March Madness is back! The term “March Madness” refers to the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament. This tournament features 68 teams, all vying to survive the eliminations to be crowned national champions.
At tournament time each year, millions of people fill out brackets, attempting to predict the winners of individual games and the tournament as a whole.
The NCAA tournament is known to be spontaneous and unpredictable. While the most acclaimed teams throughout their regular seasons earn high seeds and easier paths to cutting down the nets.
Odds were especially in favor of Big 12 champion Houston Cougars, a team that has reached the Final Four six times.
However, they have a poor reputation in the past for not winning it all, as they hold the most Final Four apperances without a National Champonship.
Two heavy favorites, the blueblood Kansas Jayhawks and Big 10 champion Purdue Boilermakers, turned in their uniforms much sooner than their fans had expected.
Motivations to fill out brackets can vary for specific audiences. Some solely participate to have fun and root for their alma mater, whereas others focus primarily on the accuracy of selections and winning the brackets.
Mr. Parker Reed, Girls JV Basketball head coach, is a perfect example of someone who plays for fun. As an avid basketball fan, Mr. Reed admits that he tends to play his brackets according to his own specific trends, relying on his emotions.
He said, “I don’t typically choose the most accurate one, but the one that is good for my soul. I refuse to abide by the University of Kentucky no matter whom they are playing.”
He added, “I always pick against them. This is not logical because sometimes they are a good team and can easily defeat opponents. But I cannot — will not — choose such teams.”
Mr. Doron Blake, instructor in philosophy and religion, said, “I love the upsets. When you look at the top seeds, the so-called ‘bluebloods,’ you see a lot of future professionals using college basketball as a stepping stone [to the NBA]. When you see lower-seeded schools make a run, you see the passion in these kids. That’s what March Madness is all about.”
He added, “There’s so much parity, even though there’s hundreds of teams that play D1 basketball. You see a school like Fairleigh Dickinson, who does not have a guy over 6’6’’, beat the number one seed, and that’s the best part. Maybe one day we will have a sixteen seed in the Sweet Sixteen, that would be the sweetest sixteen possible. On any given night, any team can beat any other.”
