For Basketball Fans, March is the Best Time of Year

For Basketball Fans, March is the Best Time of Year

John Montana, Writer

People all over the country create a bracket which is a prediction on what teams one will believe will win each game and the whole thing. Getting a perfect bracket is “1 in 120.2 billion” according to the NCAA. Prizes for making a perfect bracket can go up to winning a car and a bunch of money. 

 

The first round of games  had a bunch of upsets including Richmond over Iowa, Iowa State over LSU, Saint Peters over Kentucky, and Notre Dame over Alabama. Second round of games there were more upsets including MIami over Auburn, Iowa over Wisconsin, Michigan over Tennessee, UNC over Baylor, and Saint Peters over Murray state. 

The sweet 16 comes around and things get real with Houston beating Arizona then UNC beating UCLA, Saint Peters beating Perdue and Arkansas beating Gonzaga. By this point, most brackets were destroyed with all these upsets.

 Saint Peters, for those who do not know, was a 15 seed and did not have the same opportunities as some of the bigger teams they played which is why they also made history St. Peters becomes the first 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight after stunning March Madness win against Purdue. 

“The Final Four matchups are set with Duke vs. North Carolina and Kansas vs. Villanova meeting in Saturday’s semifinals. Villanova never dropped out of the AP Top 25 this season, but the Wildcats did fade to No. 23 in December after a 7-4 start” states CBS news. 

In the UNC game, “North Carolina went into the break shooting 41.7% while Saint Peter’s was being held to 22.6% and were 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. North Carolina was also out-rebounding Saint Peter’s 26-19” according to Fox news. 

Interestingly enough, “since the 2007-08 season, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Villanova have claimed seven of the 14 national championships. We’re in for a powerhouse matchup in the title game no matter who wins or loses in the national semifinals on Saturday,” ESPN stated.

With all these upsets and history behind what happened this year there is only 1 perfect bracket still left and with the Final 4  this weekend there’s a chance that this can be broken.