What in the H-E-Double-Toothpicks is MARCH MADNESS?? Besides BASKETBALL, BASKETBALL, AND MORE BASKETBALL—WHAT EVEN IS MARCH MADNESS??? And, WHAT is the NCAA?? According to The National Collegiate Athletic Association, established in 1906, the NCAA is a “member-led organization dedicated to the well-being and lifelong success of college athletes,” www.ncaa.org The NCAA “functions as a legislative and administrative authority for men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics. It formulates and enforces the rules of play for various sports and the eligibility criteria for college athletes.”
A Brief History of MARCH MADNESS: America’s Original March Madness Basketball!
As reported by The Illinois High School Association, “Every year as winter wanes, a curious ailment spreads across the country. The thump of basketballs, the squeak of sneakers, and the roar of the crowds are sure signals that basketball fever is with us. It’s a condition called ‘March Madness,’ and it afflicts millions of people with no known cure. Where did this malady originate?” The chronicle continues, “March Madness was born in Illinois. The annual tournament of high school boys’ basketball teams, sponsored by the Illinois High School Association, grew from a small invitational affair in 1908 to a statewide institution with over 900 schools competing by the late 1930’s. A field of teams known as the “Sweet Sixteen” routinely drew sellout crowds to the University of Illinois’ Huff Gymnasium, where the Illinois High School Tournament was held. In a time before television, before the college game became popular with the average fan, before professional leagues had established a foothold in the nation’s large cities, basketball fever had already reached epidemic proportions in the Land of Lincoln.”
Continuing the narrative, Henry V. Porter, assistance executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association, was so impressed by the phenomenon that he wrote an essay to commemorate it. Entitled “March Madness,” “it first appeared in the ‘Illinois Interscholastic,’ the IHSA magazine, in 1939. The term struck a chord with newspapermen, who used it throughout their pages. During the tournament’s ‘Golden Era’ of the late 1940’s and 1950’s, March Madness became the popular name of the event. It was an era of some of Illinois’ most legendary teams, including the undefeated 1944 Taylorville Squad and Mt. Vernon’s unstoppable back-to-back champions of 1949 and 1950. But the one champion remembered more than any other is tiny Hebron, a school of only 98 students, which won the tournament in 1952.”
Ohio State University Basketball Coach Harold Olson is credited with developing the idea for the (now named) NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tournament in 1939 with the assistance of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The first team to win the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Championship Basketball game in 1939 was The University of Oregon, with a 46-33 victory over Ohio State. As described above, “March Madness” was first used to refer to basketball by HS Official Henry V. Porter. The term “March Madness” found its way to the NCAA tournament when CBS Sports broadcaster Brent Musburger used the phrase during coverage of the 1982 NCAA D1 Basketball Tournament. March Madness has been synonymous with the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tournament ever since! The Term MARCH MADNESS captures the fervor and the excitement that swirls around the basketball sports world as tournament time approaches and hundreds of college basketball teams compete and vie to earn a spot in the tournament.
The competition that would become MARCH MADNESS dates back to the NCAA’s first Division I men’s basketball tournament. As per www.ncaa.com “March Madness is one of the most anticipated and watched events in all of sports.” The Men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament has been played since 1939! Why is March Madness and the NCAA D1 Tournament also referred to as “The Big Dance?” The phrase “The Big Dance” specifying and referencing March Madness alludes to Marquette Basketball Coach, Al McGuire. Al McGuire wore a BIGHT BLUE BLAZER throughout Marquette’s 1976-1977 Winning Season and he committed to continue wearing that “Lucky” blazer during Marquette’s 1977 NCAA D1 Tournament run. When a reporter questioned his attire and asked Coach Al McGuire if he would be wearing his LUCKY blazer while Coaching during the NCAA D1 Tournament, Coach McGuire famously replied, “ABSOLUTELY! YOU GOTTA WEAR THE BLUE BLAZER WHEN YOU GO TO THE BIG DANCE!” Marquette won the championship that year, so thereafter, everyone started calling The NCAA D1 Tournament, “THE BIG DANCE!”
