Well, it’s that time of the year again when college basketball is on almost every day for the next few weeks. It’s a time of nail-biting and suspense as one watches their March Madness bracket be decimated beyond recognition. March madness begins with Selection Sunday on March 17, and the first games start on March 19. The usual suspects Duke, UNC, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, etc., will likely take the top seeds in their respective divisions at a 1, 2, or 3 seed. And pay close attention to the one-seed teams, as there have only been three years since the tournament was founded when a one-seed didn’t make the final four. Unfortunately, our CU Buffaloes likely won’t make the tournament, so you’ll have to find a different team to invest in as the winner of the tournament. 

Now, beyond just winning the tournament, the Most Outstanding Player award is always a prestigious recognition, but how well do previous winners do in the NBA? Well, it’s really a mixed bag, in truth. Many past MVPs make the NBA and get reasonable minutes but aren’t different from the mainstream superstars and typically settle into role-play positions. However, some NBA superstars have won the award, with Anthony Davis being the most recent superstar winner, who won the Most Outstanding Player award in 2012 with the Kentucky Wildcats. And while a lot do play a short stint in the NBA, many wash out and continue their basketball careers overseas in European and Asian leagues. So, while a prestigious award, the Most Outstanding Player award is not the most significant predictor of stardom in the league. 

One of the best things about March Madness is not just the exhilarating games and watch parties with friends and family but the process of creating your very own bracket, where you attempt to correctly predict the path each of the 68 participating teams will take. According to the American Gaming Association, as many as 100 million March Madness brackets are filled out yearly. That’s one bracket for about 30% of the United States population. But don’t get your hopes up, as the odds of achieving a perfect bracket are zero. Precisely, it would be about 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Might as well go and buy a lottery ticket instead. Sites such as ESPN, CBS, NCAA.COM, and Yahoo offer a range of features, from customizable scoring systems to live updates on game results, adding layers of excitement to an already thrilling tournament. On top of this, they have bracket tournaments, which add to the camaraderie and friendly competition that come with March Madness.

And let’s face it, half the fun is watching your bracket get busted within the first few games; at least, I know it is for me. Suddenly, that dear crafted masterpiece you deemed a winner is in shambles, and you find yourself rooting for teams you never even knew existed. Just last year, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson took down No. 1 Purdue in a historic upset during the Round of 64, marking only the second time since 1985 that a No. 1 seed lost to a No. 16 seed. On top of this, No. 15 Princeton advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and No. 9 Florida Atlantic made it to the Final Four. But that’s the beauty of March Madness – unpredictable, chaotic, and downright addictive. So start researching (or flipping a coin) and completing your bracket, make some bets with your friends, and prepare for the madness to unfold. After all, it’s the most beautiful time of the year for Americans and college basketball fans everywhere.