Overview
March Madness is arguably the most exciting tournament in all of sports and hosts some of the most entertaining basketball games every year. March Madness is a massive college basketball tournament, which is single-elimination, and features 68 teams battling for the National Championship. Fans all across the world fill out bracket predictions, guessing which team will win each game, leading to epic upset wins and buzzer-beaters. Each and every single game of the tournament is played at a neutral site to even the playing field and make sure no team has home court advantage.
Bracket Format
The tournament begins with 68 teams that are selected by the College Basketball committee to compete for the title. These teams are selected based on their season performance, conference titles, and other important criteria. After this, the first games of the tournament are called the “first four”. These are 4 total games and eight teams playing to see which four will make the top 64 and officially be in the NCAA tournament. After the 64-team bracket is set, the “real” tournament begins. Each of the four regions have 16 teams, seeded from the number 1 seed to the number 16 seed. Every round cuts the field in half, from the Round of 64 to the Round of 32, then on to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and the most important round of them all, the Final Four. Every matchup is win or go home, so a single loss and your team is going home. After the Final Four, obviously, is the National Championship game that will crown the winner and they will receive the National Championship title. Some of the most successful teams in college basketball are the UCLA Bruins with 11 National titles, Kentucky Wildcats with 8 wins, and the North Carolina Tar Heels with 6 wins.
History
March Madness first began in 1939 with just 8 teams in the tournament but has definitely progressed over a good way in the past 85 years. There are plenty of universities who made their status known early with over 5 National Championships in their name. Although there are plenty of powerhouse teams, some of the most exciting teams are the Cinderella stories that really gives the tournament the name “March Madness”. There are multiple teams who have been some of the greatest upsets in all of College Basketball History. In 1985, Villanova was an 8-seed who took down a very skilled Georgetown for the National title. Another example, the 2006 George Mason Patriot’s who were an 11-seed and reached the final four. This was one of the most unexpected underdog runs and busted brackets all over the world. The last team that was a great underdog was the 2010 Butler Bulldogs, the small school that made it to the National Championship in back-to-back seasons. It’s not always about the powerhouse schools, it’s the unexpected runs that make March Madness truly special. Every year we watch, waiting for that next jaw-dropping upset. This is the reason why the March Madness is arguably one of the best playoff tournaments out of all college sports. Who will be the next champion?
