By Preston Mullins, Stentorian Staff Writer
The 2024-25 Division I college basketball season is entering its thrilling conclusion and the tournament brackets for the men’s and women’s teams are set! There is a reason that many sports fans consider this to be the best time of the year. Not only are we treated to the most exciting tournament in sports, but viewers get extremely invested in the action as they fill out brackets with their predictions for how the games will play out. March always brings the madness and upsets are prevalent, particularly in the tournament’s early rounds. That’s what makes the whole competition so exciting. The action will continue through the rest of the month, packed full of excitement and memorable moments all the way until a champion is crowned in early April.
Every year, millions of brackets are filled out in hopes of being the first one ever to be perfect and pick every game correctly. Each person knows in their heart that a perfect bracket is almost impossible, but the dream is reborn each year with every new tournament. In reality, the odds of picking all games correctly are 1 in 9.2 quintillion. That’s an uphill battle that will almost certainly never be won. Nevertheless, brackets continue to be filled, not only for the pursuit of perfection but also for the fun of competing against friends and family and envisioning all of the possible outcomes.
This year, the Men’s Final Four will take place in San Antonio, Texas, and the Women’s Final Four will be held in Tampa Bay, Florida. The top four overall seeds (one seeds) in the men’s tournament are Auburn, Duke, Florida, and Houston, while the top four in the women’s bracket are UCLA, South Carolina, Southern California, and Texas. Choosing one of these teams as the national champion is a safe choice for a bracket picker. Don’t count out some of the lower seeds though, there are lots of high-quality teams seeded lower in the bracket as well.
The tournament contains a diverse selection of teams with a wide range of unique goals. Some teams are ecstatic just to qualify for the tournament, others hope for a run to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8, and still more aspire to reach the Final Four and capture a National Championship. One thing that every team shares is their drive to compete and win in the tournament and that is what makes it so entertaining to watch.
I have always been one of those previously mentioned sports fans for whom this is the best time of the year. Tournament season is very exciting and I have a lot of fun every year filling out my bracket and watching the madness unfold. Doing this with my friends and family over the years has created countless happy memories, and I hope that readers will have a similar experience this year and in the future. So what are you waiting for? Get out there, create your bracket, and enjoy the show!