As spring rolls around, high school basketball season comes to an end. But that means March Madness is starting! March Madness is a tournament for Division I Men and Women’s Basketball and it is held annually every March and April. There are 68 men’s teams and 68 women’s teams competing for the national championship.
It starts with the First Four, followed by rounds like the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and finally the National Championship Game. Several teams have secured automatic spots already. The remaining spots will be filled by ‘at-large’ teams.
The official brackets were announced on Sunday, March 16. For men’s basketball, the top seeds include the Auburn Tigers who secured the overall No. 1 seed, the Duke Blue Devils with the No. 1 seed in the East Region, the Houston Cougars claimed a No. 1 seed with a 30-4 record, and finally the Florida Gators had a 30-4 record as well, securing a No. 1 seed.
For womens, the UCLA Bruins secured the No. 1 overall seed in the Spokane 1 Region, the South Carolina Gamecocks earned the No. 1 seed in the Birmingham 2 Region, the Texas Longhorns claimed a No. 1 seed in the Birmingham 3 Region, and the USC Trojans also secured a No. 1 seed in the Spokane 4 Region.
The First Four is on March 18-19. These are play-in games for final spots. The first round of March Madness begins on March 20-21. The top teams start emerging in the Sweet 16 on March 27-28. Elite Eight, one step from the final four takes place on March 29-30. The Final Four will be held in San Antonio, Texas on April 5. And last but not least, the National Championship will be on April 7 also in San Antonio, Texas.
People make brackets every year to try and predict the winning teams. Even students and teachers at WMC make them. Although Mr. Jacobson’s favorite team, Ohio University, did not make it, he says, “I think Alabama or Auburn may win this year.” Partially agreeing with Jacobson, senior Jack Leonard says, “I think Florida is gonna win it all as of right now but I think Auburn also has a good chance.”
It is always fun to make a bracket and guess which team will win and hope that your bracket is correct. The games will be broadcast on CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV. They can also be streamed via the NCAA March Madness app.
