March: the best month to break out spring clothing, go on walks, and watch basketball. In March, the NCAA college basketball tournament starts; it is also commonly referred to as March Madness.
If you haven’t heard about March Madness, it is a college basketball tournament in March that lasts 3 weeks. During these 3 weeks, 68 teams battle it out in 7 rounds to win the NCAA trophy. There are many traditions and rivalries, close games and crazy plays, intense fans and even more intense game environments. This is when the casual college basketball fan and a die hard basketball fan can come together and enjoy the same event. Now if you are anything like me, you probably don’t keep up with college basketball, or even March Madness, besides attending the occasional UVA basketball game.
However, March Madness will be the talk of the town; everyone, from your parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings, and friends, will be invested in March Madness and how far their favorite college teams will go. There will be a never-ending conversation about brackets and how they are doing, and more talk about the upsets that will inevitably happen. So, with March Madness right around the corner, here is a guide to everything you need to know before it starts.
History of the NCAA Tournament
A little bit of background before we get into this year’s tournament. The NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness, was started in 1939, making this year’s tournament the 85th annual NCAA Tournament. The original tournament started with just eight teams and expanded over the years to what it is today. Similarly, the term ‘March Madness’ was actually used for Illinois highschool basketball before being used in a 1982 NCAA tournament broadcast where it was quickly picked up by fans of the tournament. Since then, the NCAA Tournament has been referred to as March Madness.
The 2024 tournament has its first round starting March 19th and finishes up in the championship game on April 6. There are 7 rounds in which a starting pool of 68 teams will play each other in single elimination until there are only two left. These rounds are the First Four, the First Round, the Second Round, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and the NCAA Championship Game. On Selection Sunday, which is March 17th this year, the official bracket for the tournament gets released.
Here is how the bracket works: after the first round of elimination, the First Four, there are 64 teams. These 64 teams get divided into 4 regions (East, South, Midwest, West) of 16 teams. Within each region, the teams get ranked 1-16. Then in the First Round the No.1 team in the region plays the No.16 team, the No.2 plays No.15, etc. This continues until the championship game, which is being held in Phoenix, AZ this year.
2024 Tournament Predictions
There are a lot of predictions for this year’s tournament. Anyone who is somewhat interested in basketball has an idea of who they think will win or go far each year. Last year, Alabama, Houston, Purdue, and UConn were the favorites, with a lot of people predicting Houston to take away a win. UConn ended up on top last year, with Houston and Alabama not even making it past the Sweet Sixteen, and Purdue losing in the First Round. Our very own Virginia Cavaliers also lost First Round to the No.13 seed, Furman. March Madness is madness, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the 2024 tournament.
This year UConn (East), Houston (South), Purdue (Midwest), and Arizona (West) are favored to be placed as the No.1 seed in each region. Purdue, Houston, and UConn are predicted to make it to the Final Four, but Arizona may be toppled from their No.1 spot by Tennesse or UNC. As of now, there is a lot of debate as to who will make the bracket, especially the teams that are on the bubble of not making it. According to Ryan McDonough, former General Manager of the Phoenix Suns, there is a lack of dominant teams this year which will probably lead to a number of upsets early on in the tournament. These next few weeks will be very interesting in terms of college basketball. The Hoos have a chance to be ranked, but we will have to keep an eye out to see if we will make the tournament first. Most likely, Virginia will be competing for their spot in the 64 team bracket in the First Four. If we want to advance we need to keep our strong defense and work on following through on the offensive end.
Some other teams to look out for in the tournament are Marquette, Kansas, Duke, Baylor, Iowa State, Alabama, Auburn, Illinois, Creighton, Kentucky, as well as Texas, Michigan State, Providence, Seton Hall, San Diego State, and Wisconsin.
However, it is important to note that these predictions are for the bracket and not necessarily how the tournament will go. Once the bracket is released on Selection Sunday and the First Four play, there will be more talk about which teams will go far and which teams will probably not make it. Keep a close eye on college basketball in these next few weeks, as a lot of exciting games will be going on.
Where to Watch
You can watch live broadcasts of the tournament games on ESPN, ESPN +, CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV. The NCAA website is also a great place to go for more information on the tournament.
March Madness starts soon; get a group together to watch your favorite teams play. There are also ways to keep you more engaged in the tournament, like building a bracket with your friends or family. And don’t forget to keep an eye out for our very own Virginia Cavaliers. Go Hoos!