By Seth Tow, Editor-in-Chief
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is the best time of year for a lot of people. College basketball games are as exciting as ever, and just about everyone gets pretty invested in the Madness, especially if their favorite team is in the 68 team field.
For many fans, March Madness means bracket pools. In the period from Selection Sunday, when the bracket is released to the public, through the beginning of the round of 64, fans across the world obsess over which teams to pick in their brackets. For some, it’s as simple as picking a random school to win the games. For others, it’s a lot more than that as some people put a lot of thought and research behind their carefully crafted picks.
The prohibitive favorite in this year’s tournament is Kentucky. The Wildcats are undefeated (34-0) through the regular season and SEC Tournament, and rightfully earned the #1 overall seed. In fact, 48.4% of brackets on ESPN’s Tournament Challenge have Kentucky as their National Champion.
That being said, picking the high seeds to win every game may not be a smart strategy. In last year’s tournament, 21 out of 63 games were won by the lower seed. Senior Johnny Moseman certainly kept that in mind when he picked 15 seed New Mexico State to upset 2 seed Kansas. “It’s a mix of New Mexico State being underseeded (they should have been a 13 or 14), and Kansas not having the talent on their team that they are used to having,” said Moseman, “And I like being bold.”
However, simply wanting to be bold is too risky for some people. Senior Jacob Snyder said that he “always picks teams that shoot free throws well and play good defense. In the tournament, the games are often close, so finishing games is a vital quality for a team that wants to make a deep run.” Kentucky, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Iowa State, the teams Snyder has in his Final Four, certainly fit that mold.
On the complete other end of the spectrum are the people that don’t really know much about college basketball but want to get in on the fun and pick a bracket anyway. “I based it off of others’ opinions and what I’ve been hearing,” said senior Mary Ellen Tokar. She also guessed for many games, using methods such as which team name she liked better.
Some other amusing methods people use to fill out brackets include flipping a coin, picking based off the team’s colors, based off the team’s mascot, or even having their pet make picks for them.
Brackets are not a necessity to enjoy March Madness. It’s a fun way to get into the tournament, but the games can be enjoyed without predictions. This is the most exciting time of the year, so here’s to the action, the excitement, the buzzer-beaters, the upsets, and the moments that will ensue over the next three weeks.