Some people are dedicated to watching football, or hockey, maybe even golf, but for myself I love to watch basketball. I say I love to watch basketball, and even though the NBA is professional basketball I would much rather watch college basketball, where the players play to win and not just for money. Being that I love college basketball, I also love the month of March because of March Madness. March Madness is the division one men’s and women’s NCAA basketball championship tournaments. March Madness begins in the first week of March and does not end until the first week in April. These tournaments will ultimately determine the national champions of college basketball. NCAA March Madness began in 1939 with a total of only 8 team, but today the tournament has grown to 65 teams all striving to win the title of national champions.
Today 31 of the 65 teams earn automatic bids into the tournament; the remaining teams receive at large bids, except for the bid that is received by the champions of the Ivy League. The teams will be seeded numbers 1-16 with the number 1 seed playing the number 16 seed, the number 2 seed playing the number 15 seed, and so on. Since there are 65 teams, the Tuesday before the tournament begins, the 64th and 65th seed play in a play in game to take the total down to 64 teams. The tournament begins the Thursday after the play in games is played. The first round games will be held on Thursday and Friday, with the second round games being held on Saturday and Sunday. This will narrow the field down to what is known as the Sweet Sixteen. The following Thursday and Friday the field will be cut down to what is known as the Elite Eight, and then narrowed to the Final Four on that weekend. The weekend after the Final Four is decided the games get underway and the Championship game is played on Monday. The NCAA tournament is single elimination; after a team loses they will not have another game in the tournament or be reseeded. Since 1985 when the tournament expanded to 64 teams, a number 1 seed has never lost in the opening round to the number 16 seed. The 65th team was not added to the tournament until 2001, making the need for a so called “play in game”.
Ohio State, Duke, Pitt, and Kansas all received number 1 seeds going into the tournament this year, which starts today. Along with these teams, many others are also in the tournament hoping to upset one of the top teams and become National Champions. So who will win the tournament? This question is something that will not be answered until April, but I would love to hear others predictions.
I am sorry i forgot to put my name again this is Cassie
ReplyDeleteCassie,
ReplyDeleteI think you chose a good topic and a good picture but I would'v liked to see a chart or diagram because you totally lost me in the second paragraph. I know about it but stopped watching basketball in 2005. You did a good job on providing a lot of information to get an understanding, good job.
Alison
Ali,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice. I added a bracket to my post.
Cassie
Cassie,
ReplyDeleteEven though I am not a big basketball fan, I think you did a good job with your post.
All of the information was there, I think it was just a little confusing. I agree with Ali, I also got lost in the second paragraph. When I saw the chart, however, it made more sense. It may have made better sense for a non-basketball fan, if you had added that the teams were separated into regions, also. Again, since I am not familiar with basketball, I did not understand what a bid was. Maybe a little more explanation there would have helped, but then again, the people reading probably already know what that is.
Other than that, I thought you did a good job and had a really good post.
Thanks for the information,
Kristen Mummert
Cassie,
ReplyDeleteThough I'm not very interested in any sport, I completely agree that when the game is being played for the love of the game and not just the money, it is much more entertaining. Nice job.
Samantha Cribbs
Thank you for the comments! I should have considered that non-basketball fans would be viewing my post, and i will take this into consideration with my next post.
ReplyDeleteCassie, your readers already commented with some of the thoughts I have. Overall, though, I thought you did a nice job of introducing the tournament. I wonder how your bracket is doing!
ReplyDeleteCassie, this was a great job introducing and explaining how the tournament works. If someone didn't know about March Maddness, they know about it now. I wanted to give my view on something you stated in the begining of your blog. You felt NBA players just play for money and not to win however, from what I've seen they play win. Not only to win but because of their love for the game. Them getting paid is just an added bonus to me. Great post and additions I think North Carolina will win it all!
ReplyDeleteTamara,
ReplyDeleteI actually did not do a bracket this year because i knew the tournament would be unpredictable. Thank you for the feedback.
Chris,
I like the pace, and quickness of college basketball. I think NBA basketball is slow, and though i do see your point about playing for the love of the game, but they do not have the same drive as college players in my opinion. I wanted Duke to win, or Pitt. I knew Pitt would not make it but i did not expect Duke to lose.
Cassie