By Emre Balkis, Year 10
It is March which means March Madness is about to begin. March Madness is a basketball tournament in the NCAA division 1 (National Collegiate Athletic Association) usually held from mid-March to the beginning of April. A couple of weeks before the tournament starts, hundreds of college teams around the US battle against each other to earn a spot, with only 68 teams making it in. After the first weekend of the tournament only 16 teams are left, called “The Sweet 16”. On the second weekend only “The Elite 8” are left and the “The Final Four” are. During the last weekend, the four semi-finalists play, and the 2 winners of the semifinalist get to play the championship game.
The tournament consists of multiple brackets, usually divided into regions, showing the path a team needs to take to win the tournament, and it is a single-game elimination format, so it’s a win-or-go-home game every time you play. With these regions, teams are ranked from the 1st seed to the 16th seed. Teams placed higher usually start off by playing lower-rated teams, which sets up a perfect scenario for upsets to occur. Millions of people around the globe try to predict the winners in each bracket and bet money on it. March Madness contains many game winners and upsets, making it so entertaining. So many iconic sports moments came from this tournament, and it is considered a very prestigious tournament to win.
This year’s schedule is out and the games are starting soon. From March 14th to 15th, we will have the first round of the tournament. On the 23rd and 24th of March, the sweet 16 will battle it out to see who will make it to the next game. On the 25th and 26th of March, straight after the sweet 16, the final 8 will play against each other, and on the 1st of April, the final four will be played to see who gets a spot in the finals. Finally, on the 3rd of April, the Championship game will be held to see who will come out on top and win the trophy.
Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Gonzaga are all teams who participated in this tournament and are some of the best teams in the tournament having won the tournament multiple times over the years. However, the most recent winner from the tournament was Kansas in 2022, winning in an intense game against North Carolina, where North Carolina missed many opportunities to win the game in the last minute, ultimately resulting in a loss 72-69.
After reading this, I’m sure you have more knowledge about March Madness than before. It is one of the most exciting sporting events hosted and brings a lot of excitement during the whole tournament. This year will be better than ever as teams are more motivated to win the title than ever before, so keep up with it throughout March and April.
