There’s tons of reasons why March is a great month. The first day of spring is in March, there’s St. Patrick’s Day and most colleges have their spring breaks during March. But most importantly, one of the best tournaments in all of sports occurs: March Madness.
March Madness is the NCAA college basketball tournament. The overall winner is deemed the national champion. There are 64 teams involved and several rounds ultimately leading to the championship game. There is the Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four and the Championship.
Fans are encouraged to follow along by creating their own March Madness bracket predicting game results and the national champion. ESPN hosts a bracket challenge where the top brackets have a chance at winning a $10,000 Best Buy gift card. Whether you know a lot about the sport or not, it’s still fun to get involved. Even President Obama gets involved!
March Madness is always filled with upsets, Cinderella’s and underdogs. It’s unpredictable and that’s what makes it unlike any other. It’s when the game comes down the heart and who truly wants the title the most. That is when you’ll see athletes performing above and beyond standards or breaking down under the pressure.
In the West, Arizona is ranked #1. Not only do the Wildcats possess a great roster, they are led by freshman forward Aaron Gordon. It’s tough to pick against Arizona. It’s very possible they may cruise their way to the Final Four.
UNC had a 12 game win streak through February. UNC could pull it off again as long as point guard Marcus Paige steps up from the get go and doesn’t wait ‘til the second half to pick up the pace. Carolina is definitely the sleeper in this tournament. At the other end of the ACC, Freshman of the Year Jabari Parker could lead Duke all the way.
Florida is the champion favorite as they are coming off of a 26 game win streak from the regular season. Although the Gators are a pretty solid team all around, they have some tough competitors that have a good chance at taking them down. It comes down to Syracuse or Kansas have the best chance of knocking Florida out. Syracuse made their presence known during their ACC debut but have been inconsistent upon entering the post season. Andrew Wiggins could be that difference for Kansas to take advantage of Syracuse’s vulnerability.
March Madness starts March 20, 2014. You can watch it on TNT, truTV, CBS and TBS.