Recap: 2009 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament (March Madness)

If this year's college basketball regular season showed anything, it was that the NCAA tournament would be as good, if not better, than in previous years. Their were six teams who each had a legitimate shot to run the table and win it all. Those six teams would be: #1 seed Connecticut (27-4), #1 seed North Carolina (27-3), #1 seed Louisville (25-5), #1 seed Pittsburg (28-3), #2 seed Oklahoma (27-4), and #2 seed Duke (25-6). There were also a few sleeper teams who could pull off a few upsets in their quest to win it all. Those teams would be: #3 seed Kansas who were the defending champs, #3 seed Syracuse who was coming off a dramatic 6 OT win over Connecticut, and #2 seed Memphis who finished runner-ups last year.

The first round was played on March 19-20 and there were 32 games in total played by 64 teams. Contrary to previous years, almost all the major favorites won their games. All the #1, #2, and #3 seeds advanced to the second round. The few major upsets that occurred were #13 seed Cleveland State over #4 seed Wake Forest, #12 seed Western Kentucky over #5 seed Illinois, #12 seed Wisconsin over #5 seed Florida State, #12 seed Arizona over #5 seed Utah, and #11 seed Dayton over #6 seed West Virginia. Three of the four #7 seeds lost to #10 seeds. The best game of round one was #9 seed Siena's buzzer-beater win over #8 seed Ohio State in 2 OT's.

The second round was played on March 21-22 and 16 games were played by the 32 teams remaining in the tournament. Out of the 16 games played, there was only one minor upset in #5 seed Purdue over #4 seed Washington. Just like in the first round, all #1, #2, and #3 seeds advanced to the following round. That proved just how good this year's top teams really were. Duke got a scare from Texas but came out victorious by five, as did Missouri and Gonzaga but both won their games as well. There was only two seeds above #4 to make it to the Sweet 16, and only one seed above #5 to make it.

The next round was the Sweet Sixteen and it was played on March 26-27, 8 games played by the 16 teams remaining. Every team that was left had won two games already in the tournament. Out of the 16 teams remaining before the games were played, there were all four #1 seeds, all four #2 seeds, all four #3 seeds, two #4 seeds, one #5 seed, and #12 seed Arizona. This round brought a few big surprises. Villanova beat favorite Duke by 23 points and Michigan State knocked off the defending champ, Kansas. Missouri beat Memphis in a game where almost 200 total points were scored (102-91 final). Oklahoma continued their dominance in this tournament by beating Syracuse. All four number one seeds advanced again. Pittsburg had a scare from Xavier but beat them by five, Connecticut beat Purdue by twelve, North Carolina beat Gonzaga by 21, and Louisville had a 39 point win over Arizona.

The Elite Eight was played on March 28-29, 8 teams remaining playing 4 games total. The eight teams that were left from the starting field of sixty-four were Louisville, Michigan State, Connecticut, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pittsburg, and Villanova. There was some very good match-ups, the most intriguing being Oklahoma vs. North Carolina. These two schools had two of the best power forwards in Blake Griffin and Tyler Hansbrough. In this much anticipated match-up, North Carolina came out the victor by 12 points. #1 seed Connecticut beat #3 seed Missouri 82-75 to advance to the Final Four. #3 seed Villanova shocked #1 seed Pittsburg 78-76 on a last-second basket by Scotty Reynolds. But the biggest shocker of the Elite Eight was Michigan State's 12 point win over the hottest team in the nation, Louisville. Louisville had finished the regular season as the best team and had beaten opponents in this tournament by an average of 22 points.

The Final Four was set. #2 seed Michigan State vs. #1 seed Connecticut. #3 seed Villanova vs. #1 seed North Carolina. These two games were played on April 4. Every team to advance from the Elite Eight to the Final Four had a week to rest and strategize for their upcoming game. Michigan State had an advantage since the Final Four was in Detroit, most, if not all of the fans would be rooting on the Spartans. The crowd was a big factor in the contest as the Spartans defeated another #1 seed by the score of 82-73. North Carolina was looking to erase bad memories of last year's Final Four disaster against Kansas and that's exactly what they did, as they beat the Wildcats 83-69 to advance to the finals.

The Championship Game took place on April 6 between Michigan State and North Carolina. Both teams took different paths to get to the finals of the tournament. Michigan State had to beat two #1 seeds in Louisville and Connecticut, and #3 seed Kansas in consecutive rounds, While North Carolina had an easier road by beating Gonzaga, Oklahoma, and Villanova starting from the Sweet 16. Michigan State was looking to be the first team to ever beat three consecutive #1 seeds to win it all. North Carolina was the pre-season favorite to win the National Championship and many people, including President Obama, had them winning in their brackets. On the other hand, not many people had Michigan State even in their Final Four and it was a shock that they made to the finals.

From the beginning, it was clear who the better team was as North Carolina opened up a 21 point lead against Michigan State at halftime. It was a combination of Michigan State turnovers and North Carolina fast break points that opened up the big lead. Michigan State came out stronger in the second half and cut the deficit to 13 but that would be as close as they would get, as North Carolina won by 17 points, 89-72 final score. This is North Carolina's fifth National Championship in the school's history and first one since 2005.