Sports

Webbies choose their predictions on who will win the 2021 March Madness Tournament

Connor Plunkett, Bryan Oglesby, and George Cardenas

March 29, 2021

https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2021/03/march-madness-2021-ncaa-bracket-update-and-results-sundays-sweet-16-tv-schedule.html

NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Standings

This year’s March Madness tournament has been everything but predictable, ranging from teams advancing without playing a single time, to teams playing against each other for the first time in 25 years.

Since the start of the tournament, only four of the Pac-12 teams have made it to the sweet 16 team. The USC Trojans (24-7) and the Oregan Ducks (21-6) face off on March 28th, 2021 at 6:45 p.m. PST in Indianapolis at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The Trojans have eased their way through the tournament so far, taking down Drake 72-56 and vanquishing Kansas 85-51. Surprisingly, the Trojans have been able to hold their opponents to a 38.7% shooting throughout the season. Kansas’ shooting percentage is the fourth lowest in the nation.

The Trojans also average 5.3 blocks per game, which is ranked fifth in the nation.

Although the Trojans seem to have high odds of winning the tournament, the Oregan Ducks are defiantly a worthy opponent.

When Oregon first entered the tournament. They were given a free advance due to Virginia Commonwealth University being disqualified due to speculation of players testing positive for COVID-19.

The Ducks went on to defeat the #2 seed Iowa 95-80 in the second round of March Madness. They played an amazing game, shooting 55.9% from the field and hitting 11 threes. Their shooting made the Ducks the best three-point shooting team this season.

On the other side of the bracket, the No. 1 seed Gonzaga battled the #5 seed Creighton.

“My bracket certainly took some hits…but Gonzaga still in it,” said Mr. Duque, WSC Dean of Students and coach of the WSC basketball team.

In less than seven minutes, Gonzaga was able to create a double-digit lead, which became a 10-point lead by halftime. The score then creeped up to a 27-point lead by the end of the game. In the last six tournaments, Gonzaga has clinched a final eight spot four times.

Many believe that Gonzaga will win the tournament after having a 29-0 record to finish the season.

On the southern side of the bracket, #3 Arkansas and #1 Baylor will meet on Monday, March 29th, battling for a spot to play in the final four.

Saturday, March 27th #3 Arkansas barley sealed the win against #15 Oral Robets University. Despite the ranking difference, many fans believed ORU would be able to win the game. The last time these two teams had played each other was in 1991. To put that into perspective, no current player on Baylor’s basketball team was alive in 1991.

Now the two teams will face off in the South Regional final during their 25-year reunion.

“I had Ohio state in the finals, but they lost about three hours into the tournament beginning,” Jake Baiz (‘21) said. “It was very fun watching the games with Jay Akpengbe (‘22) and rooting for the upsets, but this was a very frustrating year.”

Every year March Madness has been enjoyable to watch, but during this year’s season, unpredictability is the new standard. Like Mr. Duque said, “it has been MADNESS…buzzer beaters…major upsets.”

You can follow the NCAA March Madness tournament here at the NCAA Official Website.

https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/bracket

About the Contributors

Connor Plunkett, Editor of Audiovisual

An expert of the humanities, Connor Plunkett (‘23) returns to the Webb Canyon Chronicle as the Editor of Audiovisual for his final year in the program. While Connor enjoys debating and listening to music — specifically Kanye West and MF Doom — most of his time is dedicated to soccer, a lifelong passion he inherited from his family. Whether he is hanging out with friends or enforcing the Honor Code as the co-chair of the honor committee, Connor’s charismatic personality makes him a standout presence on the Webb campus. Despite preferring challenging humanities classes with historical and literary analysis, Connor’s focus and expertise are the WCC’s media section, contributing to podcasts and vlogs alike. His favorite film is La Heine, and he’s currently reading The Brothers Karamazov, both incredibly intense and sophisticated pieces of media and perfect testaments to Connor’s originality and intellect in his approach to journalism. Connor can’t wait to revive “Austin on The Block” and draw future journalists into the WCC with his magnetic work. Favorite song: “Devil in a New Dress” by Kanye West

Bryan Oglesby, Chief Editor of Sports

Bryan Oglesby (‘23) has made himself known in the world of Webb athletics by being both the captain of the varsity football team and track & field team. His love for sports is intertwined with his love for the Webb Canyon Chronicle, as he takes on a new role this year as the Chief Editor of Sports. Being an athlete has given Bryan many talents such as being able to jump over his leg, do handstands, and do front flips, all in that order. Along with football, Bryan’s favorite hobbies are singing, playing a variety of sports with his family, helping the community, and cooking. Bryan loves cooking his favorite meal, beef Wellington, for himself and his friends at social gatherings or just for fun when he’s hungry. Outside the WCC, Bryan is an avid leader in the community by being a head peer advisor and his role in the Empowering Student Voices Initiative. Bryan also prides himself on being a scholar. His favorite class is LA Literary Culture with Mr. Calvert because it puts LA into a different light and has given him a new perspective on the city he grew up in. Going into his senior year, Bryan hopes to write meaningful articles that will benefit the community as well as staying connected to his family during his last year of high school. He hopes to end his final year at the WCC with a bang. Favorite song: “Ultralight Beam” by Kanye

George Cardenas, Editor of News

An avid music listener, George Cardenas (‘23)’s perfect weekend involves a homework-free day at the beach with “Night Boat to Cairo” by Madness blasting in the background. In fact, George considers himself to be a very easy-going, optimistic person, who loves nothing more than relaxing with his friends or experimenting on the piano. Although he does enjoy tranquility, George also works with his fellow members of the WSC honor cabinet to uphold Webb’s Honor Code. George is passionate about staying up to date with current events and wants to continue keeping everyone informed during his time on the Webb Canyon Chronicle. A typical Capricorn, George is disciplined, strategic, and clever— similar to a wolf, his self-proclaimed spirit animal. George looks forward to working on the WCC this year as Co-Editor of News and hopes to write authentic, factually correct articles that enlighten the Webb community. Favorite song: "Tadow" by FKJ and Masego