What the Sweet 16 says about mid-majors

There are no mid-majors left in March Madness. Men’s March Madness, the Sweet 16 has no mid-majors. The SEC has seven teams left, the Big Ten and Big 12 have four each, while the ACC’s lone representative is Duke. It is crazy to think that only four of the 31 autobids are left.

The only Cinderella left, so to speak, is 10-seed Arkansas, as the school is the lowest seed left. On the other hand, the Razorbacks might not qualify as such because they are from the SEC and have legendary head coach John Calipari.

There are no Cinderellas. Only power conference schools are left. While it may feel like a boring edition of March Madness, it has been anything but. Almost every game during the first weekend either started or ended close.

Out of the Midwest Region, the McNeese Cowboys dominated the Clemson Tigers from the jump.

Clemson’s free-throw shooting did not help, as the team went 50% from the line. If the Tigers' head coach, Brad Brownell, lit a fire under his team a little earlier, the game might have ended differently.

The Alabama State Hornets gave the South Region’s No. 1-seeded Auburn Tigers a run for their money in the first half.

BYU from the East Region had to pull away from the VCU Rams slowly. Out of the West, the game between Arkansas and Kansas felt like a Battle of the Titans as the end of the game kept going back and forth.

Yale was going shot-for-shot with the Texas A&M Aggies in the second half. The Bulldogs could not overcome shooting under 41% from the field and 33.33% from three in the first half.

St. John’s went the first three minutes of their game without any points, letting the Omaha Mavericks jump out to a 7-0 lead. In the second half, the Red Storm pummeled the Mavericks, outscoring them 50-25.

If UC San Diego’s Tyler McGhie made that three-point shot at the end, it would have tied the Michigan Wolverines, most likely sending the game to overtime. The Texas Tech Red Raiders were in a battle with UNC Wilmington, but the Seahawks could not match each bucket as Texas Tech pulled away late.

The Robert Morris Colonials gave the Alabama Crimson Tide a scare as the game only felt like it was done with less than 30 seconds left. Neither Vanderbilt nor Saint Mary’s could pull away from each other.

North Carolina stormed back against Ole Miss in the second half, making it a two-point game with a minute left, but could not get the job done. The game between Troy and Kentucky was close at halftime, but Kentucky pulled away in the second half. The Bryant Bulldogs scared Michigan State at first, but the Spartans' experience helped them secure the victory.

In the second round, all the potential Cinderellas withered away. Purdue made sure McNeese never felt like it had a chance. Drake could not match Texas Tech down the stretch.

A controversial no-call on Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater was the difference and ended Colorado State’s potential Cinderella run against the Maryland Terrapins. Even though New Mexico was up by two at the half, the Spartans outscored the Lobos by ten in the second half, leaving the Lobos with no hope of being a Cinderella either.

Only looking at the final scores from the first weekend of games is extremely deceiving. These games have been and will continue to be fun and intense.

Duke will try to redeem the ACC. Arkansas will attempt to play Cinderella. The state of Michigan will attempt to infiltrate the South as it battles the SEC in Atlanta. Purdue will try to gain a home-court advantage in Indianapolis as the city will play host to the Border Battle between Kentucky and Tennessee.

It has been widely known that the NCAA has been top-heavy this year. Although no mid-majors are set to play for the rest of the tournament, it doesn’t say anything bad about them, and it doesn’t mean this tournament hasn’t been exciting.

Jack Harrison is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jkh6603@psu.edu.