With sports crazies and movie buffs engrossed as to which films would advance to the Final Four, Wednesday’s third installment of March Movie Madness, to the dismay of the selection committee, saw the defeat of the tournament’s first No. 1 overall seed.

March Movie Madness had mostly gone with chalk the first two days, save for a 7-2 upset in the first round of the West Region that saw Daniel Larusso and “The Karate Kid” dispatch Jake La Motta and “Raging Bull” with a series of leg sweeps and brushstroke punches that only Bob Ross could truly appreciate.

But an upset was brewing in the distance. It was only a matter of time.

A “Space Jam” squad dismissed by many for its use of animation stood at the precipice between fighting for what it believed in and giving in to the conceited self-importance of “the way we’ve always done things” mentality personified by “Hoosiers” in the East Region’s Elite Eight matchup. B-ball heads everywhere converged on Hinkle Fieldhouse for the highly anticipated matchup of No. 1-seeded “Hoosiers” and No. 3-seeded “Space Jam” in the tournament’s first and only matchup between basketball films. “Hoosiers” held a distinct coaching advantage over the hoopers from Looney Toon land, captained by Birmingham Barons outfielder Michael Jordan, but all other matchups — particularly depth and intangibles (Bill Murray, mostly) — favored, as history has proved, the team with Jordan on it.

The experience of “Space Jam” in the art of intergalactic warfare proved too much for the small-town charisma that carried “Hoosiers” past the “Moneyball” nerds in the first round before escaping defeat against the young upstarts from “The Sandlot” in the Sweet 16.

“Hoosiers” head coach Norman Dale’s penchant for throwing himself out of games had been his team’s kryptonite all season, and the old-school taskmaster did it again Wednesday, opting to join Shooter in the stands for a cold one rather than instill discipline in his team. “Space Jam” wasted no time capitalizing on the folks from Hickory, displaying an unbeatable combination of high-percentage shooting and mid-’90s swagger. And just like that, a vanquished “Hoosiers” squad was the first No. 1 to fall, relegated back to its rightful spot collecting dust in every sports fan’s movie collection.

Boosters in support of “Hoosiers” resorted to smear campaigns following the loss, claiming “Space Jam” had used performance-enhancing drugs after a questionable blue water bottle labeled “Michael’s secret stuff” was found in the postgame locker room. But the governing body responsible for March Movie Madness has yet to implement any rules forsaking the use of unmarked liquid courage.(Note from the Governing body: Deal with it.)

There were no such questions following the dual to decide which team would emerge from the North Region. No. 1 overall seed “Bull Durham” took care of business against “Rudy,” sending the undersized miscreant back to the steel mill with a long, slow, deep, soft, wet, three-day kiss goodbye. Film quality aside, it was Truth that propelled Crash Davis and Co. past South Bend’s finest. If exorcism movies have taught us anything, it’s that “based on a true story” doesn’t always entail an exact representation of events. There is no bigger culprit of relaying inspirational falsities than the film dedicated to the try-hard, no-talent assclown named Daniel E. “Rudy” Ruettiger.

Joe Montana, witness of the real Rudy as quarterback of the Irish in the late ’70s, has debunked many of the movie’s claims, saying no one cheered for Rudy during the final game of his career as the film’s climax suggests. The team carrying him off the field? Done in jest. “Rudy” sits on a throne of lies, and the ruse, praise Touchdown Jesus, is finally up.

“Bull Durham” rode a dominant performance from star pitcher Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, who proved that knowing about “all this molecule stuff” isn’t all that necessary when it comes to defeating one’s enemy, especially when your opponent’s size isn’t even comparable to that of a punter. (Seriously, what benefit was Rudy’s presence on the practice squad in helping the Irish simulate game conditions against Purdue?)

No. 1 seeds prevailed in the other two regions, with “Rocky” gutting out a victory over the flashy college kids from No. 2-seeded “Miracle” in the battle to prove which film’s emotionally manipulative nationalism could cause more fans to stand up and cheer. Russia sucks, guys. Am I right?

In the West Region on the other side of the bracket, “Remember the Titans” disposed of No. 6-seeded “The Natural” with relative ease, powered by racial tolerance, unrelenting blitz packages and a heaping dose of Soul Power.

If there’s a silver lining (playbook) to take away from the bloodbath that ensued, it’s that Hayden Panettiere and Ryan Gosling (mostly Gosling) were just role players for “Remember the Titans” who had yet to hit their stride as some of Hollywood’s most desired heartthrobs. Gosling fully committed himself to his role as the loose-limbed, country-music-loving defensive back eventually replaced by rage-channeling, future surgeon Petey Jones, and Panettiere, ya know, was only 11 at the time of the film’s release. With both Panettiere and Gosling (again, mostly Gosling) in their primes, it’s safe to assume at least one representative from “The Natural” would have died on the field, which, unlike Adrian in “Rocky,” would be traumatic for movie fans everywhere. 

But that’s a problem for the loser’s bracket. The smoke has cleared, the first Goliath has fallen and three No. 1 seeds have emerged to play in the Final Four. Who will emerge victorious? I’m not telling because “Fast Five” wasn’t included in the field, and that movie would have definitely won it all. Make sure to check in Thursday and Friday to see how things play out.

Jeff is a senior in Media. Hecan be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jkirsh91.