It’s that time of the year again, where basketball fanatics and university students gather to watch one of the most storied events in college sports history; the NCAA men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments. The bracket is set and the competition is well underway, with the regional semifinals, known as the “Sweet Sixteen,” and finals, aka “Elite Eight,” beginning yesterday and continuing through Sunday, March 31.
The men’s tournament bracket consists of 68 teams, with 32 programs awarded automatic bids for winning their conference tournament, which occur during the first two-and-a-half weeks of March. The remaining 36 teams are chosen by the NCAA men’s Selection Committee, and the 68-team men’s bracket is released annually on Selection Sunday, typically during the second or third Sunday in March.
The women’s tournament bracket is similar to the men’s, although only 64 total teams are given the chance to contend for a national title, as compared to 68 for the men. 32 teams earn automatic bids, and the remaining 32 teams are chosen at large by the NCAA women’s Selection Committee. The full bracket is announced annually on Selection Monday, a day after the men’s slate is revealed.
On the men’s side, the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils are heavily favored to win the national championship, led by freshman phenom Zion Williamson, who is widely expected to be the number one pick in the upcoming 2019 NBA Draft in June. The Duke lineup also includes a potent young core featuring two potential top-five selections in the draft in forwards Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett. The trio of freshman combined to average over 60 points per game for the Blue Devils, helping the team to a 14-4 conference record and a win in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship game.
Duke, along with Gonzaga, North Carolina, and Virginia round out the number one seeds for each of the four regions (East, South, Midwest, and West) and each top seed has won their first two games to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In what has otherwise been a tournament that has proceeded with few upsets, 13-seed UC Irvine and 12-seed Oregon were the early Cinderella stories with wins over fourth-ranked Kansas State and fifth-ranked Wisconsin, respectively. The two teams faced off last Sunday night, with Oregon coming away with a 73-54 win.
Other exciting teams to watch include the fourth-seeded Florida State Seminoles. Their deep bench was paced by ACC Sixth Man of the Year Mfiondu Kabengele, who averaged 13.3 points per game off the bench on over 50 percent shooting from the field. The Seminoles matched up with 12-seed Murray State last Saturday night, and Florida State emerged with a 90-62 win after dominating the Racers with their size advantage. Murray State is led by sophomore guard and projected top-three pick Ja Morant, who averaged 24 points per game this season to go along with 10 assists per game. The young star posted the first triple-double in the NCAA tournament since 2012 in the teams’ first round win over fifth-ranked Marquette, compiling 17 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds in 39 minutes of action.
On the women’s side, the four number one seeds, Mississippi State, Louisville, Baylor, and Notre Dame have all advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Usual powerhouse UConn, which won four straight national championships from 2013-2016, was slotted in as a two-seed, and will look to continue its run of dominance against sixth-seeded UCLA on Friday night. This year marks the first since 2006 that UConn is not a number one seed, and the Huskies have made the Final Four in the past eleven seasons.
Keep a close eye on second-seeded Iowa, which has recorded victories against Mercer and Missouri to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Hawkeyes finished second in the Big Ten conference with a 14-4 record, and are led by senior center Megan Gustafson, who was named the women’s college basketball Player of the Year after averaging 28 points per game and 13.3 rebounds per game this season. Gustafson also led the NCAA with a scorching 69.6 shooting percentage. The Hawkeyes will face third-ranked NC State on Saturday evening.
The current Cinderella story on the women’s half of the bracket is eleventh seed Missouri State, which upset sixth-ranked DePaul and then third-ranked Iowa State during the opening round of the tournament. The Lady Bears continue their impressive run on Saturday night against Stanford at 6:30 p.m.