They call it “madness” for a reason. Day one and two, brackets were busted left and right — no one was safe.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness Tournament has begun and is as stunning as ever. As someone who does not follow basketball religiously, this has been an exciting time to be on social media. My entire feed has been bracket upsets, basketball statistics and Jack Gohlke memes.
In a fruitless effort to tie music into everything — here are three songs tied to current March Madness storylines for everyone to enjoy.
The One-seeds:
UConn, Houston, Purdue and UNC have been mostly dominating their respective games during their first and second rounds. North Carolina and Houston have had some trouble though — a close first half with Michigan State (9) and a late-game overtime rally by Texas A&M (9) stirred doubts within their fanbases.
Purdue’s status as the winningest team in the Big Ten conference this year — along with their big stars Zach Edey and Lance Jones — have many to believe that they will win it all. Especially since they lost last year in the first round as the number one seed, this year they are clearly back with a vengeance.
UConn was seeded number one, winning the Big East with an 18-2 conference record. If they go all the way to the championship again, they will potentially play the other big number-one seed, Purdue.
The Purdue Boilermakers and the UConn Huskies both are monumental teams, it would be a true clash of the titans. For this storyline, I think “Superhero (Heroes & Villains) [with Future and Chris Brown]” by Metro Boomin is an appropriate song. It has a foreboding and powerful presence fitting a potential matchup between college basketball icons.
Gohlke’s magical night:
America cannot simply get enough of Jack Gohlke. The rising star who played D2 at Hillsdale for five years had a crazy night versus Kentucky. 32 points in total, including 10 three-point field goals made.
Gohlke has been popping off on social media, spawning multiple NIL (name image and likeness) deals as well as quadrupling his Instagram and X followers overnight.
A song that fits Gohlke’s commanding vibe would be “Frank Lucas” (feat. Benny The Butcher) by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist. A killer beat mixed with cutthroat rhymes about sudden success and fame is perfect for Gohlke and Oakland’s storyline.
DJ Burns’s overshadowing presence:
This pick is easy. DJ Burns is North Carolina’s big name — because of this, he deserves a big song. This song got really popular in the 2010s and has been making a resurgence with sports edits — specifically basketball ones.
“Ima Boss” (feat. Rick Ross) by Meek Mill is that song. It has that energy — just like Burns. The NC State giant is 6 feet 9 inches and 275 pounds — he dominates in the paint.
In the game versus Oakland, Burns put up 24 points, all two-point field goals or free throws. He does not need any three-point shots — he’s all muscle, all grit. “Ima Boss” is a song fitting of this gargantuan icon.
