March Madness 2016: A Quick Recap Of Its Many Historical Moves So Far

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On Thursday, March 17th, 2016 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)began their annual March Madness College Basketball Tournament. As the opening weekend of the tournament is starting to wrap up, upsets have been happening throughout the tournament.   This was the first time in tournament history that the number thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen seeds all made it to the second round of the tournament. The reason this tournament is so unpredictable is because you can have teams from smaller schools that can gain momentum, at the right time and go far in the tournament. For example, in 2010, the 16th seeded University of Butler Bulldogs went on to the national championship game and lost to the number one seeded Duke Blue Devils.     This 2016 March Madness tournament is particularly unique because it is the first time that all four number one seeds combined for 29 losses. So far none of the teams that are seeded at number one have lost. As a result of collegiate talent leaving for the National Basketball Association (NBA) a lot of the perennial collegiate powers had a down year this year in college basketball. Players that play one year of collegiate basketball are called “one and done players.” Teams like the University of Kentucky Wildcats, who were the overall number one seed last year. Were the number four seeded team in 2016, and as of last night were eliminated by the University of Indiana.   It is not all bad for the big collegiate basketball powers though, as the number one seeded Kansas Jayhawks, University of Virginia Cavaliers, and Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina have been looking pretty strong during tournament play so far as the tournament picks up into gear.   The NCAA could not have asked for a better tournament as a result of the "one-and-done phenomenon" for players. Talent has become completely spread out. In the past, bigger schools had the majority of the talent and smaller schools did not have much of a chance against them in the tournament. This year, you have teams like the number 15 seeded Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders who beat the number two seeded Michigan State University Spartans on Friday.   One thing is for sure at the end of this first weekend a lot of brackets are surely busted after the Blue Raiders win against the Spartans.
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