The first rounds of March Madness have been completed, and so far, it’s been crazy*.
Maryland’s Derek Queen hit a buzzer beater to beat Colorado State 72-71 in round 2. The next two rounds went well with almost no upsets. The Final Four teams are now set; all four one-seeds made the Final Four for the first time since 2008. The Final Four games will be held Saturday, the fifth with Auburn University and University of Florida playing and University of Houston and Duke facing off later that night. The winners of those games will play in the championship, on Monday April 7th.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been hosting the tournament for years, bringing together Division I basketball fans from all over the country. The tournament lasts throughout the month of March, with teams competing almost every day.
The first phase of March Madness is Selection Sunday, arguably one of the most exciting days for the players, when the NCAA reveals the brackets for both the men’s and women’s teams, determining which teams will end up competing for the championship.
There are 64 teams that compete, in total, for each round. Half the teams get eliminated until there is only one team remaining. When there are four teams remaining, the ‘’Final Four” play, which will be in San Antonio this year. With the tournament being over three weeks long, there are four one-seeds. These are the best four teams in the country. This year, those teams are University of Auburn, University of Florida, University of Houston and Duke.
The teams are seeded-one through sixteen, and there are four in each seed. For example, there are four two-seeds: Saint Johns, Tennessee, Michigan State and Alabama.
Since the tournament began on March 20th, there have been many upsets, like the number 12 seed, Colorado State winning over seed number five, Memphis. And number 11 seed, Drake, beat number six seed, Missouri. And lastly, Arkansas, who’s 10-seed upset two-seed, Saint Johns.
Though we don’t know who will end up winning the 2025 Championship, what we do know is that it has been a time to bring basketball fans around the country together.
*All information updated as of Friday, April 4th