The first two rounds of March Madness 2025 have come to an end and there does not seem to be any Cinderella stories this year. The sweet sixteen for both brackets this year comprises all six-seeds and above teams, except for the men’s ten-seed, University of Arkansas.
There have been three major upsets in the tournaments this year. Still, an honorable mention to begin with would be the University of Connecticut men’s team loss against the University of Florida.
UConn’s eighth-seed Huskies have won the last two national championships and were looking for a three-peat. Unfortunately, they fell by two points to the first-seeded Gators in the second round and were sent home for good after their postseason run.
The twelfth-seeded Colorado State beat fifth-seeded University of Memphis in the first round of the men’s tournament with a score of 78-70. Colorado State’s Rams were heavily favored going into the game as Memphis’ Tigers were missing a key component to their team with guard Tyrese Hunter out with an injury.
Although they trailed by five at the half, the Rams made a major comeback, putting up 47 points in the second half to secure their win. Colorado State’s guard Kyan Evans fought hard for his team, leading the game with 23 points, an important element in securing this win.
In the second round of the men’s tournaments, the two-seeded St. John’s University was brought down by the ten-seeded University of Arkansas. The Razorbacks’ win of 75-66 was well fought as St. John’s notable number-one-ranked defense worked against them.
Unfortunately for the Red Storm, their shots did not fall that night with only 28 percent efficiency. From beyond the arc, only two triples fell for each team with the Razorbacks leading with a 10.5 percent efficiency followed shortly by the Red Storm’s 9.1 percent. Arkansas is the lowest-seeded team to compete in the sweet sixteen in the men’s and women’s brackets.
McNeese State University’s win over Clemson University in the men’s bracket was the biggest upset for most fans. Fifth-seeded Clemson was on the path on making it to the sweet sixteen until twelfth-seeded McNeese came out hot in this first-round matchup.
At the end of the first half, McNeese was up 31-13 with Clemson’s shots not falling in for the first twenty minutes. However, Clemson came back with an astonishing 54 points versus McNeese’s 38 points made in the second half, resulting in a 69-67 win for McNeese.
The last two points, which ultimately led to their win, came from free throws from guards Quadir Copeland and Javohn Garcia. McNeese’s guard Brandon Murray, a bench player, led his team with 21 points, helping secure their win.
Amir ‘Aura’ Khan, a student manager for McNeese, has also made headlines becoming the first student manager to have an NIL deal, opening the door for student managers everywhere.
Although no Cinderella upsets occurred in the women’s bracket this year, many consider the biggest upset for both tournaments the one that transpired during the second-round game between the University of Southern California and Mississippi State.
In just the first five minutes of their game, USC’s star guard Juju Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL injury. The sophomore was ranked a top-25 prospect by ESPN and many fans believed she was on the fast track to become one of the next greats of women’s basketball before her injury.
The women’s bracket will conclude play with Final Four matchups happening April 4, and the National Championship on April 6. The men’s tournament wraps up with Final Four matchups on April 5 and the National Championship playing on April 7.
