The NCAA tournament is continuously one of the most watched sporting events and is a billion-dollar event year in and year out.
For those who have no clue, March Madness is a sixty-four-team bracket with the best college basketball teams in the country. Half of the teams that make the bracket get automatic bids for winning their conference. This gives everyone a fair opportunity to make the tournament.
For example, teams like NC State, who made the final four, were not expected to even make the NCAA tournament this season because they were the 10th seed in their conference tournament. They ended up making a run in the ACC tournament (their conference) and here they are in the Final Four with a chance to win the national championship.
Another reason why people love March Madness so much is because of the upsets. Sometimes you’ll get small schools that no one has ever heard of, and they take down a major team that people have picked in their brackets to go far.
For example, fourteen-seed Oakland University took down three-seed Kentucky this year. Oakland is a small school in Michigan.
In past years, there have been small schools that have not only made a big upset but ended up winning multiple games in the tournament.
In 2022, when Saint Peters shocked the world and made a run to the Elite Eight. The Saint Peter’s Peacocks took down schools like Kentucky and Purdue. Saint Peters has 2,000 undergrad students, compared to Kentucky’s 30,000 and Purdue’s 41,000.
Not only does it help the basketball program, but it helps the school as well. Saint Peter’s university received 30,000 more applications in 2023 than they have ever. Oakland looks to have a similar situation next year.
That is only two Cinderella teams that have made runs in the tournament, and that is why so many people tune in to every game no matter the team. You truly do not know what is going to happen.
Every year there is a fan favorite the country has, usually on the team that makes the most unexpected run. This year it was DJ Burns Jr. from NC State. He is a 6’9 275 lbs center that almost plays like a guard. He is always smiling and looks like he’s having fun.
Two years ago there was Doug Edert, also known as Dougie Buckets, who played for Saint Peters.
These are only a few players that people have fallen in love with over the years.
Another reason why people love March Madness is because anyone can fill out a bracket. A college basketball expert that watches games all year long, has the same chances as you of filling out a perfect bracket, which is one in 9 billion.
Sometimes you even see someone that you didn’t even know liked basketball win your bracket pool. For example, this year the winner of my friend bracket pool was Adam Schriner.
“I just got lucky,” said Schriner.
Schriner did not only pick the national champion UConn but picked three of the four Final Four teams, which accumulated the most points.
Schriner was one of 12,000 people who predicted NC State to the Final Four. From year to year, there are around 100 million brackets filled out.
That is the beauty of March Madness, anyone can not only win the games themselves, but anyone can win your bracket pool.
Yes, you get the teams that are the highest seed everyone picks. This year’s UConn, they were the number one overall seed and ended up winning it all, but that’ll happen.
Not only does the men’s bracket gain more and more popularity every year. But the Women’s tournament has gained a lot of popularity as well.
The format is the exact same with teams being able to win their conference tournament and clinch their spot to the “Big Dance”. You are still able to fill out a bracket, just like the mens.
This year the star of the show was Caitlin Clark. In her four years at Iowa she has broken the record for the most points in NCAA history, mens or womens.
Iowa however fell to South Carolina in the national championship game as they completed their undefeated season.
Even though Iowa may have not won the natty, they have changed the sport as we know it and this season was the most viewed women’s tournament ever, and it’s only growing.
So, if you didn’t fill out a bracket this year, next year just fill one out online, because it doesn’t hurt to try. If somehow you defy all odds and fill out that perfect bracket, you could have a chance of winning a million dollars, or just bragging rights over your friends.
