March Madness: The history behind it and where it is today
March Madness is a tournament of 68 Division one men’s basketball teams that compete in seven rounds for the national championship. It started in 1939 with only eight teams competing. March Madness slowly advanced from eight teams to 68 teams.
“March Madness was first used to refer to basketball by an Illinois high school official, Henry V. Porter, in 1939, but the term didn’t find its way to the NCAA tournament until CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger (who used to be a sportswriter in Chicago) used it during coverage of the 1982 tournament,” said the NCAA
In 1939 there were only three rounds for the tournament. Teams were winning while other teams were losing. In the final game of the tournament, Oregon and Ohio State were playing against each other. It was a tough game and Oregon ended up beating Ohio State 46-33.
There are many games going on throughout March and the beginning of April. The first round of the games happened on March 17 and 18. The second round will be happening on March 19 and 20. They have a three-day break in between the second round and third round. The third round of games called the Sweet 16 will be played on March 24 and 25.
The games start narrowing down to only eight teams which this round is called the Elite 8 in which their games will be played March 26 and 27. They have a five-day break in between the Elite 8 and the Semi-Finals. The Semi-Finals will be played on April 2 and they have one day to get everything ready before the big finals.
The finals will determine which two teams will win the 2022 NCAA March Madness Tournament. The finals will be played on April 4 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Los Angeles.
This year March Madness kicked off with the Michigan Wolverines VS Colorado State Rams. This game took place on March 17 at 12:15 PM. Michigan took first place and will be advancing on to the next round. The final score was 75-63.
Kentucky played Saint Peter’s a few hours later. Saint Peter’s took the win, 85 – 79, and will be advancing to the second round of March Madness. This game affected many people’s brackets, as many had Kentucky going further.
“I am enraged and utterly disgusted. I had Kentucky going to the semi-finals,” said Freshman Ashton Greene.
HHS Athletic Director Wes Caldwell also had Kentucky going further, as well as Health Teacher Michael Code. Caldwell’s bracket showed Kentucky going to the Sweet 16. Code, though, kept Kentucky going through to the final four.
First-round games that have happened so far for the tournament are South Dakota State v.s. Providence, Baylor v.s. Norfolk State, Boise State v.s. Memphis, Tennessee v.s. Longwood, Iowa v.s. Richmond, Gonzaga v.s. Georgia State, North Carolina v.s. Marquette, UConn v.s. New Mexico State, Saint Mary’s v.s. Indiana, San Diego State v.s. Creighton, Arkansas v.s. Vermont, UCLA v.s. Akron, Murray State v.s. San Francisco, and Kansas v.s. Texas Southern.
The teams that will be going into the second round are Providence 66-57, Baylor 85-49, Memphis 64-53, Tennessee 88-56, Richmond 67-63, Gonzaga 93-72, North Carolina 95-63, New Mexico State 70-63, Saint Mary’s 82-53, Creighton 72-69, Arkansas, UCLA, Murray State, and Kansas.
The most popular teams seem to be the Arizona Wildcats and Gonzaga Bulldogs. Cadwell and Freshman Ellie Mohr have Arizona winning finals. Code, on the other hand, has Gonzaga taking the win with Arizona being the runner-up.
“They have good depth through their team and their bench” Ellie Mohr says when asked why she picked Arizona.
“Gonzaga has 2 of the top players in the country,” said Code.
Arizona so far this year has won the PAC-12 conference championship and overall has won 31 games and lost three. Gonzaga so far this year has won the West Coast Conference Championship and overall has won 26 games and lost three.
Today, the Loyola Ramblers and Ohio State Buckeyes play first at 12:15 PM, followed by Jacksonville State and Auburn at 12:40 PM.
You are able to stream the games on NCAA March Madness Live, CBS, Paramount, Sling TV, and Hulu.
