Students unite around college basketball for NCAA March Madness bracket tournaments

March Madness is here, and some students are entering their brackets in various tournaments in hopes of predicting the most accurate outcome for the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Predicting upsets, favoring specific conferences and powerhouse programs are important factors while filling out brackets for students entering local and national bracket tournaments.

Cole Morgan, a second year law student, competes against his friends in an organized bracket tournament that dates back to high school.

“My friends and I got together and decided to do a ‘winner takes all’ tournament by pooling together $50 per person to enter,” Morgan said. “We started this tradition since my freshman year in high school, and we’re still going strong today.”

Morgan said $300 is typically the average prize amount the winner takes home in the tournament.

“I always favor teams that play in a tough conference like the ACC, Big 12 and SEC,” Morgan said. “It’s fun to take risks on low seeded teams, but sticking with teams in good conferences has always been my best strategy.”

Jeremy Schuelke, a senior sports marketing major, enters a couple national bracket challenges through ESPN and FOX Sports and Sports Illustrated Bracket Challenge.

Schuelke said it’s quick and easy to fill out the national bracket challenges because they’re available on the web.

“I can invite co-workers, friends and family to the online bracket challenges I enter each year, which adds more fun and excitement to March Madness,” he said.

Schuelke said another interesting feature to the online bracket challenges are the prizes you can win.

ESPN’s bracket challenge winnings include a $10,000 Amazon gift card and a five night round trip for two to Maui, Hawaii. Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated prize includes a $4 million home in Manhattan Beach, California.

“I’ll gladly fill out a bracket with a chance to win a round trip to Maui and a house on Manhattan Beach, California,” Schuelke said.

Jaylen Rees, sophomore strategic communications major, has entered his bracket in a tournament set up by Gary Larson, media & journalism and Rees’ sport marketing professor this semester.

“I’m hoping to come out on top of Larson’s intro to sports marketing class bracket tournament,” Rees said. “I took a risk by picking Michigan State to win it all this year.”

The (4)Arizona Wildcats suffering a first round loss to (13)University of Buffalo last week was the biggest first round upset in the NCAA tournament next to (1)Virginia losing to (16)UMBC, the first time in March Madness history a 16 seed has beat a no. one ranked seed.

Rees said the Wildcats’ first round loss hurt his bracket as he had Arizona going to the sweet 16.

Fortunately, Rees didn’t have the Wildcats making it further than the sweet 16, unlike many students including Morgan and Schuellke, who had Arizona in the Final Four.

Picking the right upsets can be a challenge for some students, but Schuelke is taking a creative approach by picking four 12 seeded teams in each division of the NCAA bracket.

“According to NCAA’s Bracket IQ, the statistics of 12 seeded teams upsetting their opponents is 35.6 percent likely to happen,” Schuelke said.

With the first round in the books, not one 12 seed upset their 5 seed opponent this year, but (12)SDSU suffered a narrow loss to (5)Ohio State 81-73 and (12)Davidson nearly beat (5)Kentucky 78-73 in the first round.

“I’m still alive in some of my bracket tournaments, but it’s tough when you predict an upset that almost happens,” Schuelke said. “On the contrary, that’s what I love about March Madness.”