The month is March and that means one thing in the sporting world: March Madness. The greatest college basketball tournament started on March 15th and is set to end in the first week of April.

This year in college hoops has been one with no definitive leader or team on top. Multiple teams have been ranked number one this season, including Duke and Ohio State. The tournament this year is based on a field of 68 teams, a first in tournament history. As the years have progressed the tournament has grown to be able to accommodate the many worthy teams causing the tournament to go into April.

This year the field is made up of many favorites. The number one seeds for the tournament are Duke, Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Kansas; both Kansas and Duke were number one seed last year. Other high seed and tournament favorites include Brigham Young, San Diego State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Connecticut.

“Ohio State, just because of the pure talent. Sullinger is pretty much unstoppable,” said junior Cody Ciciarelli, a college hoops fan. “Duke [is good too] but you can’t count out teams like BYU and Kansas State.

Brigham Young (BYU) is a team this season that is led by senior sensation Jimmer Fredette who is averaging 28 points per game and making a great case for NCAA player of the year. The team seemed unstoppable until a few weeks ago lost their leading rebounder Brandon Davies due to a violation of the schools honor code.

“It will hurt them down the stretch, it won’t really make a difference in the first couple of rounds because of Jimmers shooting, but when and if they play a bigger team, Davies abilities could be the difference maker.” Stated Ciciarelli.

The Davies factor is huge when you look at BYU’s bracket if they happen to end up playing a team like Kansas State or Pitt in the later rounds. BYU has been able to get away without him in the Mountain West Conference where the toughest competition is San Diego State who they beat in both meetings during the season. But they then lost to them in the conference championship in a large margin of defeat showing vulnerability for the tournament.

This article would be amiss if not to mention last years national champion the Duke Blue Devils. The team is led by seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, with Smith being a candidate for ACC player of the year. This year they are once again a number one seed and are overlooked going into this year’s tournament just as they were last year. Expect them to make it to the Elite Eight no problem; they also have a great shot of making the Final Four with only Connecticut and San Diego State standing in their way in their bracket.

Next, my predictions for the tournament this season are as follows. I expect the Elite Eight to be made up of Duke, San Diego State, BYU, Pitt, Kansas, Notre Dame, Ohio State and North Carolina. All these teams have shown this season that they should be able to make it this far. The Final Four should be made up of the likes of Pitt, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Duke. If so this would have Duke against North Carolina in an extension of their bitter rivalry and I see Duke coming out alive to return to the National Championship for back to back seasons. The other matchup of Pitt versus Notre Dame is another rivalry, this one in the Big East Conference, and I see Notre Dame pulling it together and getting to the Big Dance (as its called).

Then in a championship made up of two very talented squads I see Duke winning another National Title for the second year in a row. My score prediction for the game 72-65 with Nolan Smith putting together an MVP performance to cap off his already illustrious college career.  
Please remember that the last two paragraphs of this preview are exactly that a preview and prediction of how I believe the tournament will end. That still does not mean that there cannot be a team like Marquette or Gonzaga that comes in and upsets a number one seed; that happens every year. Upsets are what make this tournament great and exciting for fans to watch.  

The NCAA Tournament is a college player and fans dream. It’s the biggest stage for the athlete and for the fan the second half of the month of March is seemingly 24/7 hoops; a great reason to stay home and do nothing but cheer for your favorite team.