Get your brackets ready — it’s almost time for one of the most anticipated events
in sports: March Madness. The college basketball tournament doesn’t just mean fun
on the court; its fans often create brackets and compete against each other to see
whose predictions are the best. Sometimes the prize is money, other times it’s some
outlandish punishment to the loser. In preparation for March Madness, look into what this process looks like for its fans, both the victors and the losers.
According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the odds of predicting the perfect March Madness bracket are approximately one in 9.2 quintillion. The fame and honor that comes with predicting that winning bracket, or one close to, causes absolute insanity among college basketball fans. The bets and prizes in betting groups between co-workers, friends and family taking part in the competition make this time exhilarating for dedicated participants and clueless bystanders.
Sports administration professor Mu He commented on the uniqueness and fascination of March Madness. “Unpredictability is a charm that makes the tournament so popular. Unlike the NBA, where you may have all-star players rule the game or a dynastic team dominates the league for seasons, there is no utterly dominating team in collegiate basketball,” said He. “As tough as Zion Williamson is, he still failed to lead the team to the championship. Also, remember underdogs. As overlooked as UM is, we made it to Elite Eight.”
With March Madness right around the corner, college students across the nation are eager to pack stadiums and root for their favorite teams. Recently, ‘Canes fans have shown a renewed interest in college basketball.
Last year, the University of Miami’s men’s basketball climbed the national rankings and reached the Elite 8 for the first time in school history. And not only did the women’s basketball team finish as the fourth best team in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but the Cavinder twins became internet sensations for their courtside dance videos with fellow teammates on TikTok. Clearly, ‘Canes basketball is making a comeback.
This time of year creates a unified dynamic campuswide. Miami merchandise can be spotted all over campus and Sebastian the Ibis runs around hyping everyone up for games. While students go to games to show their school spirit, there are also incentives for showing up on game day at the Wastco Center, including Pit Viper and Category 5 giveaways, as well as funny interviews.
He explains the benefits to having the home-court advantage. “The strategy may significantly boost the home team’s performance through the magnificent atmosphere, as many of us might already experience,” said He.
Freshman Bobby Stone made quite the offer to his high school teacher back home in Brownsville, Texas. A die-hard Villanova University fan, Stone believed in the Wildcats and supported them throughout their 2021 run in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
“During my senior year of high school, I bet my teacher two breakfast tacos from Stripes that Villanova would take it all,” said Stone. Ahead of the Miami-Kansas game last year, junior Kallie Tsartsalis made a bet with her brother. She grew tired of him calling the men’s basketball garbage and wanted to make a point.
“My brother and I are about as competitive as it gets,” said Tsartsalis. “So, during the Elite 8 game last year, we made a bet. I told him that if Miami lost to Kansas, I would bleach all my hair red.” The Miami-Kansas game had everyone on their toes. It was an extremely close first half, however, Kansas pulled away with a 76-50 lead against the ‘Canes. “If you were wondering about the outcome of our bet, let’s just say my parents still tell this story to people. It took a while for that bleach to come out of my hair,” said Tsartsalis.
Monetary bets can be a lucrative incentive to get your head in the game. Warren Buffet, a renowned American businessman and investor, claimed that a perfectly accurate March Madness bracket is worthy of a $1 billion reward. But of course, you can always make smaller monetary bets with your group; maybe the bracket loser owes everyone dinner and drinks or the winner takes home a lump sum. There are plenty of fun reasons to place your bets and aim to take home that grand prize.
Junior Elias Gerstein explained the simple bets he made with home friends during the last March Madness bracket. Thankfully, Gerstein’s bracket was quite successful. “Whoever could come up with the most accurate prediction for the Final Four would win all the money that we pooled in,” said Gerstein. “I guessed three out of four of the teams and I won five hundred dollars.”
Bets and brackets are not only restricted to the score of a game. Junior Fernanda Salas, a dedicated member of the Category 5 spirit team, explains how she got into betting in her own creative way. “I decided to wing it. I made my own bracket with some of my friends, for the men’s bracket on the mascots, women’s on the logo. Between these two, which had a better logo, goes forward. This year I’m doing it based on uniforms,” said Salas.
The March Madness Mascot bracket is another popular tradition, in which the bracket is filled in based on the mascots competitors believe should advance based on how the team performs, or simply for how much the competitor likes the mascot. These brackets can really be made based on almost anything. “I’m not that experienced with basketball, but I wanted to be a part of the bracketing. There are so many ways to get involved, and I have learned so much about what goes into a basketball game,” said Salas.
Sophomore Catherine Butler chimed in on her experience with Category 5 brackets and betting. She appreciates how March Madness brings her and her friends closer
together. “We do most of the betting for bragging rights. It’s always a friendly competition of course but creating these huge brackets is so much fun,” said Butler.
UM students are ready for a thrilling and successful season. As of Feb. 19, 2023, the men’s basketball team hold a 15-0 record at home and dominated over Duke with a final score of 81-59. The Watsco Center is now booming, as the Duke-Miami game achieved the third most attendees at a single game in ‘Canes basketball history.
Senior Caragan Olles shares her positive outlook on the upcoming games and season. “I am seriously so hyped for this season. My parents have been watching this season closely from home in Wisconsin and they always update me with their favorite highlights,” said Olles. “We have been doing so well lately and it is so exciting to cheer on the ‘Canes.“
If you are looking to support the ‘Canes, pack Watsco Center during the home games, and root for them while they are away. And of course, do not forget to place your bets. There are plenty of ways to make an incredible bracket and some lasting memories that pair with placing these bets while rooting for your favorite teams. What’s March Madness without a little competition off the court?
How to Make the Best Bracket
Use A Credible & Well-known Sports Betting Platform: There are plenty of great websites that you can use for filling out your brackets. Not only do they make the act of placing and viewing your teams easier, but you can also win insane prices ranging from a trip to Hawaii provided by ESPN or some Amazon gift cards from CBS. These websites also guide you to finding useful information on teams and their players’ performance and predictions. Some website recommendations: NCAA.com, Yahoo!, Plexkits, Athlon Sports
Don’t Always Pick The Underdog…Unless…: Look, it’s always exciting to hope for an upset and root for the underdog. The
National Championship Game back in 1985 resulted in Villanova 66, Georgetown 64.
While this was an incredible game to have those upset bets in for, placing your bets
on a team that is less likely to win will not always work out in your favor. Pay some
attention to the statistics and trends though, a team on the come-up can produce
some incredible results, and it is important to watch out for this, as it may impact
your brackets. Although if you believe in taking risks, the occurrence of sixteen
upsets in a tournament has happened during March Madness a few times, in 1990,
1999, 2002 and 2010.
Do Your Reading & Research Early: Know the players and the teams you are betting on, especially the teams you predict to advance far into the tournament. Start the process of gathering knowledge as early as you can and look through different sources. For any type of bracketing, especially fantasy football, you can look through Sports Illustrated articles and ESPN for a start on bracket basics and additional sites with simplified information. There is always more to learn and changes throughout the season, so stay updated on the latest information.
words_jamie moses. photo_jared lennon & ethan dosa. design_ lizzie kristal.
This article was published in Distraction’s Spring 2023 print issue.
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