It’s the start of March, and for most, that means preparation for St. Patrick’s Day or the beginning of spring. But for others, it means it’s time to get ready for MADNESS. March Madness is an NCAA Basketball tournament for both women and men that starts with 68 teams and ends with one final champion who has to overcome the craziness of it all. The women’s tournament started March 12th – so let the games begin. 

This season has been one of several ups and downs for various teams, but not for locked number-one seeds, South Carolina and Indiana. Indiana, the number three team atop the Associated Press rankings has an impressive, although comparable, record of 27-3. What sets Indiana apart, however, is being first overall in the Big Ten Conference. This highly competitive conference has several teams in contention for not only the tournament itself but a number one seed. Indiana’s slight edge over the likes of Iowa, Maryland, and Ohio State has given them just enough to be a shoo-in for that coveted seed. Furthermore, if dominance were a team, it would be South Carolina. They went 32-0 through the regular season and have yet to lose a game since early March of last year. A championship back-to-back for the Gamecocks? Yeah, that wouldn’t be surprising. The depth that this team has could be compared to that of the ocean floor, and clearly, Dawn Staley is doing something right as their head coach. “The key to getting through a tournament like this one is having good guards and Dawn Staley does that through being a great recruiter and motivator,” said the head coach of North Atlanta’s women’s basketball team, William Credit.

This tournament wouldn’t have as much excitement and buzz around it without the drama that is always around the corner. This year, it is the fight for the last two one-seed spots and like always, we are going to find out who’s in and who’s out. As for the other number-one seeds, it’s a toss-up between three teams with only two spots. Naturally, Stanford and Iowa make a case for those spots, but Virginia Tech has snuck on in to shake things up. With 68 teams in the tournament, 16 of them will be given the opportunity to host their game. A home game in the midst of madness is one of the best things any team could hope for. North Carolina and Villanova are on the bubble with Oklahoma, Tennessee, Colorado, and Texas, and are hoping that this bubble win soon pop. “Personally, I think Uconn is a sleeper who could go all the way but has been plagued with injuries,” said Dubs basketball player Orelon McNeal. “They are one of the best women’s basketball teams of all time.”

Regardless of who gets in and who gets left out, March Madness will always bring entertainment. Teams will continue waltzing through the Big Dance, leaving the Dubs anxiously watching and waiting to see who will emerge victorious at the end of the month.