Attention all basketball junkies! March Madness was tough on many students who believed they could predict the outcome. The “perfect bracket” appeared to be out of grip for sophomores Sean Hartman and Josh Gera.
“FGCU was a huge bracket buster,” Hartman said.
FGCU was a 15 seed that made it to the elite eight, shocking the nation due to its low seeding.
Gera, on the other hand, had Harvard going to sweet 16. Luckily for Gera, Harvard upset a number three seed: New Mexico. However, Harvard lost to the Arizona Wildcats 51-74 in the next round, therefore destroying the rest of Gera’s bracket.
In reality, the outcome of these games would bring with them injury and surprise to Gera and Hartman. Prior to the championship game, sophomore Kevin Ware (one of Louisville’s guards) came down on his leg. In an attempt to stop the shooter, he fell on his leg, his bone snapping and shooting out of his skin.
“It was the worst injury in all of sports. It makes me afraid to close out,” sophomore Josh Gera said.
Nonetheless, as the NCAA March Madness came to a close, the Louisville Cardinals pulled through as champions. The championship game, which was held on Monday, April 18th, challenged the Michigan Wolverines to the Louisville Cardinals. Spike Albrecht (a freshman who averaged 1.5 points per game and played a total of 7.5 minutes a game) was able to hop off the bench. Right from the beginning, Albrecht hit three back-to-back threes. He would end up scoring a total of 17 points at the end of the second half.
The cardinals and head coach, Rick Pitino, have said that they won the game for Ware. Ware will be back next year, but as of right now, he is stuck in a leg cast.