March Madness 2024: Predicting the unpredictable

March 20, 2024

#6 Iowa State (24-7) played Cincinnati (16-14) on Feb. 13 at Fifth Third Arena where ISU won 68-59.

March Madness, the premier NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) men’s basketball tournament, kicks off March 19 with the First Four games in Dayton. The annual competition brings lots of buzz and solidifies teams and players in history.

Last year, it was Fairleigh Dickinson upsetting Purdue and Florida Atlantic, making a Cinderella Final Four run with Connecticut winning it all. What could happen this year?

Every year, there are top teams that are frontrunners to win it all. This year, teams that win a Power 5 conference can be expected to be up there. Currently, Purdue is steamrolling the BIG 10 and is currently ranked high in the AP Poll, the most reputable ranking of College Basketball teams.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology projects them to be one of the #1 seeds, which is fair considering they also have Zach Edey, a probable candidate for the Wooden Award, a trophy for the best player in college basketball. Other projected #1 seeds are UConn, Houston and Arizona, with Tennessee as a #2 seed but climbing up the ranks.

Upsets are one of the biggest parts of March Madness, but the point of them is their unpredictability. Still, using certain factors, you can determine who could be likely to beat the odds and win a game or even make a Cinderella run.

McNeese State, a Louisiana university in the Southland conference has gone 28-3 this season, and is a high-scoring team, putting up 80.2 points per game. Currently projected as a #12 seed, if they win their conference tournament, they are in and should have an eye kept on them to upset, or even make a run deep into the tournament. Other possible upsets are Oregon (projected #11), Grand Canyon (#12) or Oakland (#14).

One team on upset watch is BYU, a team that has lost many games to worse teams this season, a pattern that’s worrying for a team that is projected as a #5 seed. Even with the high projection, they could be an early exit from the BIG 12 tournament which would send them down the rankings. If they get matched up against a top defense, which they have struggled playing against this season, look to see them as a team getting bounced earlier than expected. Programs that could also be upset are Baylor and Clemson (projected #3 and #5 respectively).

Dark horses in the tournament can happen every year, just like how UConn surprisingly won last year. A sneaky good team this year is Iowa State, who has beaten some great teams like Houston and Kansas.

ISU is consistent from 3, but their lack of free throw shooting is concerning late-game. Projected as a #2 seed, even though they could fall during the BIG 12 tournament, Iowa State is a great sleeper pick to go all the way. Alternate picks to make a sneaky run are Kentucky and Tennessee (projected #4 and #2).

March Madness is one of the least predictable sports events, but one thing you can predict is that it will be a great tournament and provide lots of entertainment throughout the games.

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Cal Moore, Style and Culture Writer

In his first as a Chatterbox staff member, freshman Cal Moore is joyous to work as a Style and Culture Writer and wants to help the Chatterbox gain many new readers through the course of the 2023-2024 school year. Moore also plays soccer and is a member of the Academic Quiz Team here at walnut. Moore hopes to attend Ohio University and enroll in their journalism program. When he isn’t taking part in these activities, he is usually listening to his favorite artists, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, watching TV or going on a walk outside to enjoy nature.

Brenton Isham, Section Editor of Peanuts

In his first as a Chatterbox and Remembrancer staff member, Brenton Isham has eagerly took the role of the Peanuts Section Editor. Brenton doesn’t have much journalism experience but he hopes to get better at it as long as he is at WHHS and throughout his life. Isham doesn’t do many after school activities but he is an avid basketball player and runs track also. Isham is hoping one day to compete in the best division of track stars in the world and is very serious about his goal; he also wants to experience a good high school life. Isham loves playing basketball and running track; he won state for the 400 in only his first year as a runner and he hopes to get better at both that and basketball. When he is not doing either of these things he loves to read because it’s interesting and fun to him.

Ben Schneider, Section Editor of Style and Culture

In his third year as a Chatterbox staff member, Ben Schneider is excited to work as the Style and Culture Section Editor. He hopes to put out consistent and quality work about all things Style and Culture. While mainly focusing on reviews himself, Schneider hopes to broaden the variety of his pieces this year. Schneider also plays for the WHHS tennis team and has been a part of the basketball program in the past. He hopes to attend college and have a future in journalism. He likes to spend his free time listening to music, playing basketball, and writing for Chatterbox.