Collin Gallagher, Sophomore
With this time of year upon us again, March Madness looks to return from its 2-year long hiatus. Being one of the most televised sporting events in the United States, many people will be betting big on these games and seeing who can make the most accurate predictions of the year. This year looks to be the first year since 1989 in which the Duke Blue Devils won’t be in contention. Without a doubt the most coveted basketball school in the nation, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, commonly known as Coach K, has been out for the majority of the season with coronavirus. Duke also suffered with their star small forward Jalen Johnson being out with coronavirus for the same window. In the absence of Duke, Gonzaga is now the favorites to win the tournament, given a 29% chance to win by analysts. Gonzaga is often a basketball powerhouse, unlike the second favorites, Baylor. While consistently being a good program, they often fall short of glory in March Madness, commonly ending with a second or third round exit. Villanova looks to return to fame with their potential 3rd win in 6 years. In their last win, they triumphed over Michigan 79-62, who are now ranked third this year, with a current record of 16-1. The winner of the most recent (2019) NCAA title, Virginia is ranked 23rd, with a 15-6 record. In the past, an average of 10 billion dollars has been bet on March Madness’ in the past, and with the legalization of sports betting in many states, that number looks to rise greatly this year.
Above is the seeding for this year's tournament, as well as the first four matchups on the slate. The Big 10 dominated in collegiate basketball this year, having 10 of the 64 slots in the bracket, as well as the ability to boast two number one seeded teams. Along with Duke, Kansas and Kentucky also fell short, despite often being #1 seeded teams. With the wildness over the past year, now seems a better time than ever for a low seeded team to steal the title and cut down the nets. The lowest seeded team to ever win the bracket was 8 seeded Villanova in 1985. If any teams were to break this record, they would most likely be either Oregon or Loyola Chicago, who is one of the favorite underdog teams every year, and who made a run to the Final Four in 2018, when North Carolina won.
Another reason March Madness is so highly coveted is the college player's draft stock appreciating. Many NBA fans watch to see the future NBA stars trying their hardest to become a high drafted player. Players who were not highly recruited out of high school take this opportunity to showcase their talent, such as Kemba Walker, who led his team to a surprise win of the entire tournament. This brought him from a projected 2nd round pick to a lottery pick out of UConn. So who can we expect to shine? Luka Garza out of Iowa, Cade Cunningham, and Marcus Zegarowski, who looks to become a top 3 pick, declaring for the draft out of Creighton. Whether you are a long term NCAA fan or not, this tournament looks to be a high octane tournament.
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