March Madness is a college basketball tournament held in March. It is the postseason/playoffs of college basketball. It is similar to The Finals, The Superbowl, and The World Series as seen across different sports leagues. It hosts 68 teams and seeds them 1 through 16 with many games to keep watchers entertained through spring break and beyond. You can earn your trip to March Madness in two ways. The first option is winning your conference championship. All 31 Division I conference winners earn an automatic bid to the Madness. After this, the NCAA selection committee gives out the next 37 spots to teams that did not win their conference tournament but “impressed the committee enough to earn a trip to the tournament,” according to the NCAA.
Some of the Iowa teams look to pave their way through the postseason and find themselves in this year’s March Madness tournament. The Drake women’s 21-10 team features Katie Dinnebier, who is averaging 22.2 points per game and 7.5 assists per game. They beat Iowa State early on while they were still ranked 8th in the nation thanks to 39 points from Dinnebier. The team plays their quarterfinal game for their tournament on Friday.
The 30-3 Drake men’s team has been great all season and had a chance to be ranked while starting the season 12-0. New head coach Ben McCollum had a very storied legacy at Northwest Missouri State University the previous 15 years, but has brought four players along with him who have started every game this season for Drake. The team recently just won their MVC tournament for their third straight title in a row. They have an automatic ticket to the Madness and look to be a dangerous team as they usually are in the tournament.
The struggling 24-8 Iowa State Cyclones, after reaching #2 in the nation and being ranked #5 in the preseason AP Top 25, have fallen to #12 in the nation. They look to go back-to-back as Big 12 champions and keep a hot streak heading into March.
The Iowa Hawkeyes barely made it to their Big 10 conference playoffs after finishing the regular season 16-15 on the season, being the last team to get in. They did pull off the upset against Ohio State in their first round play. They look to keep winning in their Big 10 tournament to punch their ticket; however, the Hawkeyes are unlikely to make the March Madness tournament of 68 teams unless they continue to pull off a miracle string of games and win the Big 10.
The Iowa women are on a fall-off year after losing Caitlin Clark and are 22-10 on the season after adding Lucy Olsen from Villanova and being unranked starting the season. Iowa had an 11-game winning streak in the Big 10 tournament before losing to Ohio State this year, and they were on a hot streak, but now they hope to get a bid for the tournament.
The Iowa State women are 22-11 after starting the season ranked 8th in the preseason AP Top 25 and have also lost in their Big 12 tournament. The team features center Audi Crooks who is averaging 23.2 points on 60.2% shooting and 7.6 rebounds on the season.
Hopefully we see plenty of Iowa teams on both sides of the tournament, although some seasons have been more lackluster than others, they all have a lot to be proud of and fans will stick by them regardless of their outcome in March.
March Madness is known for a LOT of madness, as seen by its name. There is almost never a dull moment or a dull game in March college basketball. There are usually a few players that dominate and make their name known in March throughout the tournament, like Cassius Winston, Doug Edert, Jack Gohlke, Kemba Walker, and DJ Burns Jr.
It also has some of the greatest moments in basketball with numerous different game winners. It is truly one of the greatest sporting events. Home to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and most famously the Final Four. Cinderella stories are always a big part and there can be upsets any day at any point, adding to the excitement of the game. In “one shining moment” it could all be over for your team. Now let’s get to my predictions for both women’s and men’s March Madness.
Most conference champions have not been named yet, and brackets are not completed as of now, but the top teams are pretty much locked. Top teams on the men’s side include the 27-4 Auburn Tigers featuring Johni Broome, the 28-3 Duke Blue Devils featuring Freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, 27-4 Florida Gators, 26-5 Michigan State Spartans, and 24-7 Alabama Crimson Tide featuring Mark Sears.
Top teams on the women’s side include 31-3 Texas Longhorns featuring Madison Booker, 28-3 USC Trojans featuring JuJu Watkins, 30-3 Uconn Huskies featuring Paige Bueckers, 30-2 UCLA Bruins featuring Lauren Betts, 30-3 South Carolina, and 26-5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish featuring Hannah Hidalgo.
Some other teams to watch for are the Baylor Bears and the BYU Cougars on the men’s side. Some women’s teams to watch out for are the Maryland Terrapins, LSU Tigers, Duke Blue Devils, and TCU Horned Frogs. It is more unlikely seeing upsets on the women’s side of March Madness and it is usually the top seeds making it further, although anything is possible in March and there is always plenty of excitement to be found.
The men’s side of March Madness always features plenty of upsets and exciting games along with many underdog/Cinderella stories. Some recent teams include (13) Yale beating (4) Auburn, (14) Oakland (Jack Gohlke with 10 3s) beating (3) Kentucky, and (11) NC State making it to the Final Four all in 2024. Some in 2023 include (9) FAU making it to the Final Four, (13) Furman beating (4) Virginia, (15) Princeton beating (2) Arizona, and (16) FDU beating 1 Purdue. There are plenty of upsets and storylines in the Madness and there are always a few stars that make their names known during this tournament.
The UConn men have gone back-to-back as national champions and are looking for the three-peat, however, their year is looking very down as they are only 21-9 after struggling all season and losing some big pieces to the NBA last season, including Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan.
The Iowa women have made it to the championship game the last two years but have ended up losing to LSU and South Carolina respectively. Caitlin Clark had been a big part of that and Iowa has lost some of their key players but look to still push for a deep run in the March Madness tournament.
If I had to make a bracket as of now, I would choose either Duke or Alabama as my champion for men’s and UConn or USC as my champion for women’s. Duke has a proven freshman in Cooper Flagg who leads the team in every major category along with great pieces around him including Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor, and Isaiah Evans. The Blue Devils feature one of the tallest lineups in the nation, not having a rotational player shorter than 6’ 5. Alabama has an experienced team that just made it to the Elite Eight last year and returned key players such as Grant Nelson and Mark Sears, and look to make it even deeper this year.
On the other side, UConn has a fifth-year senior by the name of Paige Bueckers who looks to go out with a bang in her final year with the storied program. She has KK Arnold, Azzi Fudd, and Sarah Strong alongside her and they are not only TikTok stars but also great players on the court as well with great chemistry. The USC Trojans have Big 10 player of the year JuJu Watkins paired with KiKi Iriafen. This duo has been a problem all year and are coming off a heartbreaking Big 10 championship loss against UCLA in their first year in the conference. Look for these teams to go deep in the tournament.
Seeds and brackets are not yet set and as of now, some conference champions have not been crowned. ‘Selection Sunday’ happens on March 16, where the bracket experts will pick out and announce the brackets and seedings for teams, and you will be able to make your bracket and choose your own champions, along with upsets along the way, and craziness all throughout. Hopefully your bracket isn’t busted too early on and you get to enjoy March Madness in all of its glory. Good luck with your brackets if you make any this year and remember, anything is possible in March and any upset could happen on any given day. It is always hard to pick upsets and decide who will move on but always pick with your heart and believe in your picks!
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