March Madness Preview

Photo from NCAA.com

March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament filled with excitement, has begun! On March 16th, Selection Sunday occurred. The NCAA committee gathered to select and place 68 teams that secured automatic invitations or were decided to be worthy of an invitation to the tournament and announced their selections on Sunday. 

Not only is the tournament exciting for everyone, many North Carolina locals are excited to see both Duke and UNC, one of the biggest rivalries in college basketball, will play in the tournament this year! March Madness is the annual NCAA college basketball tournament. The name March Madness comes from not only the month of March when it happens, but also the madness that is always promised. March Madness is the last chance a team has to prove themselves to not only their fans, but everyone watching the NCAA tournament. 

Because of this, upsets are almost always promised, and exciting games are sure to take place. Especially this year, many news networks are already predicting many upsets. The first games of the tournament took place on March 18th, called play-in games. These games finalized the bracket, allowing both North Carolina and Alabama State to join the first round of the tournament. 

According to many sources, the teams favored to win are top seeds, including Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, and Duke, although Duke is facing some injuries on their team this year, including their star player Copper Flagg having recently been injured and their other star Maliq Brown having a shoulder injury. These injuries could pose some challenges for them. 

On March 19th, the final play-in games will take place, deciding the last two teams to enter the first round of 64, and the first games of Round One will start on March 20th. Make sure to tune in to Jordan High School’s Falcon Post Instagram and the website to stay updated with the results of every round!

Sources:

1) "2025 March Madness: Men's NCAA tournament schedule, dates," NCAA.com

2) "10 things to know before the men's NCAA tournament tips," ESPN