The first two days of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament have shown why it is called March Madness. The opening games included overtime, last second shots, and a historic upset that has secured a spot in this year’s One Shining Moment.
The first weekend finished with University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s unprecedented victory over top seeded Virginia which marks the first time a no. 16 seed has beaten a no. 1 seed in the history of the tournament.
This first NCAA tournament was held in 1939 and only included eight teams and no championship game. The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was the more popular tournament because the winner was considered the national champion. The NCAA eventually expanded the tournament from eight to sixteen in 1951 and to 32 in 1975; this was also the first year the term “Final Four” was used. The field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 and has remained that way since.
There are thirty automatic bids that go to the winners of the conference tournaments meaning a team could have a lackluster year but win their conference tournament and they would automatically be in the tournament. The remaining 34 bids are at-large bids and it is up to the NCAA selection committee to look at each team’s season and decide who gets a chance to play for a National Championship.
The 64 team bracket is broken up into four regions with 16 teams each with the no.1 seed vs. the no. 16 seed, no. 2 seed vs. no. 15 seed and so on. Once the bracket is set the madness really begins because that means another chance to accomplish the near impossible feat of filling out a perfect bracket.
The question is asked every year of what the odds of filling out a perfect bracket are and the figure is around 1 in 9.2 quintillion, which has 18 zeroes. There is a better chance to win the lottery, become President, and get struck by lighting all at the same time than there is to fill out a perfect bracket.
ESPN puts on a challenge every year called the ESPN Tournament Challenge where individuals and groups can compete to see who can fill out the most accurate bracket. Around 17.3 million brackets were submitted this year and midway through the second day only 347 perfect brackets remained after Final Four favorite Arizona lost in their opening game to Buffalo.
The madness was just getting started and it did not prepare anyone for what would happen later in the day to one of the best teams in the country.
The University of Virginia is the no. 1 ranked team in the country and the top overall seed in this year’s tournament. Coming into this tournament, no. 1 seeds were a perfect 132-0 versus no. 16 seeds making it the most surefire pick someone could make when filling out a bracket. While others have come close, the UMBC Retrievers have etched their name in the history books as the only no. 16 seed to beat a no. 1 seed.
One of the most notable match ups was in 1996 when Western Carolina made their first and only appearance in the tournament. After winning the Southern Conference tournament they received an automatic bid and had to face no. 1 seed Purdue. The Catamounts narrowly lost 73-71, but this was as close as any no. 16 seed had ever come to beating a no.1 seed, until now.
Students at Western Carolina were asked if they would be watching March Madness and who they thought would win it all. It is safe to say there are a lot of busted brackets.
Video produced and edited with Garrett Readling
