Homework

The following is a homework assignment that I have given all my classes to read between today and Thursday. I've also given a few questions for them to answer to check their comprehension. I'm using the assignment for selfish purposes: I want them all to understand March Madness so that next week I can have them all fill out brackets. The educational benefit? Minimal. Fun for me? Great.

March Madness is a phenomenon that grips American sports fans and non-fans alike from the first week of March through the first week of April. March Madness is the nickname that is given to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. These tournaments determine the National Champions of college basketball and are more popular in America than the NBA Playoffs.

The NCAA tournaments are an American tradition that sends millions of fans into a synchronized frenzy each year. It is this craziness that gives the tournament its nickname: “March Madness.” March Madness is the excitement of 65 teams competing for college basketball's biggest prize. It's the last-second baskets, the joy of winning to play another day, and the agony of losing and going home.

In this article, we will discuss the brackets of the NCAA Basketball Tournament and look at how teams are selected and how the champions of college basketball are determined.

There are 327 college basketball teams, and each one begins every basketball season with one dream -- winning the National Championship. But before these teams can win the championship, they must qualify to be invited to the tournament. Sixty-five teams are granted invitations.

Teams for both the men's and women's tournament are chosen by a selection committee, which is made up of select university athletic directors and conference commissioners. The selection committee meets to choose the teams deserving of an invitation. Most teams have played between 30 and 35 games in the season. The results of these games are used to determine who are the best 65 teams in America. These 65 teams are selected to play in the tournament. The decisions are always announced on television on a Sunday called Selection Sunday.

The field of 65 teams is divided into four geographical regions. Each region has teams that are assigned a seed number of 1 through 16, with the best team in the region awarded the 1 seed. One region of the men's tournament actually includes 17 teams, with the two lowest-ranked teams playing an opening-round game to gain the No. 16 seed (the worst seed) in that region. The tournament is single-elimination, meaning if you lose one game, you are out of the tournament.

In the first round of the tournament, the number 1 seed plays the number 16 seed, the number 2 seed plays the number 15 seed, the number 3 seed plays the number 14 seed and so on until the number 8 seed plays the number 9 seed.

Traditionally, the highest seeds (1 through 8) have enjoyed more success than the lower seeds (9 through 16) because they are the better teams. Sometimes a lower seed (a worse team) beats a higher seed (a better team) and when that happens it is called an upset. Upsets are very exciting because a team that few people expected to win actually won. For example, if a number 12 seed beat a number 5 seed, that would be called an “upset.”

While it sounds complicated, the NCAA tournament is actually pretty simple. The tournament keeps subtracting teams until there is only one. That team is the champion of college basketball.

The NCAA tournament often displays the skills of players hoping to play in the NBA in the future. Most famous American NBA players have played in the NCAA Tournament. For example, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Tim Duncan all played in March Madness.