It's that time of the year! The crazy NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, otherwise known as March Madness, is just getting started. People of all ages across the world watch these tournament games and hope for their favorite teams to make it far.
There are these things called brackets, where people pick who will win in each single-elimination match-up until there is one winner. 64 teams end up being in the final bracket, with rankings from 1-16 in four different regions. All said and done, there are 67 total games in this span of about 2-3 weeks, 63 of which are seen on the bracket.
Sounds cool! The problem...no one has ever had a 100% perfect bracket.
Here are some thoughts we at-home bracketologists might be having a few days into the tournament:
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1. I try ever year, but I'll never have a perfect bracket.
Truth is, you won't. If you were wondering just how hard it is to get a perfect bracket, just know that you'd probably have a better chance getting struck by lightning and winning the lottery the same day that you gave birth to twins of different races. The chances of having a perfect bracket are 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 according to Forbes! Just saying, that's about 9.2 quintillions. I didn't even know that number was a thing until I heard a bunch of sports announcers talking about it. It's really hard to do, and I'm sure by the time you're reading this article you and I both will have errors in our brackets.
2. Upset alert!
March Madness is notorious for having upsets, where a lower-seed tramples over the higher-seed. These games are particularly interesting, and I'm hoping you chose some upsets in your brackets instead of having all of the 1 seeded teams in the Final 4. What's cool about these games is that the underdog prevails. Also, you could snag some more points if you're in at-home bracket tournaments (that don't bet with real money of course...).
3. Who the f*&# are they?!</h2><p>Out of nowhere, some team is probably going to blow you away. Whether it be from dunking, hitting threes, or driving the ball down the court, at least a few teams will surprise you. It'll make you wonder why you haven't paid attention to them in the regular season. Who knows, maybe you'll become a fan of them for next year.<span></span></p><p><span></span></p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/noisygifs-daaayummm-r1HGFou3mUwMw"><img id="22df2" data-rm-shortcode-id="0a8fadb6a5ffc5c55738487cc24cf3d0" class="rm-shortcode " lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEucmJsLm1zL2ltYWdlP3U9JTJGZmlsZXMlMkYyMDE3JTJGMDMlMkYxOSUyRjYzNjI1NTUxNzg0ODkxMTk0MC0zNDc2MjE1MzZfNjM2MjUyMzQyMzM5MTA2OTUxLTE0MDA5NjA5NzdfZ2lwaHklMjUyMCUyODElMjkuZ2lmJmhvPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGYXo2MTY1Nzgudm8ubXNlY25kLm5ldCZzPTgyJmg9ZWYwOWZhMDE2Mjk5ZTQ5YzViMGFkNGI0YTc0NjFhZDc4MzM4MjU3NTdjMDI4NWM3MzdmNGUyZTU4ZmJhYTQwZCZzaXplPTk4MHgmYz0zMTUzMzU1MTE3IiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTgyMTQ3NTY1M30.w4ZKVEaqEBWJm6ym7ONyptWGy_-vcn7hVtvBl5WSPZM/image.jpg" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>4. I should have chosen the other team.</h2><p>I honestly do this sometimes. When the team I picked is losing, I always question why I chose that team. Then I'll go on to tell people, "I was going to pick them!" Sometimes it's true, though. You may have spent a good amount of time filling out your bracket and overthinking every matchup, considering each team to win. But when they don't, it obviously frustrates you.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/u-mad-salty-phillip-rivers-e2ZPwmGerfGdW"><img id="8c469" data-rm-shortcode-id="3e57d4855d56af49386506e9c46a4ffd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 500 253'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474777&width=980" width="500" height="253" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>5. I was 8/8 until ___ messed me up!</h2><p>This was me a few hours ago when <em>my</em> school lost and broke my perfect bracket. I tried to be loyal and let them have a victory in my bracket, but regardless it was a tough loss in the pools.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/tina-fey-shrugging-shrug-MpXXZBsIhu3II"><img id="5666c" data-rm-shortcode-id="2bc839d731f9875a5cd80480c9ac4b20" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 500 282'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474778&width=980" width="500" height="282" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>6. When the games come down to a fouling fest.</h2><p>Sometimes near the end of the game, it doesn't even look like basketball. Both teams will be in the double bonus and just keep fouling each other until the time runs out. They do this so the time can be saved and the teams have less of a chance to get 2 or 3 points. But at this point, no one is doing anything cool besides free throws.