Michael's Mind: March Madness time!

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

My favorite time of the year as a sports fan is here: March Madness. I love the excitement, the stress and the impossible dream of completing a perfect bracket. My favorite part though, are the upsets.

Upsets in March Madness will make or break a bracket. They are somewhat inevitable, so the best chance you have at keeping a strong bracket is choosing them wisely.

For me, every single year it seems there is always at least one 12-seed that will beat a five-seed. That is my go-to upset I make sure I have on every bracket I do.

The format for March Madness in one I enjoy more than the NBA or MLB playoffs. Having one game to beat a team, I believe, has more entertainment value.

With this format, it is not a sure thing that the better team will always win. That is why it is rarer to see upsets in the NBA, because seven games can be played before the series is over.

There are multiple reasons I think March Madness is highly successful and the format is one of them. Another is the college atmosphere.

Lastly, the money to be made for schools in March Madness is a huge factor to the success of the tournament. All of the Power Five conferences push to get as many teams into the tournament as possible, because the more opportunities to win games, the more money they will make.

Not only do the conferences make money, but the individual schools will as well. For the majority of schools in the Power Five conferences, basketball in March Madness is the biggest money maker for them.

With every win in the tournament, the schools receive a certain amount of money. The deeper they make it into the tournament, the more money they make each game.

I am just as excited for the women’s tournament in March Madness as I am for the men’s. Last year I enjoyed watching the women’s tournament more.

Watching Iowa and Caitlin Clark make a historic run, and seeing South Carolina’s dominance, has made me consume more women’s basketball in general.

As I write this column, I do not know who I will have winning the tournaments this year. I will find out as I fill my brackets out.