March Madness is Back

It is finally here–the month for which all basketball fans have been waiting, the start of the NCAA tournament nicknamed “March Madness.” It is the most intense and exciting time of the year for college basketball, and it looks like it will be another year that lives up to the hype. It will be a month full of upsets, exciting wins, drama, and, eventually, the crowning of a champion.

The favorite of the tournament is the University of Kentucky, who ended up having a very successful season with an undefeated 34-0 leading up to the tournament. They are at the top of a lot of people’s list as the soon-to-be champions. Superstar Willie Cauley-Stein and coach John Calipari will certainly be hoping to lead them to another NCAA title.

“I think Notre Dame is going to win it all even though Kentucky is a heavy favorite,” junior Sampson Lerch said.

Notre Dame is another team that has recently looked very good after beating powerhouses Duke, who was ranked at number two, and the number nineteen-ranked University of North Carolina in the ACC Title game. The Fighting Irish made a late run to defeat the Tar Heels. Notre Dame is now ranked number three heading into the tournament, and they are starting to look like the team to possibly end Kentucky’s perfect season.

“I have a feeling Kentucky is going to win it just because they’re so good, but anything is possible in March Madness,” junior Hunter Zagorski said.

Indeed, anything is possible in college basketball, especially during the month of March. There is always a good share of upsets and Cinderella stories. Last year, the number eleven Dayton took down the sixth seeded Ohio State in the opening day of the tournament, and the number fourteen seed Mercer defeated a number three seeded Duke in a 78-71 win. This was one of, if not the biggest, upsets of last year’s festivities.