By Brittany Burke
In the month of March there is no getting away from college basketball. Whether you are a fan of the sport or not, it is hard not to get drawn in to the craziness of the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments. As the contests are reaching their heights with the men’s Final Four set, along with the women’s Elite Eight taking shape, there are some things every sports lover should know, whether you are a basketball fanatic or basketball hater.
10. If you want to sound informed it is important to know the teams who remain in the tournament. The 2011 men’s Final Four is made up of Butler, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the University of Kentucky and yes, UConn.
The women’s Elite Eight currently stands with Tennessee, Notre Dame, Stanford, Gonzaga, Baylor, Texas A & M, Duke, and once again, of course, UConn. (However, by the time this paper goes to print the Elite Eight will become the Final Four.)
9. This year’s tournament was extended from 65 to 68 teams, because we all know that 65 just wasn’t enough. Due to the expansion a new round was added, called The First Four, which coincidentally isn’t referring to the amount of teams. It’s referring to the number of games.
8. The rounds for the NCAA Tournaments are as follows: The First Four, The Round of 64, The Round of 32 (not the most creative, but they get the point across), the Sweet Sixteen (now you won’t get it confused with the MTV show), the Elite Eight and the Final Four.
7. The term March Madness was coined in 1939 in Illinois, but it didn’t gain popularity with the NCAA Tournaments until the ‘80’s. Aside from March Madness, the NCAA Tournaments are also known as, The Big Dance, although March Madness remains the catchier of the two.
6. Both CBS and the Illinois High School Association own the rights to the phrase “March Madness” after Illinois basketball official H.V. Porter first used it.
5. The Butler and VCU head coaches are amongst the youngest head coaches in the NCAA. VCU’s Shaka Smart is 33, while Butler’s Brad Stevens is 34. One of their teams will go head-to-head with Jim Calhoun’s Huskies or John Calipari’s Wildcats in the championship. UK currently has the most wins in the history of college basketball. Daunting? Just a bit.
4. While most fans are worried about their tournament brackets and their profits, the NCAA makes sure to dole out the billions made to the participating schools. One-sixth of the money is based on how many NCAA sports each school has. Half of the money from the men’s tournaments that goes to the different conferences is based on how the schools did in the six tournaments prior. While one-third of the NCAA’s profits are divided amongst the schools based on the amount of scholarships the colleges and universities give to the athletes.
3. UCLA has the most men’s tournament wins, with 11. The late John Wooden was the coach for 10 of those 11 wins and the closest school to UCLA, Kentucky, has seven wins.
2. Many will spend hours meticulously configuring their March Madness bracket and some will have multiple brackets to enhance their chances of winning. However, we all know it is the people who know nothing about basketball that just pick teams at random based on color of the schools or what not, who will actually win the pool. Which means I may actually have a shot.
1. Despite going to CCSU, it is okay to root for UConn. In fact, as a resident of Connecticut it is only right to do so.
