The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is one of the most awaited American sporting events of the year. After months of hard work, 68 college men’s basketball teams have been selected to play in a single elimination tournament where only one thing is certain. Nobody, not even the experts, knows who is going to come out the champion. It truly is a world of madness where probability gives way to chaos and sport immortality can be achieved in the course of 40 minutes. It’s a time where an underdog can catch fire at the right time and proceed to upset college basketball powerhouses, gaining fans with every win they claim, potentially resulting in a sporting matchup to rival the storyline of David and Goliath except this time, David has the popular backing. After all, every American loves an underdog. We’ve seen it plenty of times in NCAA history, with some of the most notable being George Mason’s Final Four run in 2006 or Butler’s National Championship run in 2011. Of course, neither of these teams ended up winning the National Championship, but nobody would ever claim that these teams did not find incredible success in the tournament.
This year, the tournament favorite is clear as the overall first seeded Kentucky Wildcats are undefeated with 34 wins. Led by heralded coach John Calipari, the Wildcats are in pursuit of a perfect season capped off by a victory in the National Championship. Standing in Kentucky’s way are six teams who on paper, shouldn’t stand a chance. Kentucky has more talent and one of the best college basketball coaches of all time. They haven’t lost all season and it seems as if no team has all the tools necessary to beat them. However, in the NCAA tournament, it only takes one victory to catapult into a Cinderella story type run. In the world of sports, one team has to win the championship. If you ask any underdog team who they feel will win, they’ll answer with “Why not us?” After all, the rules are simple: you win and you continue playing; you lose and you go home. At the end of the day, it only takes six wins to become an NCAA champion and it’s very possible that any one of the 68 teams could come out on top. So while Kentucky may be the clear favorite to win this year’s tournament, they haven’t won anything yet. In March, only one thing is certain; madness reigns supreme.