Close games, overtime, buzzer beaters. Anything can happen in March. The journey to the NCAA D1 Basketball Championship began last night with 8 teams playing for their shot to make the first round. With the field officially set, the climb to the finals starts tonight.

This year’s college basketball season saw teams such as Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame, and other perennial powerhouses fall. While old school programs like Villanova and Xavier rise to the top. Nova and Xavier are two of the four #1 seeds in the tournament, with Kansas and Virginia taking the other #1 seeds. Virginia was given the #1 seed overall as well, as they look to return to the Final Four for the first time since 1984. Xavier has yet to make the Final Four in its program history, despite having more wins than any other program yet to reach the Final Four. The Kansas Jayhawks are  win their 4^th title and first since 2008.  Known for their play in the tournament, they’ve made the Elite 8 the past 2 years and have been to the Final Four 14 times in program history. Villanova is the favorite to win the tournament, having the easiest path to the Final Four, won the National Championship 2 years ago in 2016. Each team’s goal is to raise the trophy and climb the ladder to cut the net down to keep a piece for the rest of their lives.

68 teams enter the tournament, but only one will leave victorious. “Win or go home” is the mantra of each team, and with each win, they are closer to their ultimate goal. The victors will be remembered in history, but the losers will be forgotten. Welcome to March Madness.