Every basketball player’s favorite time of the year is right around the corner.  The time when they can turn on the TV and see basketball being played on almost every sports broadcasting channel.

March Madness offers opportunities that everyone can and should participate in.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s March Madness tournament is a division I men’s basketball tournament held from March 17 to April 4, where the top 64 teams in the nation compete against each other to see who is the best.

The tournament offers a playing ground for some of the best basketball seen in the sport as well as an opportunity for fans and spectators to actively participate by filling out brackets for who they believe is going to advance and eventually win the tournament.

Assistant Kingsmen basketball Coach Geoffrey Dains is not a person who is new to the March Madness scene.  He said he greatly enjoys the tournament.

“It’s an opportunity to see the best college basketball teams play each other in I setting,” Dains said.

Men’s division I basketball teams across the nation compete all year in order to find their place in the tournament.  The levels of intensity that these teams compete at are unheard of.  It is the last opportunity for them to show that they have what it takes to be considered the best team in college basketball.   

These teams consist of men who are extremely talented and are expected to be sports’ next greatest players.  The tournament gives these players the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a nation-wide audience.

Current National Basketball Association players, such as Stephen Curry, made themselves known because of their performance during March Madness.

According to NCAA, “The 2015 NCAA tournament averaged 11.3 million total viewers, up 8 percent from last year and is the highest average viewership for the NCAA tournament in 22 years.”

March Madness is an important part to the sport of basketball as a whole.

“It brings attention to collegiate programs that are not part of the BIG 5 conferences (ACC, BIG 10, etc.).  It allows the public to become familiar with other coaches/schools/student-athletes that aren’t always on TV,” Dains said.

A huge part of March Madness is bracketing building.  This is where the public can take the names of the 64 teams who are part of the tournament and decide on paper or online who they believe will advance through the rounds and become the best men’s collegiate basketball team.

This year will be Cal Lutheran sophomore, Spencer Martinelli’s first year building a tournament bracket and he is excited to see how accurate his bracket will be.

“I’m only going to build one bracket this year,” Martinelli said. “I think I’m going to do well and hopefully Kentucky wins.”

Creating tournament brackets is one of the best parts of March Madness.  It is not subject to any one type of person or group.  People ranging from children in elementary school to President Obama, who is well known for his March Madness brackets can participate.

A person does not need prior knowledge about basketball in order to make a bracket because games are not played in series; its win or go home.  Therefore, games can go either way.  People who have no knowledge of college basketball pick some of the greatest upsets in the tournament. 

It’s wonderful that a sporting event is open for everyone to participate however they want to.

Dean Hendrix
Staff Writer
Published March 2nd, 2016