Currently, The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are single elimination tournaments where 68 basketball teams compete in seven rounds for the national championship. “The penultimate round is known as THE FINAL FOUR, when (you guessed it) only 4 teams are left.” What is Selection Sunday and when is it? “Selection Sunday is the day when the Selection Committee reveals the full NCAA tournament bracket, (of all NCAA basketball teams chosen to participate in the NCAA tournament) including all teams and seeds.” www.ncaa.com updates their article every year on when Selection Sunday is and how to watch the bracket reveal. This year’s 2025 Sunday Selection was held on Sunday, March 16th. The full schedule for this season’s 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is as follows:
–Selection Sunday: Sunday March 16th
–First Four: March 18-19
–First Round: March 20-21
–Second Round: March 22-23
–SWEET 16: March 27-28
–ELITE EIGHT: March 29-30
–FINAL FOUR: APRIL 5th AT THE ALAMODOME IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
–NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: APRIL 7TH AT THE ALAMODOME IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE VERY THICK OF THINGS REGARDING MARCH MADNESS!!! In basketball, “A SEED” refers to a team’s ranking or position within a tournament bracket, determined by their regular season performance and their conference and tournament results. The primary goal of seeding is to prevent the top teams in a tournament from facing each other in the early stages of the tournament, giving them a better chance to advance to later rounds. For example, in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, “MARCH MADNESS,” the top-ranked team is the #1 seed and the team with the lowest ranking is the #16 seed. The seeding determines where teams are placed in the tournament bracket, with the higher seeds typically facing the lower seeds in the early rounds. The terminology “SEED” in sports is a
reference borrowed from tennis, where it was used to “spread out the top players throughout the tournament bracket.”
Below you may find the 2025 NCAA Women’s Tournament Bracket. The Women’s NCAA March Madness Basketball Schedule is as follows:
–Friday, March 28th and Saturday March 29th: SWEET 16
–Sunday March 30th and Monday March 31st: ELITE EIGHT
–Friday April 4th: FINAL FOUR, IN TAMPA Florida; at AMALIE ARENA 7 PM on ESPN, 9 PM on ESPN
–Sunday April 6th: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME in TAMPA, Florida; at AMALIE ARENA at 3 PM on ABC
The first NCAA women’s basketball tournament was held in 1982. The NCAA tournament was preceded by the AIWA women’s basketball tournament, organized by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women from 1972-1982. As the NCAA engaged in a battle with AIWA for sole governance of women’s collegiate sports, and after a year of dual women’s championships, the NCAA prevailed and the AIWA disbanded. As of 2022, the women’s tournament follows the same format and selection process as its men’s counterpart; with 32 automatic bids awarded to the champions of the Division I conferences. The remaining 36 teams are the teams that did not win their conference tournaments but have impressed The NCAA Selection Committee enough to get offered invitations or “at-large berths” to continue to play basketball. The Selection Committee is comprised of School and Conference Administrators who are nominated by their conferences, and who serve 5 year terms, and who represent a cross section of the Division 1 Membership. Next, teams are placed into 4 Regional Divisions and seeded from 1 to 16. The 4 lowest seeded automatic bids and the 4 lowest at-large bids compete in the FIRST FOUR Games to advance the 64-team bracket in the first round. The national semi-finals, branded as The Women’s FINAL FOUR, are traditionally scheduled on the same weekend as The Men’s FINAL FOUR, but in a different host city. Presently, the Women’s Final Four uses a Friday/Sunday Scheduling, with its games occurring 1 day prior to the men’s Final Four and championship games. The 2024 Women’s Championship NCAA Basketball Game was the FIRST TO RECEIVE HIGHER VIEWERSHIP THAN THE MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP NCAA Basketball Game THE SAME YEAR! www.usatoday.com writes of the 2025 tournament, “The first round of the women’s basketball NCAA tournament was magical. While many fans tuned in, likely expecting relatively calm match-ups, MARCH MADNESS seemed to have other plans. There were jaw-dropping passes, electric performances, and several battles that pulled people to the edge of their seats!” “The Number 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks were in peak form against the Number 16 seed Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.” The Gamecocks cruised into the 2nd round with a 108-48 win over the Golden eagles. Currently, as of 3-27-25, the women’s UCLA basketball team is Ranked #1.
