Sports Source: Get ready for March Madness

Every year, when the calendar changes from February to March, sports fans across the United States are prepared for the most iconic event in college athletics, the NCAA Tournament. Dubbed “March Madness,” the NCAA Tournament is comprised of 68 Division I NCAA institutions.

The hype for the tournament builds as the regular seasons come to a close. Conference tournament champions are crowned, leaving only the waiting game for players and fans alike. This period of waiting is for Selection Sunday, the day the field of 68 teams is released.

For many, this day is full of disappointment, as hopes of making a run at the championship are crushed. But for 68 teams, the elusive dream of bringing a title back to their school is just beginning.

Although every team would love to be at the top of their respective division, only four can. Those four number one seeds in this years tournament are Virginia, Villanova, Xavier and Kansas.

Virginia is coming off a conference championship in arguably the toughest conference in college basketball, the Atlantic Coast Conference. While Villanova just captured their second straight Big East conference championship, the 2016 National Champions are looking to find themselves in the same position.

Xavier was the number one overall seed in the Big East conference tournament, but found themselves upset by five-seed Providence in the semifinals. It will be interesting to see how the Musketeers respond to the early exit in the conference championship.

Lastly, Kansas, another conference champion, took home the Big 12 title. The Jayhawks are considered to be one of the most storied programs in college basketball, as they look to win a championship exactly 10 years after their last in 2008.

Although these four may be considered the favorites to go all the way, even a casual fan of college basketball knows that anything can happen on any given day, especially in March.

Upsets this season seemed to be more frequent than any season in recent memory. So fill those brackets out and get ready, because this year’s installment of the NCAA Tournament should not disappoint.