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Buzz Aldrin Wins March Madness Challenge

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Buzz Aldrin Wins March Madness Challenge
Villanova's drubbing of Oklahoma in a Final Four game on April 2, 2016, sealed Buzz Aldrin's victory over ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale in the fourth annual "Allstate March Mayhem Challenge." (Image credit: Buzz Aldrin Twitter (@TheRealBuzz))

Villanova's historic Final Four victory Saturday (April 2) had Buzz Aldrin flying high.

The Wildcats' 44-point drubbing of Oklahoma — the biggest rout in Final Four history — sealed the Apollo 11 moonwalker's victory over ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale in the fourth annual "Allstate March Mayhem Challenge."

"Wildcats win...and I have a better bracket than @DickieV. Now that's a reason to party! #MarchMayhem," Buzz Aldrin said via his Twitter account, @TheRealBuzz, on Saturday. The post was accompanied by a GIF depicting confetti showering down on Aldrin, with the worlds "Party like it's 1985" prominently featured. (Villanova last won the men's college basketball title in 1985.)

Villanova takes on North Carolina tonight (April 4) in the national championship game.

Aldrin, who said he had never filled out an NCAA basketball tournament bracket until this year, carried a one-point lead over Vitale into Saturday's Final Four contests. If Oklahoma had won, the contest would have ended in a tie.

Vitale and Aldrin are just playing for fun and pride; Allstate Insurance Company had committed to make a donation to Space Center Houston and the V Foundation for cancer research on behalf of each man no matter whose bracket came out on top.

In July 1969, Aldrin became the second person ever to walk on the moon; he stepped down onto the lunar surface shortly after Apollo 11 crewmate Neil Armstrong.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

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Mike Wall
Mike Wall
Space.com Senior Writer
Michael was a science writer for the Idaho National Laboratory and has been an intern at Wired.com, The Salinas Californian newspaper, and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He has also worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz.