During the last weeks of March, college basketball becomes a big subject in the media because there is an NCAA tournament competing for the national title. During March Madness, many sports fans create brackets which determine who they think will be in each round of the tournament and which team will win the championship. You have the opportunity to win money as well as create brackets for both the men’s and women’s teams. Think of this tournament as the playoffs to go to the Super Bowl.
The first NCAA Men’s Division 1 tournament started in 1939. This tournament only had a total of eight teams. As we know, “March Madness” came from an Illinois high school official, Henry V. Porter. The NCAA tournament transitioned into “March Madness” through the coverage made by Bruce Musberger in the 1982 tournament. In order to qualify for the tournament, you must win your conference tournament, which will give you an automatic bid. If you did not win your conference tournament, you will be entered in an at-large bid, and a group of selection committees will choose the remaining 36 teams that did not win their conference. The teams who qualified for the tournament will be announced live on television. The first women’s March Madness tournament occurred in 1982.
During March Madness, many people are watching the women’s side of March Madness more than the men’s side this season. There is much hype around the women’s tournament as LSU tries to make a repeat championship and Caitlin Clark’s senior season. This is the first time that March Madness games are being televised nationally, which gives an appreciation for how fast the game of women’s basketball is changing within our eyes.
Unfortunately, many men’s bracket predictions were shattered within the 1st round of 64 teams. Currently, no perfect brackets remain in the men’s tournament brackets, and the women’s brackets have less than 1% correct predictions. Worldwide, nobody has expected many fan favorite teams to lose to teams who barely made the cut to get into the tournament. For example, the biggest upset in the entire tournament so far was when the men’s Kentucky team (3 seed) lost to Oakland (14 seed). That specific game brought much media attention because this is Kentucky’s second year in a row where they have had an early exit in the tournament. Last season, Kentucky took an exit in the second round.
Unpredictable brackets and game upsets aside, CU fans are especially happy about the first few rounds of March Madness. For the first time since 2013, The University of Colorado, Boulder, has both the Men’s and Women’s teams dancing in the tournament: both teams qualified for the first round of 64 teams. This is the fourth time in school history that both teams are dancing; this is very important because it gives the perspective that both teams have an opportunity to win a national championship. Unfortunately, the Men’s team for CU fell short in the second round against Marquette with a close loss of 81-77. The Lady Buffaloes will face Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, March 30, 2024.
The CU Women’s Basketball team faced Iowa last season in the Sweet 16 but fell short 87-77. Now, the Buffs have a chance to redeem themselves against Iowa and show they are the better team and are not scared of Caitlin Clark.
The Lady Buffs have a well-rounded team with many offensive and defensive assets, such as Jaylyn Sherrod and Frida Forman.
The Hawkeyes have the leading scorer in the NCAA, Caitlin Clark. Both teams have impressive resumes and show they are one of the best in women’s college basketball. This game will be a must-see on TV as it will be a close match-up. If the Buffs win this match-up against Iowa this Saturday, this will be the first time since 2002 that they have made the Elite Eight.
Even though the Men’s team is no longer in the talks for a national championship, it was a very memorable season. They were 16-1 at home and made their first March Madness appearance since 2016. As a university, we are very proud of our basketball teams’ success this season. Students are very proud of the product this season and are looking forward to the next season.
Let’s cheer on our Lady Buffs against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sweet 16 this Saturday. Let’s make history!