March Madness is in full swing, and it’s time to get in on the action. If you’re wondering what all the hype is about, don’t worry girls-I’ve got you covered.
March Madness is a thrilling single-elimination tournament organized by the NCAA that’s bound to keep you on the edge of your seat for the next month. 68 teams from colleges across the country battle it out on the court to win a national championship.
Now, let’s break it down. We’ve got 32 teams who snagged automatic bids, meaning they’ve already secured their spot in the tournament. The other 36 teams are handpicked by the NCAA committee and are called at-large bids.
The tournament begins with something called the “First Four.” This is where the four weakest automatic bids face off against the four weakest at-large bids. It’s do or die! If you lose a game at any point in this tournament, your journey ends there.
Once we’ve weeded out the underdogs, the tournament is split into four regions: South, East, West, and Midwest. Each region has teams ranked from 1 through 16, with the top seed taking on the bottom seed, and so on.
In the second round, it’s all about the bracket. The NCAA committee carefully crafts it, considering things like competitive balance, avoiding rematches, and travel considerations.
Next, teams undergo the Sweet 16. Much like your own Sweet 16, this round of games tends to be quite memorable, for better or worse, as teams in each region compete for a spot in the Elite 8. And yes, you guessed it, the Elite 8 narrows it down from 8 deserving teams to just 4.
The Final Four is where dreams are made and broken. Teams fight till the final buzzer for their shot at the national championship.
And finally, mark your calendars because the NCAA championship game is set for April 7th for the women and April 8th for the men. It’s the culmination of weeks of intense competition, and trust me, you won’t want to miss it! We’ll see how it stacks up to the Love is Blind finale that you can’t stop thinking about.
I hope you not only impress the guys in your life with your newfound knowledge, but you tune in and experience the excitement that is March Madness. Any game will be exciting, keep an eye out for Iowa State University’s matches to witness the remarkable talent of Caitlin Clark, arguably one of the greatest collegiate women’s basketball players in history.