the hype as well. We may not get another 16 seed toppling a 1 seed, but hey, we can hope to get close right?

Of the 68 teams named to the nation’s top collegiate tourney, 32 are conference champs and the rest were selected by a committee using various algorithms as well as a bit of objectivity per usual. We will get things whittled down to a clean 64 squads after the “First Four” which will be played on March 19 & 20. The first round will begin Thursday March 21st.

The top seeds are ACC heavy: Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, and North Carolina. One of the more controversial seedings is that Michigan State is a 2 seed, where many believed they should be a 1. Adding insult to injury, they are in the same bracket as overall 1 seed, Duke. Assuming both teams advance all the way (and assuming is a dangerous game anyway), it would certainly make for an interesting Elite Eight matchup.

To go all the way, you have to beat the top teams anyway, so who can really complain? To be the best, you must beat the best. Michigan St. is set to start the tournament facing Missouri Valley Conference champs, Bradley.

An unfortunate trend over the years with this tourney is that mid-majors are overlooked in favor of middling schools from big conferences. This year’s bracket bucked that trend a bit and we see some smaller universities in the mix. Everyone loves an underdog story and this year is providing some interesting opportunities for that.

Here is a link to NCAA.com if you would like to view and/or print a bracket

Filling in a perfect bracket may be virtually impossible, but taking a stab at it is one of the sport’s most fun traditions. Sports fans love competition, so what could be better then putting your opinions into a bracket ready to compare with family, friends, teammates, and coworkers.

ESPN had some notes on the women’s NCAA rankings, but that bracket has not yet been released. Congratulations though to the Missouri State Lady Bears who won the Missouri Valley Conference and will be heading to the big dance! Stay tuned for coverage on the lady’s side of things soon.

Good luck to everyone on your brackets and good luck to all of the athletes looking to make a splash on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Keep checking back with The Basketball Movement for more tournament coverage as well as local teams, NBA news, and action straight from our home courts. Merry Madness!