Ahh March is here… The sun is shining (for a couple days); spring break plans are coming together, green beer is mere days away and Sports Center has non-stop tournament talk. That’s right the NCAA Basketball tournament is quickly approaching. I have looked forward to breaking out the brackets and highlighters all year long, and the moment is finally upon us. But it just occurred to me that everyone doesn’t sit around and watch ESPN all day long like I do, so I’m here to help out the less informed and give a lesson to those who don’t know of the majesty of March Madness in an article I like to call: March Madness for Dummies.

Lay Some Seeds

Let’s start out with the basics. Hundreds of Division I basketball teams from 33 different conferences play a regular season where they hope to win enough games and play enough good teams to be selected to go to the tournament of 65 teams.

It’s a complicated process that involves strength of schedule, something called the RPI and of course wins and losses. If a team has enough big wins in a competitive conference, they will receive a bid to play in the tournament. These teams are the ones that are within the top 25 poles you have seen constantly talked about over the past two months.

You may be thinking, “What about the small schools like Vermont and Creighton who play in weaker conferences?” Ok, obviously if you know teams like Vermont and Creighton, you know how this all works, but let’s just play dumb for those who don’t. Those teams have the opportunity to get in by winning their conference tournaments.

These tournaments are coming up at the end of the regular season. The winner of these conference tournaments gets an automatic bid to play in the March Madness field of 65 teams.

This gives the weaker teams, or the ones who have had some bad luck and bad losses throughout the regular season, a chance to play for a national championship. In theory, this gets the best 65 teams in the running for a national championship.

Bracketology

This is a term you are going to hear a lot from this point on if you choose to follow college basketball. This simply refers to where each team is seeded in the tournament itself. All of this means nothing until the seeds are revealed on Selection Sunday.

Selection Sunday is a big day if you care to take your friends or co-workers money when you fill out a bracket for your pool. As the teams are being announced on the Sunday after the conference tournaments, the analysts and “experts” will be able to fill you in on anything you have missed so far in the regular season. And let’s be honest, who has had time to watch every game that Winthrop University has played this year? This is good information that you probably want to know so you don’t suffer the embarrassment of last place in your group of friends.

Now Go Mad

I’ve given you the tools to look like you know what you’re doing, so go do it. If you’re still caught up and trying to decide whether it is worth that ten dollar buy in to the office pot, STOP. Stop thinking; this is a fun way to take up your time and maybe get you into something you normally wouldn’t obsess about.

By filling out a bracket, you have a rooting interest in each and every game. Most playoff systems are interesting until your team is eliminated, and then you tune out until the championship game. That’s the beauty of March Madness; you have 62 teams you are rooting for.

So what are you waiting for? Go find a pool or start one of your own and show your newfound skills.

Have Your Own “One Shining Moment”

If you can’t find a pool somewhere else, look no further; The Prairie is holding a bracket pool! If you are interested, e-mail us at theprairiemail@yahoo.com. Get signed up today. (Sorry there will be no cash prizes, but feel the glory of being the best basketball picker at WT. Also have your name and picture featured in the next issue after the tournament.) It’s your chance to have One Shining Moment. (That’s the song they play while the Champions cut down the nets.) Go mad!