One of the biggest sporting events of the year is just around the corner, but don’t let the hype of superfans deter you from getting involved. March Madness is a time for all fans to enjoy the unpredictability and complete chaos of college sports.
“I have done a couple of pools with family and friends over the past couple years,” said senior Griffin Fowler. “I think it’s a great way to have some friendly competition with people, especially because basically anyone can win.”
March Madness begins with Selection Sunday on March 17, which is when the NCAA decides which collegiate teams will be competing in the tournament. Fans across the country anxiously await this day, as it marks the beginning of the bracket-making process.
“The NCAA D1 tournament is very competitive, and upsets are pretty common compared to a lot of other sports,” said junior Achyut Vavilala, “which makes it super interesting to follow.”
So what’s the best way to make your bracket? Here’s some advice I have collected from my own experience (as someone who has never been interested in sports) and experiences from OH students.
Use an official bracket-making app
The NCAA has an official bracket-making website and app. This allows fans to easily fill in their brackets based on anything they want, from cool logos to actual statistics. My favorite way to make brackets is to pick them based on their color schemes, with the ugly teams out of the competition almost immediately (this worked perfectly for the Princeton upset last season, so I highly recommend it).
“I’m gonna follow [the tournament] closely because I love Rob Dillingham from Kentucky. He’s so shifty in everything he does,” said sophomore Luke Roller. “But I really just be basing my picks off TikTok.”
Create picks based on what you want, not what the superfans think
The reality of March Madness is that anything can happen. A team can go in with a near-perfect record and be eliminated just as quickly as they came, so don’t worry about making it perfect. Often, dumb luck is what helps sports fans rise to the top.
“I compare [the teams’] record vs strength of schedule and weigh my picks based on those,” said Fowler. “Most people just choose based on seed, and I know people who pick based on which mascot would win in a fight.”
Sit back and enjoy the chaos of it all
Other sports have some element of predictability as to who will win the championship; college basketball doesn’t have that. No bracket is bound to be perfect, and that’s the fun of the sport. So just have fun with it and enjoy the process of making your bracket your own! There’s plenty of time to customize yours and try to predict the major upsets of the season. The tournament officially begins March 19-20 with the First Four games, and the first round is on March 21-22.
“The most entertaining part for me about March Madness is watching some of the games that end up ending very close or upsets and seeing how well my brackets turned out,” said Vavilala.
For fans who want to follow the tournament to first-hand witness the chaos of this month, they can see the sport live on a variety of channels and streaming services, including the NCAA app.
Overall, March Madness provides a chance for fans of all interest levels and ages to get involved and enjoy the sport. Brackets can be made with everything from heavy statistics and score-watching to random picks, but they will all be fun and imperfect.
My name is Sasha Pankuch and I am a junior here at OHS. This is my first year with 42Fifty too. I am very involved here at OHS; I am on the board of Student Council, I play the saxophone in the Panther Marching Band, and am a member of multiple honors societies!
What a well written article! USF will be the Cinderella story this year
At least one 12 seed wins their matchup against a 5 seed every year. Make sure you pick one in your bracket.
So so excited! As someone who is clueless in basketball, I love still taking part in the fun! Great work Sasha