The race for college basketball’s crown is the most exciting event in collegiate athletics.
This season’s NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament is potentially the most spread out and unpredictable tournament in recent memory.
The craziness that will ensue on Twitter when a startling upset occurs and the national buzz when a Cinderella underdog appears is just a few reasons why our culture craves March Madness.
Selecting the winners and eventual champion by skill, mascots or team colors—it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, everyone’s bracket will likely be marked with red ink and crossed out selections.
Ferris sophomore construction management major Phil Smith said, “The best part about watching the games is to see the seniors that have invested their lives into their teams and witnessing them giving their all for a chance at one more game. It’s something you can’t see in professional sports.”
Turning into a professional athlete does turn motives from winning to getting a bigger pay day, which proves this tournament as one of the most pure events in all of sports.
“I want to see some buzzer beaters to immortalize some players and end some seasons and careers in the most heart wrenching way,” Smith said.
Teams tabbed as “national contenders” this year include Indiana, Duke, Louisville, Gonzaga, Kansas and Ohio State. Even hometown teams Michigan and Michigan State could be cutting down the nets at the end of the tournament.
“This year there are three teams that have the best chance to win it all,” Ferris junior graphic design major Casey Pawlak said. “I like Louisville, Ohio State and Miami. Those three teams have played lights out all year long and one of them will come away with the championship.”
Anyone can win. However, the teams that aren’t as highly regarded play with chips on their shoulders and can upset any one of the nation’s hopeful elite.
It’s what makes this two and a half week event that features 69 games so special to people across the country.
The second round of the NCAA Tournament, which follows the four play-in games, begins March 21. The tournament concludes after crowning a champion on April 8.