The Week That Was | NCAA Tournament Look-In | 30th Anniversary of Michael Jordan’s Return To The NBA

The NCAA Tournament for the men and women is underway let's look at the women's basketball tournament where the 10th seeded Oregon Ducks won in overtime against the 7th seeded Vanderbilt winning by score of 77-73. Deja Kelly scored 20 points for Oregon who lost a 19-point lead but was able to pull out the win.

The 4th seeded Kentucky Wildcats barely beat 13th seeded the Liberty Flames by score of 79-78 where Georgia Amoore scored 34 points including 3 free throws made in the final 10 seconds but Kentucky had a 17 point lead in the 4th quarter but held on for the victory. The 7th seeded Louisville Cardinals beat The 10th seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers by score of 63-58 led by Tajianna Roberts who scored 16 points while Jayda Curry made two free throws and drew a charging foul in the final minute. The Cardinals will face their former guard Hailey Van Lith who plays for the 2 seeded TCU in the second round. These were the standout games from the women's basketball tournament.

Now let's look at the men's basketball tournament which started this week where there were a few surprises in the form of upsets. But first there was a last second layup by Alabama State’s Amarr Knox in the matchup of the #16 seeds at the First Four against St Francis Red Flash. The final score was 70-68 where Knox had scored 16 points. Moving forward to the first round where the 12th seeded McNeese Cowboys beat the 5th seeded Clemson Tigers by score of 69-67. Overall McNeese was the better team because they had a 24 point lead but which would eventually be lost due to the rallying of the Tigers coming back into the game with a run of their own. Brandon Murray was the catalyst off the bench scoring 21 points on 10-18 shooting for the Cowboys. There other possible upsets that didn't occur like 5th seeded Michigan Wolverines held off 12th seeded UC San Diego winning by score of 68-65. Tyler McGhie had a chance to tie the game at 68 but the shot from three point range hit the back iron.

10th seeded Arkansas Razorbacks led by Head Coach John Calipari defeated 7th seeded Kansas coached by Bill Self by score of 79-72. Jonas Aidoo scored 22 points for the Razorbacks. Now Arkansas will play in the second round against St John's which would be an intriguing coaching matchup Calipari and Rick Pitino. For Kansas is this the end of the Jayhawks as top flight elite because since they won their national championship in 2022,the Jayhawks has not advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive tournament appearance. 8th seeded Gonzaga may be a dark horse in the tournament after beating 9th seeded Georgia by score of 89-68. Khalif Battle scored 24 points on 9-13 shooting. 2nd seeded Alabama barely beat 15th seeded Robert Morris by score of 90-81. Mark Sears scored 22 points for Alabama. Robert Morris during the game took a 65-64 lead on a layup by Josh Omojafo. Alabama responded behind Sears who scored 7 points during the 11-2 run for Alabama. The 12th seeded Colorado State upset the 5th seeded Memphis Tigers by score of 78-70 as Kyan Evans scored 23 points including 6 3-point shots made which was a career high. 11th seeded North Carolina Tar Heels lost to 6th seeded Ole Miss by score of 71-64. The Rebels had control of the game at times in terms of clinging to a 22 point lead but the Tar Heels rallied to cut the lead to single digits at 66-64 but Sean Pedulla made the biggest shot of the game when nailed an uncanny 3-point bomb to increase the lead to 69-64 with 52.8 seconds.

Moving forward to the second round on Saturday keep eyes on Arkansas vs St John's, Michigan vs Texas A&M, Creighton vs Auburn, BYU vs Wisconsin, Gonzaga vs Houston and UCLA vs Tennessee.

This week marked the 30th Anniversary of Michael Jordan’s Comeback to the NBA after retirement in 1993 after winning a third consecutive NBA title at the top of his game but his return was a jolt to the world of sports where he played in his first official game as a Chicago Bull since the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns. Michael Jordan wore jersey #45 instead of #23 against the Indiana Pacers on March 19th 1995 on the road but lost 103-96 where Jordan scored 19 points playing 43 minutes but on March 28th 1995 against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Jordan showed flashes why he was the best in the game by giving the Knicks a double nickel scoring 55 points. The Bulls won 113-111. Overall Michael Jordan with his #23 jersey and the Bulls would win the NBA Finals championship in 1996 winning 72 games during the regular season alongside winning the MVP and beating the Seattle Supersonics as Jordan ruled again in the NBA as the best in the league completing his comeback in full circle.