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/foxtv-new-girl-head-slap-ToMjGpjUl5ufFGlrk2Y"><img id="4bea7" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc5918fa715c13befaba9568aa8b3ae3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 500 282'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474779&width=980" width="500" height="282" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>7. Are these refs going to make the right calls?</h2><p>REF! TECHNICAL?! Some calls are definitely missed in these games, but on the other hand, sometimes they will make calls that are illogical. There will be a few screaming coaches on the sidelines during these moments. Look out for them, it can actually be comical.<span></span></p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/funny-throw-aoAGaZicr22wo"><img id="24ebc" data-rm-shortcode-id="cb50c2621612b57ba4a1635f5c6464f6" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 400 419'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474780&width=980" width="400" height="419" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>8. Yes, professor, I'm watching the live feeds.<br/></h2><p>Class should just be canceled during the march madness tournament. You could look anywhere around the room and see people sitting in lectures watching the games online on their cellphone or laptop. I remember in high school people would crowd around computers. At that point, the teachers were hopeless. But honestly, I got nothing out of my lecture today when I was watching the Princeton v Notre Dame nail-biter.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/charlie-hunnam-gif-hunt-102h4wsmCG2s12"><img id="0518c" data-rm-shortcode-id="643c7d34350978432267cdacde516e78" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 245 160'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474781&width=980" width="245" height="160" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>9. Why hasn't a 16 seed ever beaten a 1 seed?</h2><p>It's hard to say why this happens. There have been upsets in the past with 15 seeds beating 2 seeds, but never the 16 making it to the Round of 32. Why? The odds are not in your favor to choose a 16 seed to beat a 1 seed, no matter how cool you think it would be if that team beat a top contender. However, I'm sure one year it'll be bound to happen. I guess we'll wait and see.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/baby-confused-idk-CPskAi4C6WLHa"><img id="71e78" data-rm-shortcode-id="dc4845c774d86c15c82d8a2d2fa061b4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 500 228'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474782&width=980" width="500" height="228" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>10. This person won't shut up about their picks.</h2><p>There will always be someone you know who just keeps talking about their brackets. It's not a problem to be into the games, but bragging about your picks after having no idea this tournament existed two weeks ago is another story.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/X3RsEYp3ysKha"><img id="a7477" data-rm-shortcode-id="6d07d54da06b1c1d32ecc7aee1e66891" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 475 341'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474783&width=980" width="475" height="341" alt="" /></a></p><p><br/></p><h2>11. My friend knows nothing about sports and has a better bracket than me.</h2><p>It's funny how I can spend a few days finalizing my bracket but my friends who don't pay attention to basketball end up getting most of their picks right. Maybe next year I should complete my bracket in 30 seconds and see how I do.</p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/abcnetwork-abc-nick-3o7TKw8C993p17cXXq"><img id="4ac47" data-rm-shortcode-id="d0455d8457f2b44e5702043d6607c22a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 480 246'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474784&width=980" width="480" height="246" alt="" /></a><br/></p><h2>12. I'm ready for next year's tournament!</h2><p>Despite all of the highs and lows you may experience during this tournament when the final game is over we all go through march madness withdrawal. Life gets kind of boring until summer and then the countdown starts up again for the next basketball season! </p><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/foxadhd-artists-on-instagram-yo2kq5lMxIYvu"><img id="41fa2" data-rm-shortcode-id="81043738659eb8abab0560bca7c22648" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" class="rm-shortcode rm-lazyloadable-image " lazy-loadable="true" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' viewBox='0 0 500 500'%3E%3C/svg%3E" data-runner-src="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/media-library/image.gif?id=60474785&width=980" width="500" height="500" alt="" /></a></p>
