That time of year has finally arrived. As the flowers start to bloom, and the pollen arises, Cinderella stories are written and stamped in history. March Madness is one of the most hyped up sporting events as week after week screens are flooded with nonstop action by college basketball’s biggest stars.
Originally started in 1939 as an eight team tournament, the national event has now expanded into a 68 team tournament with talks of possibly expanding towards a 72 or 76 team tournament in the coming years.
31 of those 68 teams are decided by auto-bids. Each college basketball team is guaranteed one auto-bid respectively, to the team who wins their respective conference tournament. This parameter allows smaller, less known teams to get a chance to play on the big stage and possibly make a “cinderella run”.
One recent example of a “Cinderella” story can be recalled in 2022 when 15 seeded Saint Peter’s made a run all the way to the elite eight, taking down juggernauts Kentucky and Purdue in the process.
The other 37 teams in the tournament are determined by at-large bids. A committee of athletic directors and high ranking NCAA officials go through an extensive process to determine the other 37 teams that are deserving of a chance to play for a championship. These bids usually benefit better and more known teams, rewarding them for their good regular seasons.
On Selection Sunday, the committee will announce their decisions and unveil the single elimination bracket to the public. Selection Sunday this year will take place on March 15th at 6pm.
Last season, the Florida Gators took home the championship with a nail-biter win against the Houston Cougars. While losing most of the firepower from that championship team, the Gators rebuilt their squad, and are looking threatening to win another championship.
The Gators are projected as a 1 seed this year, accompanied by the Duke Blue Devils, Michigan Wolverines, and Arizona Wildcats. All four of these teams have the firepower necessary to pull out a championship run, and bring back hardware to their respective campuses.
Although the 1 seeded teams are the favorites, Green Level students have other opinions on who they believe will win the prized tournament.
Sophomore Graeden Prasad is one example, as he believes a blue blood school will cut down the nets in April.
“I think North Carolina will win this year,” Prasad explained. “We have good size with Henri Veesaar and Zayden High compared to other teams.”
On the other hand, Sophomore Ben Phillips believes North Carolina’s biggest rival will take home glory.
“Duke is winning and it’s not even close,” Phillips explained, “No one in the country can stop Cameron Boozer.”
Although opinions vary on who will cut the nets down, one thing is certain; the coming weeks will be jam packed with action. Whether you care or not, tune into Selection Sunday and fill out a bracket to follow all the action many sports fans look forward to every year.
