March Madness Brackets

Sports fans rejoice, it is March once again.  Because of the NCAA tournament, basketball fans unite to create their brackets.  Whether it’s for competition or fun, bracket making allows students to guess the potential winners of all basketball games leading up to the National Championship.

There is something about the NCAA tournament that brings out the passion in every outgoing or subdued fan of sports.  Sophomore Ali Hasan explained, “I like making brackets because I like choosing upsets, every year there is an upset that changes the course of the tournament and sometimes you might lucky.”  Upsets certainly play a part in the annual sensation.  The unpredictability of the tournament allows for much experimentation with different possible outcomes, and maybe that’s why college basketball faithful create so many.  Every year there is a different upset that rocks the course of the tournament.

This year’s upset was just recently when the 14th seed Harvard played against a 3 seeded New Mexico team.  New Mexico was is in good position to take the trophy from the past champions, the Kentucky Wildcats.  However, the Crimson ended up pulling out an improbable victory.  According to ESPN, less than 10% of brackets made had Harvard beating New Mexico, making the playing field more intense for the participants.  Through immaculate upsets and different possibilities, making brackets for the NCAA tournament has become a staple for the month of March and is greatly appreciated by Hills West students.

Flash forward to the end of the tournament as the #1 seeded Lousville Cardinals defeated the #4 seeded Michigan Wolverines to win the 2013 National Championship.  Coming off of the gruesome injury suffered by Cardinal Kevin Ware, the team used him as a rally cry to victory.  From a bracket stand point, the fact that a #1 seed won the tournament seemed to come with minimal shock, but a lower seeded Michigan team beat the odds to make their National Championship Game appearance.  This year’s tournament is yet again indicative of the unpredictably of the NCAA tournament, which is what drives people to fill out their brackets.