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Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024
The Observer

Observer Sports March Madness Bracket — Round of 32, West Region

Two upsets have headlined our first two Round of 32 articles, but will any more upsets happen in Gonzaga’s region? Read on to find out. No. 1 Gonzaga def. No. 8 LSU, 84-81 (Double Overtime)An absolute thriller to start us off. We got to double overtime by virtue of us being dead tied after all initial voters submitted their winner AND after submitting margin of victory, leading us to a second round of voting which finally determined that Gonzaga was moving on, putting down a feisty upset bid from LSU. It took a lot more effort than anticipated, but the Bulldogs are through to the Sweet 16. No. 4 Oregon def. No. 5 Michigan, 76-63 Michigan may have been a little over-seeded at No. 5, and Oregon, led by All-American senior guard Payton Pritchard, is definitely an under-seeded four-seed. The Ducks cruise over the Wolverines, pushing forward into the Sweet 16 without too much stress. Oregon will take on Gonzaga in its next contest. No. 3 Seton Hall def. No. 6 BYU, 83-72 BYU was a popular underdog story, but Seton Hall got the unanimous vote in this contest. The Pirates battled through a brutal Big East this year to earn their three-seed. They’re more battle-tested, and with senior guard Myles Powell, they have the best player on the court. BYU stays close for a half, but Seton Hall pulls away and into the Sweet 16. 

No. 2 San Diego State def. No. 10 Texas Tech, 86-84This was a brutally close game among our voters, but ultimately the Aztecs do just enough to close out the defending national runners-up and earn a date with Seton Hall in the Sweet 16. This game is an absolute nailbiter, a tug-of-war battle the whole way, but Texas Tech is built on strong defense, and a game-tying effort at the buzzer hits the back rim and bounces away. Almost our biggest upset of the tournament. But almost doesn’t win in March.