College basketball championship series in full swing
The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, known as March Madness, is in full swing, and the madness has already begun. The tournament started March 17, and since then, upset and standout games have already amazed crowds of fans, including students and teachers here at OH.
“[March Madness] gets bigger and bigger every year, and it’s only in the United States,” said OH special education teacher and Varsity basketball coach Jeff Gilmour. “Because of NIL money and the transfer portal, there’s more parity throughout college basketball.”
March Madness is considered the best time of the year to both casual and fulltime sport fans, but for some it’s particularly special.
“I watch as much as I can. … It’s the most exciting time of the year for me. I’m a big college basketball fan– I don’t really get into the NBA, and since high school season’s over now … college is the best tournament we have,” said Gilmour.
March Madness may just be another league championship for a sport everyone knows, but many consider March Madness to stand out in many ways.
“I think it’s … the college aspect, considering [that] these are up and coming athletes and if they do good in these tournaments… we could see them in the [NBA] one day,” said OH senior Kyle Taylor.
March Madness mainly gets its name from the utter chaos it brings with upsets and quick “sudden death” games taking place between 64 teams, which makes for a wide variety of results.
“[In] football, for example, there are generally only 3 or 4 teams every year in college football that have a chance to win [the tournament]… in basketball there are more than that… there are probably 10 or 12 different teams that have a legitimate shot to win the tournament. So I think that makes it more special,” said Gilmour.
Another aspect of March Madness that differentiates it from other championships is the bracket making. Fans will make groups with friends and families, selecting which teams they think will win and compete against each other to see who has the more accurate bracket. Many fans will make multiple brackets, some based off of different things like school mascots or colors.
“I’m all Illinois, I’ll probably have them [winning] in at least one of my brackets… Do I actually think they will… probably not,” said Gilmour. “However, outside of my heart I’m going Arizona.”
Outside of the competition and busted brackets, March Madness is a chance for fans to sit down together and enjoy watching the sport they love.
“It basically just brings out all the viewers, all around the world, and every person for their team… [It’s] just absolutely amazing to watch,” said OH junior Jake Walsh.
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