The NCAA uses a selection committee to determine which teams qualify for the tournament and assigns them seeds. The NCAA Selection Committee considers various factors to determine seeding; including regular season performance, strength of schedule, and the NCAA Evaluation Tool, The NET. The NET includes more components than just winning percentage. NET takes into account game results, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, scoring margin, and the quality of wins and losses. Seeding can significantly impact a team’s chances of winning a tournament, as higher seeds are more likely to advance to later tournament rounds. www.britannica.com provides you with the fascinating history of the NCAA as well as the origin story of the NCAA Basketball Tournament and how the NCAA eventually overshadowed the NIT- The National Invitation Tournament, which was previously pre-eminently considered to be the MOST prestigious college basketball tournament, featuring the best teams in the country! www.britannica.com also provides you with Tables listing every NCAA D 1 Winning Team throughout the History of March Madness; The Men’s Table Lists Basketball Team Winners from 1939 to Present, and The Women’s Table Lists Basketball Team Winners from 1982-Present! In the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Auburn was ranked the No. 1 overall team and assigned the top seed in the South Region. Duke, Houston, and Florida were the other No. 1 seeds in the East, Midwest, and West respectively, and were ranked accordingly by the committee. Find The 2025 NCAA D1 Men’s Basketball March Madness Bracket below, courtesy of CBS Sports www.cbssports.com and keep up to date with filling in the winning teams!!!
Further March Madness Terminology, according to www.thepalmbeachpost.com —-
And www.ncaa.com —-
–Bracket Buster; is a team you picked to make it to The Final Four that, maddingly, lost in the first round or two- causing you to bemoan your choice! And, yes- you shall be mocked for your “Bracket Buster” choice! A Bracket Buster can also be referred to a team that unexpectedly defeats the team that EVERYONE thought was going to win and thereby “busted” everyone’s bracket!
–Bubble Teams; occurs before March Madness, during the selection process for the “at-large berth” bids; these are the teams that may or may not get selected, but NO ONE REALLY KNOWS! They are “on the bubble!” and their qualifications for the tournament could go either way!
–The FIRST FOUR: in order to get the starting 68 qualifying basketball teams into an easily divisible number, and to get excitement building among the fans, the 4 lowest seeded automatic bid teams and the 4 lowest seeded at-large-behest teams play against each other in a round called “The First Four,” and the winners of each game move on in the brackets.
–A Cinderella; If a team does WAY BETTER than anyone expected them to, especially if they are a low-seeded team, they are considered “A CINDERELLA.” Some fans maintain that is HAS to be a First Round Upset for a team to become A CINDERELLA.
–Buzzer Beater; in timed sports, a Buzzer Beater is a successful shot that upon completion leaves zero seconds on the game clock- a buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name “Buzzer Beater!”
–BPI; College Basketball Power Index, invented by ESPN, BPI is a statistic that measures how far above or below average every team is, and projects how well the team will do going forward. BPI is calculated by finding the difference between the 2 measurements of a team’s A) BPI Offense and B) BPI Defense (the measure of a team’s offensive/defensive strength compared to an average team’s)
–Defensive Efficiency; A simple statistic that calculates the points allowed per 100 defensive possession
–Offensive Efficiency; Points scored per 100 offensive possessions
–Pace/Tempo; An estimate of the number of possessions a team has had per regulation play- 40 minutes
–Per 40 Stats; A reference used to compare 2 or more players who do not play the same amount of minutes per game. Per 40 Stats are measured by taking each statistic, dividing it by the minutes played per game, and then multiplying it by 40—a full regulation game.
–POM-Kenpom.com www.kenpom.com is a website run by Ken Pomeroy devoted to advanced basketball statistics. The website gives an overall rating to each team based on a multitude of advanced metrics. The Selection Committee uses these rankings to help evaluate teams.
