It’s March once again and that means a few things, spring break, the beginning of spring but also March Madness. Every year the tournament is full of surprises, which it what keeps people coming back for more. However, years like this make me want to almost want to never fill out a bracket again. How could I have expected Kansas to be upset by UNI? How could anyone have expected that?
ESPN.com reports that 39.96% of people who filled out brackets on their website picked Kansas to win it all. That compares to only 28% of people who picked North Carolina to win it last year. I am currently in the 9th percentile of ESPN contestants with at least two of my final four teams, as well as my champion already eliminated. No one on ESPN had a perfect bracket after two rounds. However, one CBS bracket contestant, an autistic kid from Chicago was perfect after two rounds. Unfortunately, amidst the craziness his bracket is no longer perfect.
College basketball is becoming more competitive because of advances in recruitment and increased standards to get in to college. Many students continue to play sports in order to receive scholarships or academic opportunities than they once did. Now mid-majors, conferences comprised of smaller student populations, have started competing with the BCS conferences. This added level of competition, absent even ten years ago, has made picking brackets substantially more difficult.
Due to the increased competition and more comparable levels of play the NCAA has mentioned a possibility of expanding the tournament to 96 teams. ESPN speculates on what a 96 team bracket would even look like. I do not think it will happen before next tournament but if Cinderella teams continue advancing and upsetting majority favorites than I don't think this move would be too far out of the question. The NCAA, like any business, is trying to hype their event as much as possible and a 32 team expansion would do just that.
I can feel your pain James. After the first two days my bracket was destroyed by upsets and disastrous play that I did not even bother looking at my bracket anymore. March Madness really is one of the only sporting related events that someone with no sports knowledge can participate in and have just as much luck as someone who spent days preparing their brackets. It is a complete crapshoot. However, I guess you need to just take it with a grain of salt, and truly appreciate the madness (no pun intended).
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of the best parts about the March Madness tournament are the upsets. While that being said, is it a good tournament when arguably the best two teams, Kentucky and Kansas are not apart of it. I know that everyone has to play and win their six games in order to win the national championship, but I feel like the game that everyone wanted to see was Kentucky and Kansas, and because of this crazy tournament we won't get to see it. I feel that the tournament is more fun to watch, but does it determine the most deserving national champion?
ReplyDelete