We’re back and refreshed from Spring Break, warm weather is on the way, and the best part of basketball season has arrived. It’s March Madness! What is March Madness, you ask? You may have heard of bracket challenges and “upsets,” but what exactly is involved in this crazy season of basketball? I’ve created a quick guide for you so you can learn to understand the tournament like a pro!
What is March Madness? The first thing you need to know is what March Madness means. It describes the end of season tournament for men’s and women’s Division I basketball. For those of you who don’t know, Division I refers to schools that have a large athletic program, like Ohio State. Kenyon is Division III, meaning our athletic program is much smaller. The tournament is referred to as the NCAA tournament, and 68 teams make the men’s tournament, while 64 make the women’s. Teams either get into the tournament by winning their conference tournament or by getting an at-large bid, meaning they played well enough during the regular season to make the tournament.
How Does the Bracket Work? The teams in the tournament are organized into a bracket with four regions, known as Midwest, West, East, and South. Interestingly, these regions have to do with where the regional finals are held, not with where the teams in that region are from. Each region has 16 teams in it, ranging in seed from 1-16. The 1 seeds are the best, and they play the 16 seeds in the first round, and so on (so the 2 seeds play the 15 seeds, the 3 the 14, and so on). There are four play-in games (two for two of the 16 seeds and two for two of the 11 seeds) that allow for there to be 68 teams before the main part of the tournament begins. After the play-in games, the teams in the region compete against one another for four rounds until there is a regional champion. These regional champions are the Final Four teams.
What is the Final Four? Being in the Final Four is a big honor; it means you are one of the top four teams in the country! These final four teams play each other. This year the Midwest regional champion plays the West regional champion, and the East one plays the South, though this can change from year to year depending on how the bracket is set up. Then the winners of these two games play one another for the championship. The Final Four is especially important because many people enjoy trying to predict which teams will make it. Some people even submit these predictions (and usually predictions for an entire bracket) into betting pools to try to win money.
Basketball is a fun and fast-paced game to watch, and the tournament is exciting because it’s sudden death. If a team loses, they’re out of the tournament. There are also always a few upsets, which is when the lower seeded team (such as a 14 seed) wins a game, surprising many people. Check out this article if you want some more reasons why you should watch basketball. Hopefully with these tips, you’ll be ready to watch some games this year (it’s great way to procrastinate, or keep entertained while at the KAC) and enjoy the excitement that is March Madness.
Images: ronfutrell.com, streetwise.co