March Madness hasn’t been nearly as mad as it has been in the past, but Saturday finally saw a really big upset that likely shook up quite a few brackets. March Madness in the NCAA tournament is known as the time of year when teams that are set to win the national championship suddenly find themselves losing to teams they should be able to easily topple.
While a few lower seeds had managed to knock off their high seeded opponents, none of the very high seeds had suffered from March Madness until No. 1 seeded Villanova went down to No. 8 seed North Carolina State. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this March Madness upset is that it didn’t take any kind of massive comeback for the Wolf Pack to knock off one of the four teams the NCAA selection committee saw as a favorite to win the tourney.
What’s really mad about this March Madness upset is the teams that were involved have always been known as NCAA Tournament upstarts. In fact, Villanova and North Carolina State are considered two of the teams that gave March Madness it’s moniker. About 30 years ago, North Carolina State got it’s only National Title when it pulled off a huge upset of Houston. NC State was once again an 8 seed but the number one seed that day was faced off in the National Championship game.
Villanova grabbed its own bit of March Madness lore when it, then an eight seed also knocked off a number one seeded Georgetown Hoyas team in 1985. On Saturday, Villanova was no longer the David, but it was now the goliath. It appears the Wildcats aren’t quite as confident in their standing when talking about being the team that is favored. NC State clearly still enjoyed its ability to be the team that knocked off the bigger, badder opponent.
It’s safe to say that very few people had actually expected the Wolfpack to get into the Sweet Sixteen. Their chances were thought so slim by so many that even President Obama didn’t pick them. That sat so poorly with one Wolfpack player that he actually made a rather derogatory comment about the President. It should be pointed out that the Wolfpack player isn’t the only one to call the President out. Georgia State head coach Ron Turner said he hopes the President makes better decisions in the oval office after Georgia State pulled off its own little March Madness when it beat Baylor in the first round.
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