Big Upsets

As most of you know, March madness has begun, and it has started with a bang. Michigan state, who was the no. 2 seed and  "The Spartans were the most popular bet to win the NCAA tournament at the Westgate SuperBook in both money and number of tickets after the bracket was released." according to ESPN, lost to Middle Tennessee, a no. 15 seed.

Yet, After they won, they were relatively calm after such a massive upset. Their celebrations seemed to be the result of a mid-season victory and not an earth-shattering upset. As it turns out, they thought that they were going to win long before the game. Senior Guard Jaqawn Raymond stated, "We're not surprised at all. We knew, if we just played our game, what the outcome would be."



So, Why were the players so confident going into a game that, according to the 97.8 percent of people who had Michigan winning in the first round of their bracket, they should have lost? One reason could be the improved team bonds created on their trip to the Bahamas, or their victory in the Great Alaska Shootout in November.

Their turning point during the season though most likely came from Giddy Potts suffering a concussion in a game with Western Kentucky, which they lost 78-72. After this game, the team was forced to come together, which they did, and so, were able to win the C-USA tournament two weeks later. They will not shift focus towards their unexpected second round match-up with Syracuse on Sunday.

 But the Middle Tennessee victory was not the only upset, at least for those living near Lexington Kentucky. The UK Wildcats also had an upset, losing to Indiana 67 to 73. This was bad news for anyone near the Big Blue University who had the Cats moving on to the second round match ups.

We'll see how the next few games play out with 2 teams expected to make it much further out of the competition so soon.