The National Collegiate Athletic Association or NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness includes a mix of excitement and frustration when it comes to the March Madness bracket. March Madness became even more popular because the average sports fan can pick brackets and play along.
This year’s March Madness started with a couple of upsets, including the loss of Clemson University against McNeese State University 69-67. Clemson’s loss screwed many people’s bracket, mine included. After that loss, I was disappointed and ended up anxiously shifting my focus on the teams I had going far through the rounds at the time since eight of the teams still hadn’t played yet. I had high hopes for Clemson having them go to the Elite Eight, and after they lost, a quarter of my bracket, the Midwest part, was completely useless, and I had no advantage that I would win from the teams in the Midwest.
Another upset was the University of Arkansas’s win against St. John’s University 75-66. This is the game that completely ruined my bracket when they lost in the second round. When I heard that St. John’s University was doing very well this year, I had them go all the way but was sadly disappointed.
Although the rest of the favorites were still winning once Clemson University and St. John’s University lost, I was completely out of the running and had no other way for my bracket to succeed. Most people will probably be wondering why I chose the teams I did and how I did so badly. I did it because I don’t know much about basketball, but March Madness has been a sort of tradition in my family. It was a fun competition in our family to see who would have more wins and who got the farthest.
I knew when I was filling out my bracket to put Duke as the National Champion, but I had hopes that St. John’s would make it far enough. I regret that I didn’t trust my gut and put Duke as the last team standing, being as they are the number one men’s basketball team in the East.
When filling out my bracket there were many things to take into consideration. While I normally choose the team that is higher in the league, there were a few times I changed it up a bit to give myself a better chance of winning in case the teams higher up were overtaken, like Clemson was to McNeese State. I also was trying to be considerate since I knew people who attended Clemson and St. John’s which greatly affected which teams I chose. Unfortunately, that did not work in my favor, which cost me a winning or even close to winning bracket.
March Madness brackets are so fun, even when they are infuriating when your team loses. I’ve done them since I was little, and I always look forward to doing my bracket when March arrives.
