March Madness has a new hero - Belle the metalhead Longwood flautist. Belle quickly went viral during Longwood's first-round game with Houston as she threw up metal signs on the TV broadcast. Videos of Belle, who uses any pronouns, quickly circulated as people fell in love with his entire aesthetic. What made the moment even sweeter was that Belle did not appear to realize they were being filmed until their bandmate pointed the camera out to them.
However, Belle's sheer awesomeness was sadly not enough to power Longwood to an improbable upset victory. The Lancers were soundly stomped 86-46 by Houston, who advanced to face nine-seeded Texas A&M. The game marked the Lancers' second trip to March Madness, after making their tournament debut in 2022. Despite the loss, Belle's whole vibe quickly became the best moment of day two of the men's tournament. Rock on, Belle, rock on.
Angel Reese & LSU Survive March Madness Scare
Elsewhere, Angel Reese and LSU advanced to the second round of March Madness after what head coach Kim Mulkey called an "ugly" and "selfish" win. The three-seeded Tigers beat 14-seeded Rice 70-60 in a game that saw the Tigers lead by just three at halftime. Reese, who notched 13 defensive rebounds alone, was key to staving off the Owls amid a night of terrible Tiger shooting. Reese and Hailey Van Lith went a combined 2-14 from the field as Aneesah Morrow led the team with 15 points. That game-high mark was matched Rice's Destiny Jackson.
However, things don't get any easier for LSU. In the second round, played on Sunday, the Tigers will face 11-seeded Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders were down 13 on Louisville before rallying to stun the Cardinals for the only upset of day one. MTSU have only lost four games all season and went undefeated in conference play. "I don't have the right answer. I can give you lots of answers, but we'd better fix it before we play Middle Tennessee," Mulkey told reporters.
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