Leilani's Story: March Madness

March Madness—More than just basketball
by Leilani Vaiaoga

Crazed sports fans across the nation disappear in front of the TV every year when March Madness rolls around. The NCAA hosts one of the most highly anticipated sporting events known to man, in a single elimination tournament held each spring with 65 college basketball teams in the United States. The NCAA post season tournament or March Madness as it is typically referred to, allow spectators to participate in the games by making their own bracket from the 65 teams to see who their picks are for winning the entire championship in the end.
Sophomore Jesse Parker is a basketball fanatic and is participating in the March Madness brackets as a bracket manager. “I’ve gotten like thirty of my friends to do a bracket,” he said. “It’s easy you predict which teams you think are gonna win in the tournament by filling out a bracket, the buy in is only ten dollars, and at the end of the tournament if you’re bracket is the most accurate you win. Our pay out is $200 for the winner.” Different betting pools vary in reward money, but the concept of bracketing remains the same.
College basketball is highly competitive and the raw talent that the players demonstrate on the quart is unfathomable. “I love college ball because the players actually play defense, in the NBA the players are lazy and just run up and down the quart and score a whole lot of points,” said Senior Sara Parker.
The main attraction to March Madness bracketing is the fact that virtually anyone can win. Participants are allowed to look up stats, evaluate teams and check track records before they fill out their bracket. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, college basketball analyst, bracketing has become somewhat of a studied science, and other times rely on just pure luck.
Freshman Brittney Bell has participated in March Madness bracketing with her family for a couple of years now and loves it. “I love doing a bracket because I have a chance to win money,” Bell said. “What’s interesting about it is that anyone can win. Last year my little sister won $350 in our bracketing group and she had never watched a day of college basketball in her life, I was so pissed!”
The tournament is nicknamed March Madness because most of the games are played during the month of March. First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4 and then the Championship are the names of each stage of succession in the tournament. Participants who get in on the bracketing look to win big in order to have bragging rights.
Junior Kate Snell loves watching the games and admits to getting caught up in the madness. “I love the First Round, it’s so freaking intense,” said Snell. “There are 4 games going on at the same time, and you get to watch all of them because they switch coverage of each game between commercials.”
The tournament is single round elimination and host games with some of the top ranked college teams in the nation. Lower ranked teams have the opportunity to play and showcase their skill with chances to play higher ranked teams. Rich Wilkinson, a junior said “Yea March Madness has me hooked to the TV, I definitely missed two days worth of classes because I wanted to stay home and just watch all of the games. I love the Cinderella teams that come to the tournament with nothing to lose but everything to gain if they win.”
As March Madness finishes up their final games, the intensity of the tournament will leave viewers in a state of hysteria. The Final Four takes place on Apr. 5 in San Antonio, TX. USU basketball stand-out Jaycee Carroll will also be in San Antonio to compete in the 20th Annual Three-Point Shootout, alongside seven of the best college three-point shooters in the nation. The two remaining teams that will advance from the Final Four to the Championship game will play on Apr. 7 in an intense ball game that will have spectators on the edge of their seats on the verge of mental breakdowns. That is when you know that March Madness truly is in full effect.