Written by Ian Gillen
The madness of March is upon us, and just like any other year, there are Cinderella stories, teams that have caught fire and the usual suspects. In this time of increased love in the world of college basketball, it can be hard to keep track of all the teams and their stories and reputations. Don’t worry, the Brackety-Ack will keep your bracket intact with this simple guide to help you keep track of who is who in the Sweet Sixteen.
Beginning with the biggest Cinderella story, we have Loyola University Chicago. This is a team that everyone instantly falls in love with. The 11 seed reminds us of our 11th college president, President Maxey. There is just no reason to hate this team, and we hope to see them advance and continue their amazing run.
A more dull team to follow would be Villanova. Villanova is the 1 seed out of the East region and has had potentially the easiest run to the sweet 16 out of any of the other teams. They do, nonetheless, still deserve to be where they are and because of this, we can relate them to our beloved history majors. We may not have three-hour labs, massive presentations, or performances to put on, but we still have a lot of work that may not seem as exciting. While our work may not be as alluring as others, we are still a force to be reckoned with, just as Villanova is in their quest for the Championship.
One of the hardest working, grittiest, scrappiest teams left is West Virginia. WVU prides themselves on their defense which can be exhausting even to watch. This is a team that will usually fly under the radar despite their hard work, much like our computer science majors. Have you ever actually met one? Probably not, because they are too busy working.
Perhaps the most criticized team in the tournament seemingly every year is Kentucky. Kentucky and their fans can be related to our Greek life. They are a team that is either loved or hated, and no matter what your opinion is, they will somehow always be there. And despite always being in the spotlight, they are always begging for more attention. The fanbase is amongst the most obnoxious out there and will always be an annoying distraction to what is actually important around them, the game.
A common story in the tournament is a variety teams catching fire at the right time. The RC baseball team has been on fire in the month of March, just like Syracuse. Syracuse has caught fire since the beginning of the tournament, just as our baseball team has not lost in this month. Recently our winning streak extended to 10 games, and we hope to see this continue.
Recently students were doomed with the task of going to class after it had snowed. This snow can be seen as the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Nobody ever quite believes that the Zags will show up, but when they come to play like they did last year when they made the finals, everyone might as well just close shop and go home.
Finishing up with another mild pick, the Kansas Jayhawks are a team that is well respected, always strong, and are never super exciting to pay attention to. Our business program can be very similar to this pick: always highly ranked, plain and gets the job done well. Both organizations deserve great respect for their hard work, but there just isn’t a lot to talk about either one of them.
Use this guide to help pick a new team after brackets have been busted, understand the numerous conversations about the NCAA or fall in love with the madness that has captured so many of us.
