The Best Highlight from the March Madness Tourney, So Far, Came from a Cheerleader

By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 18, 2022 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | March 18, 2022 |

Yesterday’s first full day of the NCAA March Madness Tournament was unusually exciting if you like to see stress-inducing upsets. A two-seed Kentucky got their asses handed to them in overtime by … the 15 seed St. Peters, Richmond upset Iowa, New Mexico defeated UConn, and Michigan trounced Colorado State. My alma mater, the University of Arkansas, barely survived a few bad calls to hang on and beat the 13-seed Vermont a few minutes after midnight (yes, I am tired this morning).

After the cancellation of the tournament in 2020, and a 2021 tournament played during the pandemic, this year’s March Madness feels like old times, which is to say: There were probably as many hospitalizations due to heart attacks as COVID infections yesterday.

It was stressful.

What was not stressful, however, came with the best highlight of the day, which did not involve a slam dunk, a no-look pass, an overtime barn-burner, or a last-second buzzer-beater to win the game. The best moment of the day’s games came when a basketball got stuck behind a backboard, and when no one else could dislodge it, an Indiana cheerleader arrived in time to save the day. Heroes do not all wear capes. Do listen with the sound on, because the announcer’s call completely makes this clip:

"THE CHEERLEADER SAVES THE DAY!"

When hope was lost, a hero emerged. pic.twitter.com/8fjEydjr2j

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 18, 2022

Amazing! Better still, no one’s bracket was busted by that play.