Since 1939, fans have enjoyed an entertaining NCAA tournament in which they cheered on their favorite college teams and tried to perfect their brackets. March Madness is back, and this year is already off to a wild start. 

The difference between the NBA and the NCAA is that the players in the NCAA are far less skilled than those in the National Basketball Association. This leads to many upsets or a supposedly bad team beating a really good team. 

One of those teams was the #15 seed, Saint Peter’s Peacocks, beating the fraudulent #2 seed, Kentucky Wildcats. Many fans—including myself—were shocked at this outcome since Kentucky is well-known for its basketball program. 

Kentucky is a powerhouse basketball school with an impressive resume that includes eight national championships. They are often considered the most successful basketball program in history due to their high winning percentage and their all-time win count. 

But even with all these accolades, it’s called March Madness for a reason. In a back and forth duel, including an extended overtime period, the Peacocks just edged out the Wildcats 85-79. This ruined many brackets simply because Kentucky was predicted to run far in the tournament this year. Despite this, however, Kentucky isn’t the only upset so far. 

The Auburn Tigers, who finished eighth in the country, were given a #2 seed like Kentucky. Auburn is led by All-Americans Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler. Smith is anticipated to be a high draft pick in this year’s NBA draft—or, he was supposed to be a high draft pick. As fate would have it, Auburn would be a 2nd round exit to the Miami Hurricanes. (Credit to the Hurricanes who played an excellent game.) 

Auburn played their worst game of the season when it mattered most. Their supposedly “star” player, Smith, choked in the clutch, shooting 3-16 and letting his team down. Smith’s poor performance lowered Auburn’s morale and eventually led them to get blown out by the Hurricanes 79-61. 

This game caused Smith’s draft stock to take a serious hit. Isaiah Wong of the Miami Hurricanes, however, stole the show with 21 points and 6 rebounds propelling his team to the victory. 

Fans have debated all year who the better team is, Gonzaga or Auburn? Well, I think we clearly know the answer to that.