March Madness has always been about surprises. Fans love the chaos, the last-minute buzzer-beaters, and the underdog stories that keep everyone on the edge of their seats. But this year? It’s a whole different ballgame. For the first time since the tournament expanded in 1975, every single team in the Sweet 16 comes from a major conference. No small-school miracles. No unexpected runs. And no Cinderella.

The SEC is running the show with seven teams, while the Big Ten and Big 12 each have four. The ACC barely made the cut with just one. Even the Big East, once a tournament powerhouse, failed to send a team past the second round. Fans that were hoping for another Florida Atlantic-style Cinderella run? No luck. Even Gonzaga, usually the best of the smaller schools, failed to survive the first weekend. Has the magic of underdogs disappeared for good?

Well, without any upsets this year, the heavyweights are showing why they deserve to be looked at as such! Duke comes to mind with Cooper Flagg, showing great promise this season. It’s unfortunate for the back-to-back national champions, UConn, whose run ended after a loss to Florida. Florida advances to the Sweet 16 in San Francisco next week. While the season brims with such narratives, another unexpected incident has captured fans’ attention.

NBA legend Paul Pierce struggled with college geography in a viral video that sparked widespread discussion. Pierce, a former NBA champion turned FS1 analyst, has made waves before with his bold takes. But when you’re paid to cover basketball, fans expect a certain level of expertise – something he seemed to have clearly lacked in the viral clip.

When asked where Creighton is, he guessed, “Ohio or some sh–.” He placed Lipscomb in Louisiana and Bryant in California, both wrong. The correct answers? Nebraska, Tennessee, and Rhode Island. His final answer for Troy? “Greece. City of Troy.” Safe to say, history lessons weren’t his strong suit. And he wasn’t alone.

Former Super Bowl winner Keyshawn Johnson had his own slip-ups. He thought Lipscomb was in New York… it’s in Tennessee. He placed Robert Morris in Virginia instead of Pennsylvania. Unlike Pierce, though, he got a few right, including High Point and Troy. Both men had their fair share of mistakes, but Pierce’s answers definitely stole the show. With no Cinderella team and unexpected viral moments like these, March Madness 2025 is proving to be unique in ways no one saw coming.

Fans are in disbelief over Paul Pierce’s answers!

Well, March Madness is full of surprises, but who knew the biggest one would come from Paul Pierce? Who would’ve thought out of all the things, it would be his lack of knowledge about Universities that would get him in the spotlight? The former NBA star had fans scratching their heads, and the internet is not going to let him live this down.

One viewer couldn’t believe what they were hearing: “These guys are so not informed, but talks about college basketball 🤦🏾‍♂️.” Ouch. This one went straight for the head, Peirce failed so badly that this netizen just lost his faith in him! 

However, he wasn’t the only one disappointed this time. Another fan pointed out, “Love the WR confidence… gets the last 2 right. While acting the 100%.” Well, even though Johnson only got two right, didn’t lose self-confidence at the very least!

Then came the Greece moment. It’s an answer no one could’ve expected, but on some level, you can see how he got to the conclusion. One user had nothing to add other than his first reaction to the answer: Uncontrollable laughter. “This mf said Greece LOLOLOLOL. ‘TROY’? LOLO,”  he wrote. This one would be the most hard to defend.

Interestingly, someone else joined in and brought the conversation to a whole other place! He ended up comparing Pierce to the late soul singer David Ruffin! He wrote, “Paul Pierce look like David Ruffin at the end of the temptation movie.”

Pierce’s blunder wasn’t an isolated incident. This only added to a growing list of questionable moments in his broadcasting career. From his infamous claim that he was a better player than Dwyane Wade to his controversial ESPN exit, the former Celtics star has never shied away from headline-making moments. Only this time, it wasn’t a hot-take, just a big knowledge gap.

Safe to say, Pierce’s March Madness breakdown wasn’t the highlight of the night — for the right reasons, anyway.