March is always a fun month for sports fans, with tons of major sporting events and plenty of sports highlights. From March Madness and the home stretch of the NBA season to the Indian Wells Masters, the Players Tournament, and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, it’s tough to stay up to date on all the happenings of the sports world. Luckily for you, I’ve managed to condense all the top highlights to just 11, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my top 11 sports highlights from March.
1. Clinched
There’s no better way to start March than with March Madness- in fact, it’s responsible for the next four spots, so if you’re not a fan and want to move on to other sports highlights, then skip to five. Before the round of 64 commenced, Chattanooga played Furman in the Southern Conference championship. The winner was guaranteed a spot in the tournament, and no one wanted it more than Chattanooga’s David Jean-Baptiste at the end of regulation. Unfortunately, he was not given the ball during the final seconds despite his pleas, and the game went into overtime. As overtime was winding down, Jean-Baptiste made sure not to make the same mistake and took Chattanooga’s fate into his own hands, delivering the game-winning shot after this 30-second rollercoaster to end the game.
ABSOLUTE MADNESS‼️
Chattanooga wins the SoCon and a trip to the NCAA tourney AT THE BUZZER! pic.twitter.com/mQ77OIjOWM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 8, 2022
Notre Dame also saw themselves clinch a spot in the tournament in a double-overtime thriller. Check out the clutch putback at the buzzer that won them the game.
NOTRE DAME IS DANCING AFTER BEATING RUTGERS IN 2OT
WHAT A GAME pic.twitter.com/kQM6Hn7uKY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 17, 2022
2. Upset Season (Round of 64)
After seedings were decided, March Madness finally began with millions of people hoping to make the first perfect bracket in history. Sadly after just the first round, zero perfect brackets remained, all thanks to these unpredictable upsets.
Saint Peters (15) shocked the world by winning their first tournament game ever against Kentucky (2), making it the fourth-biggest upset in March Madness history.
YOU’VE GOTTA LET THE PEACOCK FLY ‼️
15-SEED SAINT PETER’S DEFEATS KENTUCKY IN OT #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/wZXXCEDJmz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2022
Richmond (12) followed suit, pulling off an upset against Iowa (5) to win their ninth game in the tournament as a 12 seed or lower, an NCAA record.
THE 12-SEED RICHMOND SPIDERS ARE DANCING ON! 🕷 🕺@SpiderMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/U7O8BDcHzk
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2022
New Mexico State (12) found themselves busting brackets, as well, after putting UConn (5) away with this dagger and-one.
NEW MEXICO STATE CLOSING OUT UCONN pic.twitter.com/0MpB1VkXOo
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 18, 2022
And finally, to bust the last perfect bracket remaining, Iowa State (11) defeated LSU (6) thanks to these clutch threes by Iowa State’s Tyrese Hunter.
Iowa State’s Tyrese Hunter had some big time threes to close out LSU 🥶 pic.twitter.com/bINimSTBad
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2022
11 seeds Notre Dame and Michigan also defeated 6 seeds Alabama and Colorado State in dominant fashion to close out the first round of upsets.
3. The Upsets Continue (Round of 32)
As the Round of 64 ended and the Round of 32 began, the upsets just kept on coming.
UNC (8) stunned Baylor in overtime to give us our first 1-seed upset…
The Tar Heels have done it! 🐑🔥@UNC_Basketball is moving on to the Sweet Sixteen #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/M8XLfZBzBR
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
Michigan, once again, came out with the dub against the odds against Tennessee (3) behind Hunter Dickinson’s 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Michigan is moving on to the #Sweet16!@umichbball #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/JmSSSrLl14
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
Iowa State also continued the upsets after defeating 3-seeded Wisconsin (3) to reach the Sweet 16 just a year after only winning two games in the college basketball season. As you can tell, Iowa State was feeling hyped.
What a block.
IOWA STATE IS HYPED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PrErVPkc4Q
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 21, 2022
Miami (10) decided to join the fun after a commanding win over a weak Auburn (2) team. This play pretty much sums up the whole game.
MIAMI CAN FEEL IT 🗣
All @CanesHoops down the stretch #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/gMXyQV5T6u
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2022
It’s official; we have our Cinderella. Saint Peters pulled off the impossible yet again, beating Murray State (7), never trailing the whole game, and becoming the third 15-seed ever to make the Sweet 16. Before the game, Murray State’s 21 game win streak was the nation’s longest; now, Saint Peter’s incredible nine-game win streak is. Many think the streak should be credited to Saint Peter’s breakout star Doug Eddert, or should I say his mustache…
Doug Edert has become a March Madness folklore star.
But, his mustache is what is garnering all the attention.@JamieErdahl pic.twitter.com/tL7GW34pd6
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 20, 2022
4. The Bitter 16
After the end of the round of 32, the Sweet 16 ensued with even more upsets, turning the night bitter for some teams.
Tournament favorite Gonzaga (1) was the first team to be sent home after their loss to Arkansas (4) on this suffocating defensive play.
AU’DIESE TONEY COMES UP WITH A HUGE BLOCK 😳 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/hBv75UwEv5
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2022
This was Arkansas’s first time in program history beating a one-seed, extending Gonzaga’s title drought despite them winning more tournament games in the last five years than any other team.
