March is every devout college basketball fan’s favorite month. However, to the uninvolved outside world, the madness that ensues on the court can seem a bit overwhelming. The crushing upsets, the glorious victories, and the highlight worthy buzzer-beaters make little sense especially when attending a school whose focus isn’t always on athletics.
The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, or more commonly known as NCAA March Madness, began in 1939 as an 8-team tournament and over the years has expanded to include 68 teams playing in a single elimination bracket. Some of the best teams crack under pressure, losing to lower ranked teams, while others live out Cinderella stories we expect to see in Disney movies, going farther than most thought possible. The tournament is always full of surprises, whether a thrilling upset, or a heart breaking loss, madness ensues from the first game of the tournament until the last, as players leave everything on the court, all in attempt to be crowned the National Champions.
The Bracket:
While the two cute guys in your Lit class have been arguing on and on about whose bracket is better and your dad has begun sulking because the bracket he submitted to the pool at his office has been “obliterated,” you may be wondering what this allusive “bracket” even is. The bracket is at the heart of the March Madness hype. While there are many devoted fans who simply enjoy the competition of college basketball and other less-enthusiastic spectators who find upsets and close games most fun to watch (especially when an Ivy League team beats a high seed… hey Harvard!), the bracket makes the casual fan of one team into a fan of every team. The selection committee places all 68 participating teams in a four-region bracket based on rankings, or seeds, paring up the number 1 seed against the 16th seed, the 2nd seed with the 15th seed, and so on. Once set, fans are let loose to make predictions for every game by filling in the rest of the bracket. Entering their brackets online or into pools with friends, coworkers, and even complete strangers, fans are left hoping that their predictions are most accurate, all to call themselves (I mean, their teams…) winners.
Here is President Obama’s 2013 Bracket: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/03/20/president-obamas-bracket-2013-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament
NCAA Tournament 2013:
As we make our way to the homestretch of the tournament, here are some highlights of the madness that has ensued so far this year.
1. There is currently only one number one seed left in the tournament. Number one seeds Indiana and Kansas both fell during the Sweet Sixteen to Syracuse and Michigan, respectively, and Gonzaga fell in just the 3rd round to 9 seed Wichita State.
2. In a shocking loss, the number 2 seed, Georgetown, fell in the 2nd round to Florida Gulf Coast University who went on to beat San Diego State before falling to rival Florida in the Sweet Sixteen.
3. The west region was indeed the Wild West this year. Not only did the number one seed, Gonzaga, fall to a 9 seed, 14th seeded Harvard also pulled out a victory over the 3 seed, University of New Mexico, and 13th seeded LaSalle overcame 4 seed Kansas State
Weekend Preview:
The Final Four, or the National Semi-Finals, are this Saturday in Atlanta, with the winners of those two games to appear on Monday in the National Championship game.
Game 1: 9. Wichita State (26-8) v. 1. Louisville (29-5)
Louisville was this year’s overall number one seed, deemed the number one team by the selection committee. They are also the highest seed left, giving them a slight advantage. So far, they have had a smooth road to the final four. That said, during last weekend’s victory against Duke, a Louisville player experienced a gruesome open compact fracture. It’s possible that this may give the Cardinals the drive to power through two more games and win the National Championship for their fallen teammate. However, such a win won’t be easy, as they are up against the Wichita State Shockers, who have arisen as this year’s Cinderella story. Defeating number 1 seed Gonzaga and number 2 seed Ohio State, the Shockers are on a winning streak that could continue with defeat over the Nation’s presumed best team on Saturday, giving them a chance to be the lowest seed to ever win a National Championship.
Game 2: 4. Michigan (26-7) v. 4. Syracuse (26-9)
Both teams managed some significant upsets, beating the number 1 seeds in their respective regions to reach the Elite 8 and coming out victorious over the respective 3 seeds of each region to reach the Final Four. Michigan is the last team from the Nation’s strongest conference, the Big Ten, left in the tournament. Boasting their star point guard Trey Burke, Michigan has never looked better. That said, the Syracuse Orange may just come out victorious, looking for their first return to the National Championship game since they won it all in 2003.