*ARE YOU HUNGRY YET? Are you ready for some quick bites and snacks, and some terrific March Madness Deals on prepared foods?? WENDY’S is the Official Hamburger of March Madness! Wendy’s has a deal running through April 13th: Get a $1 Junior Bacon Cheeseburger or a $1 Double Stack Burger with purchase using the Wendy’s APP. The Deal is good each day, in the app, with a minimum purchase. There are also Deals with delivery services collaborating with Wendy’s: DOOR DASH- Door Dash subscribers can get a free Son of Baconator sandwich with their order of $20 or more. Other Door Dash customers can get $5 off their Wendy’s order of $20 or more. Offers are good from March 22-28 then again from April 4-8. GRUBHUB: Get a free Baconator sandwich with your purchase of $20 or more at Wendy’s, offer is good from April 4-7. UBER EATS: Buy 1, Get 1 free Double Stack Biggie Bags, offer good through April 6th. Check out The Providence Journal Bulletin www.providencejournal.com for a list of local “MORE MARCH MADNESS FOOD DEALS,” including: Applebees, Buffalo Wild Wings, California Tortilla, Carvel, Hurricane Grill & Wings, INSOMNIA COOKIES, McCalister’s Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Outback Steakhouse, Potbelly, QDOBA, Round Table Pizza, Schlotzsky’s, Shake Shack, and Wing Snob!!!
As the 64 Teams in the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tournament have been whittled down to 32…Then shortened to THE SWEET SIXTEEN….THEN shall be eliminated TO THE ELITE EIGHT…All vying to survive …Then the roster further compressed to THE FINAL FOUR…Then subsequently pared down to A PAIR OF TEAMS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME –BOTH TEAMS ARDUOSLY AND FIERCELY BATTLING, CONTENDING, RIVALLING, AND MANUEVERING IN ORDER TO REIGN VICTORIOUS AFTER THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME…YOU WILL MOST DEFINITELY FIND YOURSELF IN NEED OF BBQ SUSTANANCE DURING THESE EXHILARATING AND ENTHRALLING BASKETBALL GAMES!!! THE most popular BBQ ITEMS, DISHES, SNACKS AND FARE served and eaten during March Madness are: BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders, Smashburgers, Chicken Wings, Chili made with BBQ smoked chorizo and sausage, and BBQ Smoked Bacon BLTs, just to name a few scrumptious selections! www.grilledcheesesocial.com has a recipe for EASY BBQ CHICKEN THIGHS that look delectable! https://bluerhino.com has a handy-dandy list of “March Madness Watch Party Grilling Recipes,” for your consideration and https://www.buzzfeed.com touts its “24 SLAM DUNK RECIPES FOR ANY REALLY GOOD MARCH MADNESS GET-TOGETHER!” including Chipotle Apricot Cream Cheese Bites with Smoked Bacon Bits…YUM!!!
www.tasteofhome has a list entitled, “47 SLAM-DUNK RECIPES FOR YOUR MARCH MADNESS PARTY,” including Bacon-Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers, Chorizo Chili, Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches and Pulled Pork Nachos on their tabulate of Favorite NOSHING Options!
From the never-ending NCAA D1 BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Dicey Drama to the EPIC wins…From the 3-pointer BUZZER BEATERS to the tragic losses…From the GAME WINNING SHOTS to the soul-crushing injuries…From the Cream-of-the-Crop No. 1 Seeds to THE UNDEFEATED UNDERDOGS…From the chanting, cheering, and hollering in the bleachers FULL OF FANS to the screaming emotional ROLLERCOASTER journey in the stands…From the Number 1 Ranking Team to The Rag-Tag Cinderella Story… “FROM THE THRILL OF VICTORY, TO THE AGONY OF DEFEAT!”…MARCH MADNESS HAS IT ALL! GO <YOUR BEST LOVED>TEAM!!!
The Men’s Tournament Games will be Broadcast on: CBS, TBS, THT, and truTV- or you can watch them on online services offering them as part of their viewing packages such as: Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream, and FuboTV. The Women’s Tournament Games will be Broadcast on: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, and ESPNU. The Women’s Final Four will air on ESPN.
