The 2023 NCAA Tournament made it through the first weekend with a wild mix of upsets and chalk depending on your region of choice. The West region was chalk in the first round, but then No. 8 Arkansas knocked off No. 1 Kansas in the Sweet 16. The Midwest region saw No. 10 Penn State and No. 11 Pitt spring first-round upsets, but the regional semis will feature the top three seeds and the No. 5 seed as things settled down.
Then of course there’s the East and the South. Fairleigh Dickinson sprung the biggest upset of the tournament, beating East No. 1 Purdue in the biggest outright betting upset in tourney history. It was a wild weekend for FDU as they came to the tournament without a pep band. They arrived in Dayton for the First Four, and the Dayton band stepped up in spite of it being during their spring break! They learned the FDU fight song and were on hand for the First Four and then their massive first-round upset.
“When you have the opportunity to stunt, you stunt”- the Dayton band director picking out this jacket, probably pic.twitter.com/flDDo0uCce
— GoJo Show (@GoJoShow) March 20, 2023
In the South, the second week will feature our last true Cinderella, as No. 15 Princeton knocked off No. 2 Arizona and then easily thumped No. 7 Missouri. Princeton looks to follow in the steps of Saint Peter’s, who reached the Elite Eight a year ago.
That capped a weekend loaded with upsets that sent blue bloods packing. This year’s tournament will mark only the second time since 1980 that the men’s Sweet 16 will have no Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, or North Carolina.
The GoJo podcast went into detail on a fun weekend of upsets and why they’ve become so much more commonplace. It was a busy episode featuring that and an update on the Some Shining Moments Bracket of the 32 biggest moments in the last year.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
March Madness Weekend Wildness, how Larmey Tunsil’s record-setting deal affects Lamar Jackson, Some Shining Moments and Roses
Gojo and Brandon recap a wild first weekend of March Madness (03:19)! The guys debate if we should expect more upsets and fewer blue blood programs dominating going forward, if dunking at the buzzer is bad sportsmanship, and if Charles Barkley really showered in his jersey (20:30). Gojo and Brandon break down Laremy Tunsil’s record-setting contract (30:44), and if the fact that he did it without an agent means Lamar Jackson is justified in doing the same. The guys give out their weekend roses (41:41) to New Jersey, Matt Ramos, Good Burger, and T Pain before recapping their Some Shining Moments bracket voting (53:25). They finish up with This, That, and the Third (53:25): more NFL free agency moves, NCAAW upsets, and JJ Watt as a Swiftie.
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