The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship comes but once a year. Given that it takes place in March and there are numerous upsets that happen in the tournament, the phrase “March Madness” was born. It is always an exciting spectacle to watch unfold. March 20 kicked off this season’s madness and once again there hasn’t been a shortage of surprises and upsets.

There are 68 college basketball teams that participate in the tournament championship. It is a single elimination tournament held in the United States. Although statistics and rankings can foreshadow who the champions will be, sometimes, the numbers do not mean a thing.

“To me, March Madness is all-around mayhem,” sophomore Patrick Jimenez said. “There may be teams who were inconsistent all year and this is their time to shine.”

College basketball gives sports fanatics, analysts, other athletes and students the chance to see these ballplayers play their hardest and put everything on the line for the coveted championship. The excitement of this tournament gives colleges who are competing and people across the nation a chance to come together and cheer on the hard work these athletes have put into their sports careers.

“There are a lot of great teams this year,” sophomore Sean Hernandez said. “March Madness gives people the perfect way to see how basketball should be played.”

March Madness brackets are an important part of the tournament. Many people participate in filling out brackets and it gives people who are not avid fans of the sport an opportunity to get to know the teams and athletes. Bracket pools are often practiced among friends and families and even work places.

“It’s fun to do brackets because you are more mindful of the games. People have a commitment to it,” Jimenez said. “There is a friendly competitiveness.”

“A lot of families that are really close have family pools,” said sophomore Ben Dominguez.

As the games continued, teams moved on while others’ dreams of moving into the next round were put on hold. The unpredictability of the games is what makes them all the more exciting.

This year, the most notable upset was the Mercer win over Duke. According to Huffington Post, the “stunning” win of the Mercer Bears over the Duke Blue Devils gave Mercer “an irrevocable membership into one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports.”

Although a lot of the best teams are eliminated, many college basketball fanatics live for this excitement.

“I kind of want upsets, so it can be exciting and interesting,” Hernandez said. “It will get people to watch and see that basketball is more than just one on one, and that it’s a team effort.”

There is a lot of talk about who will go on to earn the big “W” and soon, the champions will be named.

The Final Four is set and the The University of Florida Gators will play the University of Connecticut Huskies April 5, while the University of Wisconsin Badgers will face off against the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The winners of these two games will go on to the final game of the tournament, and the winner will be rightfully crowned on April 7.

Alexa Datuin
Staff Writer
Published April 2, 2014