March Madness is one of the most exciting seasons to be a sports fan. While many people will root for their favorite of the 68 teams in this tournament, others will root for the underdog story of a lower-seed school beating a higher-seed school. 

March Madness is the biggest sports tournament with the most teams participating in the U.S. The tournament started in 2011 and now celebrates its 15th year with that many teams. March Madness started in 1939 with eight teams. 

A lifelong Purdue fan, sophomore Dominic Ramirez, is amped to watch his team, Purdue, in the tournament and do well.

“Purdue has lost a couple of games and fallen back in the rankings,” Ramirez said. “I think that their team is overall one of the best in the country, and one of the things that they have to work on the most is their defense. Other than that, they have the most productive offense and the best point guard in the nation, Braden Smith. I do believe that they could win the tournament.” 

Selection Sunday will be on March 15, when the full March Madness bracket, including times and game assignments, will be revealed. If you want to fill out a bracket, they are due Thursday, March 20. Consider downloading the app “NCAA March Madness Bracket” and entering your picks there.

The first round of the tournament starts on March 17-20. The second round is on March 21-22. The following weekend, the Sweet Sixteen play on March 26-27. The Elite Eight will tip off on March 28-29. The Final Four will go head-to-head on April 4, with the National Championships held on April 6.

The player to watch out for in this year’s tourney is AJ Dybantsa. He is projected to be picked No. 1 overall in next year’s NBA draft. Dybantsa plays power forward at Brigham Young University. The team overall holds the 10 seed in the Big 12. He is averaging 18.5 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Isaiah Long, ’28, is a huge college basketball fan and loves Dybassna.

“I think he is the best all-around player in the draft and should be the number one pick in this year’s draft,” Long said.

Another player to watch out for is Darryn Peterson from Kansas University, who is averaging 19.9 points per game and making a name for himself. 

March Madness is known for its upsets. Last year in the tournament, there were a lot of upsets, including 12 seed McNeese State beating 5 seed Clemson 69-67, and 11 seed Drake beating  6 seed Missouri. Some of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history are 16 seed UMBC beating 1 seed Virginia in 2018 another big upset is when 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson beat 1 seed Purdue in 2023. 

FC Basketball player and basketball fan George Madec, ’28, predicts who is going to win the championship. “I want Purdue; they got the best point guard by far.” 

March Madness means three weeks of watching young talent, surprising upsets, and underdogs making a way. Everyone has a team they can root for or support. I personally think Duke is going to win it all this year because they have the best young flow of overall players. Their team chemistry has historically been very good and successful in the tournament, which gets them far. Last year, with Cooper Flagg, they led against Houston but couldn’t finish the job. This year, they could go all the way and win it all.

To read more from World of Sports, visit World of Sports: United States hockey wins double gold medal at Olympics or World of Sports: Anticipation builds for College football National Championship.

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