Arizona was the next one-seed to be sent home following a crushing loss to Houston (5), who never trailed at any point of the game. Led by their defense, Houston completely outplayed Arizona and refused to relent until the final buzzer, even with a comfortable lead…
THIS HOUSTON DEFENSE IS RELENTLESS!!! 😤😤@UHCougarMBK #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/wONqLNzEZU
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2022
UNC (8) also continued their hot streak with their win over UCLA (4) behind Caleb Love’s 28 points, three of them coming on this amazing shot to give UNC the lead and the win.
CALEB LOVE ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!
28 PTS ON THE NIGHT FOR @UNC_Basketball! | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/bokxwrYxBQ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 26, 2022
Saint Peters has officially done it; they are the first 15-seed to make the Elite Eight, continuing their miraculous streak against Purdue (3). The moment that made history…
SAINT PETER’S HAS DONE IT! 😱😱😱
Peacocks keep dancing to the #Elite8! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2hRQE8Efa6
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 26, 2022
In the Elite Eight, Villanova (2) beat Houston and look to face Kansas (1) following their win against Miami. Duke (2) also picked up the win against Arkansas, giving Coach K a record 13th Final Four appearance, and will match up against UNC after their win against our Cinderella Saint Peters to finally put their hot and unprecedented streak to an end. I wish luck to all teams competing in the Final Four.
5. The Purses of All Purses
March Madness isn’t the only tournament in this month’s edition of sports highlights with the Players Tournament commencing. In unbearable winds, rain, and cold weather, Cameron Smith won the tournament, all thanks to these incredible shots, to claim a large chunk of the record 20 million dollar purse.
The best shots from the best player last week.
Cameron Smith’s win vaulted him to No. 2 in the @ComcastBusiness TOUR TOP 10. pic.twitter.com/TtfNm9Pk3k
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2022
6. New Man on Top
The Indian Wells Masters also concluded and Taylor Fritz claimed victory over Rafael Nadal in the championship game. He is the first American to win the tournament since 2001 and has catapulted up the world rankings from 20 to 13, his highest career ranking. Down below is the play that won it all.
Triumphant Taylor! 👏
An inspired @Taylor_Fritz97 pulls off spectacular win over Nadal 6-3 7-6 to win the biggest title of his career!#IndianWells pic.twitter.com/lxWCRvSji6
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 21, 2022
7. Wrong Sports Guys
If you watched the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Minnesota Wild game, you probably thought you were watching the UFC, not the NHL. With the game close and competitive, players from both teams got into an all-out brawl to end the second period.
ICYMI: Here’s what went down at the end of the 2nd period of tonight’s Red Wings/Wild game…
The 3rd is about to start btw. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/pCRpi42GSu
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 11, 2022
It was a ‘wild’ game (see what I did there), to say the least, and even had an own goal by Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.
The beautiful game pic.twitter.com/QGHR2P9EZ6
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 11, 2022
In the end, though, the Wild saw themselves on top after this beautiful goal in shootouts.
Get up close and personal for Kevin Fiala’s slick shootout winner! pic.twitter.com/iMxpkKz6KU
— NHL (@NHL) March 11, 2022
8. Moving Up
In other hockey news, Alex Ovechkin scored his 767th goal, and counting, to move up to number three on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. He is now only behind Gordie Howe by 34 goals and the GOAT Wayne Gretzky by 127 goals.
Wayne Gretzky (894), Gordie Howe (801) and now Alex Ovechkin (767). pic.twitter.com/lSXPSxw8AW
— NHL (@NHL) March 16, 2022
9. Zoomin
Switching to the racing world, the F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix brought us back a still fresh rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, their second time racing against each other since the controversial ending at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Unfortunately for Hamilton, he placed tenth due to technical difficulties with his car, while Verstappen claimed the top spot in the race after this incredible move to get around Charles Leclerc, the winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix just weeks ago.
How good was Max vs. Charles?! #SaudiArabianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/e0Tdl9Kpm5
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 27, 2022
10. 50+ Only
With March Madness underway this month, the NBA regular season began winding down, giving us some of the best basketball ever seen. This month, there were a total of eight players who put up 50+ point games, the most in a month since December 1962. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both recorded two of those games, with Karl Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, and Jason Tatum chipping in as well. Here are all of the buckets that made history.
There have been SEVEN 50+ point games in March… and we’re less than halfway through 🤯
Last month with 7: March 2019
Last month with more than 7: December 1962 pic.twitter.com/mnh5GUyPlm— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2022
Saddiq Bey was the last to contribute to the 50+ point games, hitting some ridiculous shots on his way to 51.
5️⃣1️⃣ POINTS x 🔟 3PM@SaddiqBey started off the night HOT, going off for 21 points in the first-quarter alone. He went on to set a career-high in points & 3PM with 51 points and 10 3PM. #Pistons WIN
51 PTS | 9 REB | 4 AST | 3 STL | 10 3PM pic.twitter.com/dLOjeVFRNv
— NBA (@NBA) March 18, 2022
11. Buy One Get Two Free
To cap off the top 11 sports highlights of the month, I’ll give you this entertaining college play.
“You know what, I’ll take ’em all.”
– @peytonchat5, probably pic.twitter.com/RhPZlAvb3s
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 10, 2022
*Bonus*- The Sloth Serve
Would you believe me if I told you you can serve the ball faster than a pro tennis player did in the Indian Wells Masters? Take a look at this incredible 26 mph (42 kph) ace and see for yourself.
The greatest and slowest ace you’ve ever seen 😂 #IndianWells @bnpparibasopen pic.twitter.com/TZ5ycpQZ8M
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 11, 2022
If you enjoyed this sports highlights roundup, check out the best bits from February.
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