:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49126559/usa-today-9198388.0.jpg)
The field continues to winnow with each passing day, but the highlights do not. The NCAA Tournament has proven time and again to be the greatest sporting event in America, and this year is no exception. Without further ado, the best from Saturday!
The UNC v. Providence band dance off
While the basketball game took a break in the UNC-Providence game, a band dance off broke out. No longer content to let their colleagues on the basketball team battle it out for school pride and collegiate supremacy, these two bands engaged in a duel that can only be described as...special .
UNC leads Providence by 4, but their bands are tied at a million. #MarchMadness https://t.co/lUYoeXdyU3
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 20, 2016
This pep band dance off has been the best part of the game. @UNC clearly dominated. #MarchMadness #goheelsgoamerica pic.twitter.com/k7XQQobgS3
— Chris Allen (@PeppaJackNBB) March 20, 2016
Wichita St. and Yale almost complete incredible comebacks
Early in the second half of their respective games, double-digit seeds Wichita and Yale were mired in huge deficits of 21 and 27 points. Not content to have their seasons end with a whimper, both teams clawed back in stunning fashion. The Shockers erased their entire deficit, momentarily taking the lead with a few minutes left in the game. While they could not complete the comeback, they at least made this game much more interesting than it seemed after the first half was over.
Yale was in a similar situation as the Shockers, quickly finding themselves in an enormous hole as Duke blitzed them in the opening half behind the two-pronged attack of Grayson Allen Ted Cruz Jr., and Brandon Ingram. Refusing to go quietly into the night, our Bulldog Brethren hit the locker room and conjured up every mathematical formula they could devise to spark a comeback. Yale's halftime calculations almost worked, as their profound understanding of angles and physics confounded Duke in the second-half, leading to a 17-0 run that turned a laugher into a nail-biter. Unfortunately, Yale could not complete the comeback, and Duke survived as the victors in the Boatshoe Battle.
Gonzaga stomps on the Utah "Running nowhere real quick" Utes
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a game. What a time to be alive. This was one of the best games I've ever seen the Zags play. The execution was near perfect, and it was a total team victory as the entire roster out-hustled the Utes. Gonzaga had four players score in double figures, and the Utes joined their Pac-12 brethren (besides Oregon) in underwhelming during this tournament.
Gonzaga's victory was so complete that ESPN even felt compelled to acknowledge its favorite hoops blog (I have a vibrant imagination).
The slipper still fits!
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 20, 2016
Gonzaga's 23-pt win ties 3rd-largest win by team seeded 11th or lower since 1985 expansion pic.twitter.com/FgcfoIvvM8
For their reward, the Zags get to extend this suddenly magical season and travel to my hometown of Chicago for another Sweet 16 berth! Perhaps I'll see some of you there!