Many college basketball fans have been watching March Madness this year. There have been so many upsets and unexpected games so far. Some teams like Princeton, Furman, and FDU winning, messed up all perfect brackets. 

Upsets and Bracket Busters:

Princeton beating Arizona, the two seed, is one of or the biggest upsets in March Madness this season. 8th grade student, Hogan Boyd, said “Revenge of the nerds” after Princeton won. He didn’t expect them to win but they did. Fun fact: Boyd didn’t even know Princeton had a basketball team. Boyd didn’t expect some teams in the Sweet 16 to make it because there were a lot of high ranked teams that lost early on. 

7th grade student Dylan Stephen felt “very happy” that Princeton won against Arizona in the first round. He said, “Even though it ruined my whole bracket, it’s always good to see a New Jersey team win.” He felt like it was very entertaining watching all the games and all of the big upsets. Stephen didn’t think the teams in the Sweet 16 would be there because they are low ranked teams who pulled off big upsets. 

8th grader, Nate Langon, thinks the games are “close and entertaining” with many upsets. There are high score games that are fun to watch. When Princeton beat Arizona in the first round, he was very surprised and it was exciting, “It’s good to see New Jersey schools doing good.” Langon said that there are teams that are lower seeds that he didn’t expect to be in the Sweet 16. 

7th grade math teacher, Mrs. Burke said the games are “fantastic and exciting,  but it would be more exciting if my team won.”. Burke, a long time Kentucky fan,loves this time of year. She thought it was amazing that Princeton won in the first round against the 2 seed, Arizona and she wishes that she had them going far in her bracket. 

Mr. Blasena, a technology teacher at WMS, thinks that it’s one of the better tournaments they had. He thinks that the ranking system is great and there hasn’t really been a blow out and there’s been lots of close upsets. Mr. Blasena said that Princeton beating Arizona was great for their program and school. Some teams he expected to make it into the Sweet 16 and some he didn’t. 

 Mr. Guidetti, a basketball coach at Metuchen High School, said, “The thing about college basketball is you never know who’s going to win. That’s the best part about it. These guys are actually playing to win and giving their best so it could be anybody’s game.” He said it’s pretty cool to see Princeton beat a two seed in the first round. 

Predictions and Opinions:

There were a lot of predictions that got messed up and some that are still on track to being right. Alabama and Houston are arguably the two best teams in March Madness right now. If they ever play in the championship, Boyd said that Houston would win. Even though Alabama has good defense, Houston is better overall, he said. Boyd thinks it’s going to be Tennessee and Houston in the championship. He thinks Houston is going to win because they are a better team overall. Boyd said that March Madness is more exciting than the NBA because NBA players  “are babies” and all they want is fouls. “College is good basketball,” said Hogan.

Dylan Stephen thought Memphis was going to win the championship, but that didn’t go too well for him. Now he thinks Princeton is going all the way and winning. “I got to root for the New Jersey team,” said Stephen. He says that if Alabama and Houston ever play in the championship he thinks Alabama would win because they are “very hot” right now. He thinks the NBA isn’t as exciting as March Madness because “in the NBA no one really tries and all they want is money. In college they try harder because they want to get drafted,” said Stephen. 

Nate Langon said if Houston plays Alabama in the finals, Alabama would win because they are a better team overall. Langon said, “I think Alabama is going to beat Texas.” Langon thinks March Madness is more exciting than the NBA because the “atmosphere” is better than the NBA.

Mrs. Burke’s prediction for the championship in Alabama and Houston. Burke doesn’t want to see them there because she said, “I don’t want two 1 seeds to be in the finals. That’s not exciting.” If they are in the finals Mrs. Burke thinks that Alabama would win against Houston. She thinks that March Madness is 100% more entertaining than the NBA. Burke said that she doesn’t really like the NBA and they “don’t play defense there.” 

Mr Blasena is going for the underdogs, Princeton, to win the championship. The reason why he said was “Why not?” Houston and Alabama are favored to go to the final and he said that Houston would win. He said that Houston is “stacked” when it comes to their line up. Mr. Blasena said that Houston has had a harder schedule throughout the season and that gave them more experience. “I don’t watch the NBA,” said Blasena. He said that he doesn’t really like the NBA because it’s a lot of drama. “95% of college kids are not getting paid and this is their time to shine. They are student athletes”

Mr. Guidetti thinks college basketball is “more exciting” than the NBA because they’re playing basketball. Guidetti stated, “There’s no doubt that the NBA guys are extremely talented but they don’t really play basketball anymore.” He said the NBA is like a show, where everybody just dunks and doesn’t play defense. “It’s a horrible thing, it’s just a show of who can dunk and three point shots.”