March Madness Preview

Hayden See, Reporter

The March Madness begins next week.

March Madness is one of the most popular tournaments for college basketball fans. There are upsets, underdogs and a new winner almost every season. Selection Sunday is this sunday. That even will choose who plays who in the tournament and the seeding. After that, the jam packed schedule of games begin that week.

“March Madness is my favorite time of the year. Basketball is fun to watch and it helps to provide some entertainment during a mundane time in sports. I watch a majority of the games throughout the month. I love cheering for the underdog,” junior Blake Haffer said.

In just 19 days, 67 NCAA games will be played. The first four games will be held in Dayton, Ohio, the first and second rounds will be held in eight different locations: Hartford, Connecticut, Salt Lake City, Utah, Des Moines, Iowa, Jacksonville, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Columbus Ohio, Columbia, South Carolina and San Jose, California.

“I wish some of the games were played around here. They are very fun to watch when they are,” junior Jacob Justice said.

The NCAA tournament started in 1939. The last time a team won in back to back seasons was in 2006 to 2007 when Florida accomplished it. University Of California Los Angeles won the most consecutive championships, winning in ten straight seasons from 1964 to 1973. During that period they lost a total of eight games. Other than UCLA, no team has won more than two straight NCAA Championships.

“In other sports leagues there is always a team that just dominates year in and year out. In the NCAA they have a lot of strong teams, which makes it very entertaining to watch and follow, “ junior Blake Ebner said.

The NCAA Tournament kicks off on March 19th.