![“['The Bachelor'] is over-the-top, dramatic, and often unrealistic, but that’s what makes it so entertaining,” junior Hima Binu said.](https://nhpchariotonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_0977-1200x748.jpeg)
The 2025 Men’s March Madness has come to an end as the Florida Gators defeated the Houston Cougars in a thrilling game by a score of 65-63. Both teams finished as the first seed of their respective conference. First-Team All American Walter Clayton Jr. was Florida’s biggest contributor in their championship run as he averaged 18.3 points per game.
“That Florida comeback was insane,” senior Alan Pulinthanathu said. “There were so many crazy moments but none of them amounted to this. The Gators are just an impressive team.”
The Florida Gators defeated the UConn Huskies in just the second round. This would ruin UConn’s chance at a three-peat, as they have won the previous two years. The win was attributed to Clayton’s key threes in the final minutes.
One of the biggest Cinderella stories was the impressive performance of the McNeese Cowboys. The team made their way to the bracket as the No.12 seed and had to go up against No. 5 seed Clemson Tigers in the first round. To the surprise of many McNeese took down the Tigers by a score of 69-67 making it their first ever March Madness win. The team would eventually lose to Purdue the following round. Despite the loss, it does not take away from the teams’ impressive performance.
“McNeese was a fun team to watch,” senior Vir Sethi said. “Their playstyle, social media videos, and student manager Amir Khan made it entertaining.”
A top story was the Duke Blue Devils and their star player Cooper Flagg, as he is set to be a top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. At just 18 years old, Flagg was named the John R. Wooden National Player of the Year making him just the fourth freshman to win this award. He helped Duke get the first seed in their conference and reach the Final Four. They would ultimately lose to Houston, which left many fans stunned as Duke had a six-point lead with less than 50 seconds left on the clock.
“I was so shocked by the ending,” freshman Aditiya Nair said. “Duke has the best college player in the world and they blew that lead.”
“I had Duke winning it all,” senior Andrew Ramsaroop said. “It’s a shame how they lost.”
There were a couple of upsets, close games, as well as Cinderella stories, and that is what March Madness is all about.
