March Madness 2023: Selection Sunday, The Basics, and What to Look Forward To
As March rolls around again, college basketball fans everywhere begin to prepare for the fun and exciting NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball tournament, most commonly known as March Madness. One of the USA's most popular annual sporting events, March Madness is a single-style elimination competition featuring 68 of the country's best college basketball programs. However, before the First Four games kick off on March 14 and SportStatNetwork begins our complete coverage of the competition, let's take a closer look at the basics of the tournament and the recently selected 2023 tournament bracket.
Since 1939, the NCAA has held March Madness to name one college basketball team as national superstars. The 32 teams that are champions from their respective Division 1 conferences during the college season receive automatic bids to the tournament. The other 36 teams are given wildcard berths for their victories in the regular season that did not award them a conference title. Also known as at-large berths, these teams are chosen on Selection Sunday (March 12) by a 12-member committee comprising commissioners and athletic directors.
The 68 teams are divided into four regions of 16 based on location and organized into brackets based on pre-selected rank from the regular season. Each game is crucial as the tournament is held in a single-game elimination style, meaning if you lose once, you are out of the competition.
Over the course of 3 weeks, the group of 68 will be slimmed down to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and then the Final Four. These four teams represent each of the four regions and compete for the national championship.
This year Alabama, Purdue, Kansas, and Houston have received the first seedings. They will play the 16th seed teams, TAMU-CC, Texas Southern, Northern Ky, and Howard from March 16-17.
After beating North Carolina 72-68 last year and winning their first title in 16 years, Kansas is looking for a repeat victory. However, after smashing Texas A&M 82-63 in the SEC finals and receiving their team's first-ever one-seed in school history, Alabama is shaping up to be a relentless team after navigating a tragic season. In addition, much of Houston's lacking roster from last year's tournament have returned and are readier than ever to prove themselves.
Other teams I'd keep an eye out for are the University of Texas (2 seed) and UConn (4 seed), in addition to underdogs Colgate (15 seed) and the College of Charleston (12 seed).
Texas lost their head coach Chris Beard mid-season but still remained a consistent top-10 team all season. After losing six of their first eight games in 2023, UConn still emerged from the season as another top 10 team, proving that they can face any challenge and come out on top.
Despite their 15 seed placement, Colgate is first in the NCAA for field goals percentage and three-pointer percentage. Although their free throws percentage is extremely low, they are a stronger underdog that the University of Texas should be nervous to play against. Being fourth in rebounds and third in rebounds, the Charleston Cougars are offensive weapons. Although they historically don't shoot or make many three-pointers, San Diego State should also be a little scared for their first game in this tournament.
Millions of Americans fill out brackets each year, personally predicting what they think the outcome of every March Madness game will be. Whether people make brackets to earn money or compete against their friends for fun, March Madness brings basketball fans together nationwide. Good luck to all fans who hope their teams emerge victorious, and keep an eye out for new articles reporting on how the tournament progresses!