Ladies and gentlemen, get your brackets ready, grab a nice comfy chair and prepare to cheer on your favorite team. It’s time for March Madness.
The NCAA Tournament, also known as March Madness, kicked off Tuesday, March 16 with the play-in game at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. College basketball teams from all around the nation have battled since their season opener to earn a spot in “the big dance.”
“March Madness is definitely my favorite time of year right next to football season. My girlfriend hates when March Madness starts because I literally just sit in front of the TV until the tournament is over,” Nate Martin, sophomore accounting major, said.
Women may hate it, but for men this is one of the most exciting sporting events in the nation. Every Division I basketball team across the country fought it out during the regular season to be one of the 65 teams in the tournament. All of them are competing for one thing, NCAA dominance and the championship trophy.
“I’ll be honest. I get a little emotional when the tournament comes on. Nah, I’m just kidding but you have to root for the underdog. It’s awesome to see an unranked team come out of nowhere and knock a top-10 team right out of the tournament. Doesn’t get much better than that,” Justin Lutteroty, sophomore business and administration major, said.
A few teams that look to be dominant this year are Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke. Each of these teams, besides Duke, has been ranked No. 1 at some point during the regular season.
After beating Kansas State for the third straight time this season, Kansas University was awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as well as the overall top seed out of every team in the entire event. So a little tip for anyone making a poll: you might want to put KU in the championship or at least the Final Four.
“Villanova is going to dominate, no questions asked. I know they’ve been a little shaky starting with that loss to UConn and then Pittsburgh, but they love the big stage. Expect big things from Reynolds in this tournament,” Robert Sugg, sophomore marketing major, said.
The Final Four games are going to be played in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the home to the Indianapolis Colts. The teams who make it this far in the tournament are only a point, a block, a missed assignment, a foul shot or a buzzer beater away from going to the biggest game in college basketball.
For all those men out there who are criticized by females who claim they are doing nothing for two weeks, hold strong, friends. Be true to your inner blue devil, wildcat, orange, jayhawk or buckeye and cheer on your team until the bitter end. Fill out that bracket with pride and know that the next two weeks are going to be awesome.
