Here's how March Madness has played out on Twitter so far

From buzzer-beating shots to Final Four fans, let's take a look at how March Madness has played out on Twitter so far.
 By 
Sam Laird
 on 
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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It all led up to this: The Final Four is Saturday, the national championship is Monday night, and by Tuesday morning, another March Madness will be in the books.

But we before we look ahead, let's look back. Twitter gave Mashable an early look at some of the most popular moments of the 2016 NCAA Tournament so far. From buzzer-beating shots to Final Four fans, they're a fun way to relive a pair of action-packed weekends. 


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Twitter (the company) says these were the four most-viewed video tweets by the @marchmadness account on Twitter (the social network) during the tournament so far. 

Who can forget this half-court buzzer-beater by Northern Iowa's Paul Jesperson to beat Texas in the first round? 

But in the next round, Northern Iowa was on the wrong end of a viral moment: It blew a 12 point lead to Texas A&M in just 35 seconds. The Texas A&M comeback was amazing, though, and this video recap of the stunning run was a Twitter hit. 

Bronson Koenig's buzzer-beater to send Wisconsin to the Sweet 16 was another classic. 

Overall, Twitter says 2.5 million tweets so far have used the March Madness-themed emoji the company rolled out before the tournament. 

And now it all boils down to the Final Four: North Carolina, Syracuse, Villanova and Oklahoma. All four teams' official Twitter accounts grew massively this season, according to data from Twitter. 

The official North Carolina men's basketball account grew from 249,808 followers on Nov. 13 to 311,154 followers as of March 27 -- swelling by 24.5 percent. Oklahoma's official account grew by 38.9 percent, from 86,447 followers to 120,075 followers. 

But both of those are small gains compared to the other two finalists. 

Syracuse's official account grew by 260 percent, from 11,138 followers to 40,109 followers. Villanova's grew by 485 percent, from 10,394 followers to 60,757 followers. 

Now, maybe you're wondering which players to follow from each team. North Carolina's most-mentioned stars so far, according to Twitter, have been Brice Johnson (@bjohnson_23), Marcus Paige (@marcuspaige5) and Theo Pinson (@tpinsonn). Oklahoma's most-mentioned players so far have been Buddy Hield (@buddyhield), Jordan Woodard (@jwood_10) and Isaiah Cousins (@FRAGG_NATiON). Villanova's most-mentioned players so far have been Ryan Arcidiacono (@RyArch15), Kris Jenkins (@bigticket2) and Daniel Ochefu (@DanielOchefu23). 

Syracuse's most-mentioned players have been Tyler Lydon (@Tyler_Lydon14), Malachi Richardson (@KingMali23) and Tyler Roberson (@TRoberson21). Lydon hit an amazing three-pointer with one shoe on in Syracuse's comeback win to reach Final Four, a win in which Richardson starred

Sometimes, however, fellow fans are the most fun to follow -- and all four squads have starry supporters.

Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill, NBA star Blake Griffin and pro wrestling commentator Jim Ross have all tweeted support for Oklahoma. Meanwhile, TV money analyst Jim Cramer, NBA star Kyle Lowry and DJ Jazzy Jeff are pro-Villanova. 

North Carolina's fans include soccer icon Mia Hamm and NBA analyst Kenny Smith. Syracuse supporters include Gary Dell'Abate, better known as Baba Booey, and Joe Biden

Now you, digitally savvy Final Four fan, are set for a fully developed second-screen experience this weekend. Happy basketball-ing; March Madness comes but once a year.  

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Sam Laird

Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.

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