March Is the Time for Madness: NCAA Tournament

It is now mid-March, and that means it is time for the annual NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament (March Madness). This is one of the biggest sport tournaments of the whole year for sports, both professional and college.

The NCAA tournament is basically playoffs for college basketball. Since 2011, 68 teams are chosen by a NCAA selection committee to take part in the tournament. There are 352 Division 1 men’s basketball teams, so to be one of the 68 teams in the tournament is a serious accomplishment. Of the 352 teams, there are 32 different conferences and the winner of each conference tournament automatically earns a spot in the NCAA Tournament; this helps the smaller schools (mid-major) who likely would not get in unless they win their conference. However, if your team does not win their conference, then they have to wait and hope they are one of the 36 teams chosen to get an at-large bid by the selection committee, who use several advanced metrics and statistics to determine which teams deserve to play in the tournament and have a chance to win the college championship.

After the Selection Sunday when the teams are announced and given their seedings and game locations, the teams then prepare for the tournament. The teams selected are given a seeding based on how the selection committee thinks they have performed throughout the year. The seeds range from 1 (highest) and 16 (lowest). There are 1 to 16 seeds in each of the four regions of the bracket, the West, the Midwest, the South, and the East. The 1-seeds in each region play the 16-seeds, while the 2’s play the 15’s, the 3’s play the 14’s and so on. This is where the tournament gets crazy and unpredictable, because you never know who might win. Every year the tournament gives us upsets and Cinderella stories, and this is why the tournament has been given the nickname “March Madness.”

The tournament lasts a little over 20 days and to win, teams have to win all six of their games—the last four teams in, have to win seven games. The tournament starts with 68, then goes to 64, to 32, to 16 (sweet 16), to 8 (elite 8), to 4 (final four), to 2, until finally the NCAA Tournament and college basketball champions are crowned. Due to the close games, upsets, big dunks, and clutch shots, this tournament is incredibly popular; whether your team is in it or not, it is great basketball and a thrilling, competitive atmosphere.

One fun aspect fans particularly enjoy is filling out a bracket where they try to guess who will win and get as many right as possible. With so many combinations and so many upsets, it is nearly impossible to fill out a perfect bracket. But filling out a bracket—whether for fun, with friends, for betting, or for prize competitions—is an enjoyable way to feel more involved as a March Madness spectator.

The 2017 NCAA Tournament is already underway and so far it has been filled with many outstanding games. If you are a fan be sure to tune in for some of the great action, and see how your bracket is doing.

The author predicts a victory for Florida in this year’s March Madness tournament.