March Madness recap

Another season of college basketball has passed once again, and as usual it ended with the famed National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament, commonly known as March Madness, to give even some of the little guys a shot at being crowned national champions. But for anyone hoping a small school team might make a run and go all the way, “Cinderella teams” as they’re called, those hopes were dashed.

The tournament is composed of 64 teams amongst four regions, and each region has one team that is seeded between one and sixteen. Teams that receive a one seed are considered the best of the best, two seeds are just below them, three seeds are a bit worse, and so on.

March Madness however, is known for its upsets, when a lower seed beats a higher seed, and because of this the national championship game usually isn’t played between two number one seeds. This year, that wasn’t the case, and the championship was in fact played between two number one seeds, the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

In the end, the Tar Heels came out on top, winning 71-65. It was a game highly criticized by some fans, citing poor officiating and a poorly played game.

“I honestly can’t believe that the game was so poorly officiated, and it was probably the worst game I watched the whole season in terms of fouls,” said Jenner York, 11.

Despite public unrest caused by the referees, the game ultimately wound up with great television ratings. The NCAA announced that the national championship’s ratings were up 21% from last season’s game, and because of it, the tournament’s future looks bright.