March is Madness
March Madness. It is said to be one of the most electrifying times in sports every year. Buzzer beaters, upsets, and Cinderella runs is what one can expect from the NCAA Tournament and conference tournaments every year.
The goal of every team in the nation starting in November is to make the tournament because once you make the field of 64 teams anything is possible and everyone has a chance to cut down the nets April 3rd.
There are two ways to make the tournament: at large bid or an auto bid. Auto bids come from every conference in the Division I ranks. Here is how your team can get an automatic place in the tournament—win the conference tournament. Seems simple enough, but for the smaller conferences such as the Patriot League typically only receive one representative; so in these "mid-major" conferences that conference championship means everything, and thus some of the most thrilling, gritty games will be in those conferences. This year Colgate won the Patriot League meaning that they now will get a shot in the Big Dance. There are 31 teams who get auto-bids. The remaining 31 are at the mercy of the committee.
The madness has already begun. A few teams have punched their ticket, but for the first time in program history Kennesaw State is going dancing after holding on to win the ASUN tournament by a single point. Even in the bigger conferences there have been thrillers this year. One coming on Thursday, March 9, 2023 when Florida and Mississippi State went back and forth for an overtime finish.
This sequence with the game on the line 👀 #SECMBB pic.twitter.com/hPBk2cIgJ4
— ESPN (@espn) March 9, 2023
Who knows who will have the best dance over the next few weeks, but one thing is for sure—it will be electric. If you have never watched the Big Dance I would recommend watching this year and picking a team to root for because there are lots of teams that will be seeded much lower than what their talent should allow them to be. In other words, a recipe for a madness filled March.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-10/2023-march-madness-mens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates-times
I appreciate your insight into how the March Madness Bracket is formed. It is a yearly tradition in my family to follow the tournament and to each fill out our predictions. I might ask for advice on who you pick!
ReplyDeleteYay March Madness!! Watching the tournament with my stepdad on the days I am able to go home is something I love so much. Reading this has me even more excited for it!
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