Fans can’t help but followw ‘ marc march to madness’

Few sports monikers are more apropos than “March Madness,” the colloquial term for the NCAA ( National Collegiate Athletic Association) Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, which just concluded its first full weekend of play.

Part of this madness stems from office pools – the occasionally forbidden but universally enjoyed practice of workers filling out brackets to win their colleagues’ money. Particularly maddening is the fact that the employee with the least knowledge of the sport generally winds up walking away with the lion’s share of the pot.

Just as mad is the amount of provincial chest thumping that accompanies the tournament’s first two rounds. Every year, someone’s favorite team, conference, state or region is woefully under- seeded, allegedly exhibiting a clear bias on the part of the selection committee. This year, Midwestern fans point to Michigan, Purdue, and Wisconsin making the Sweet 16 – coupled with losses by Villanova, Duke, and Louisville – as proof that the Big 10 rules and the ACC ( Atlantic Coast Conference) drools.

Another Big 10 team, Northwestern University, captivated fans with a potential Cinderella story that often pervades the tournament. In the team’s first tournament appearance in school history, the Wildcats won a game they should have lost, then lost a game they might have won – had it not been for a blatantly missed goaltending call.

Perhaps the craziest part of March is the coaching carou- sel that accelerates into Tilt- aWhirl mode once the regular season ends. The University of Illinois have hired Brad Underwood to replace the fired John Groce, which means Oklahoma State now need a new coach. As do Indiana University, which last week fired Tom Crean but are now hoping to hire legendary former player Steve Alford, which would create an opening at UCLA, where Alford currently coaches. Simple, right?

Of this year’s Sweet 16, only five teams reached this level in last year’s tournament. Thus the possibility for upsets, breakout stars and new matchups loom large as this year’s march toward madness continues.