March Madness: Final Four Face Off on Saturday, April 1

“You’ve gotta go with what your gut says. You can’t be doubting your team,” said junior Nick Nelleson, who participates in the NCAA Bracket Challenge.  As a result of March Madness starting on March 14, more than 13 million brackets have been submitted to the NCAA Bracket Challenge for a chance to win $1 million dollars per year for the rest of their life. With only one week left, fans are restlessly waiting for the Final Four to play on April 1.

“I’m going with University of North Carolina. I think they’re a very well balanced basketball team, have great guard play, and dominate bigs who are able to rebound the ball well,” said Nelleson. “I looked at overall talent in the team and then senior leadership. [Senior leadership] is a huge factor. Also, experience is key in the tournament.”

The North Carolina Tar Heels will be facing off against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, April 1 at 7:49 pm on CBS. This will be North Carolina’s twentieth time competing in the Final Four, and Oregon’s second.

“A few of my friends also [chose] North Carolina winning the tournament so we hope everything goes as planned,” said Nelleson.

Although there are no perfect brackets left, fans still hope to have the best brackets for smaller prizes. The prize may be intriguing for some people, but the game play is the most compelling part.

“The upsets I got correct were University of Rhode Island vs Creighton University and Middle Tennessee vs University of Minnesota,” said junior Spencer Goldberg.

An upset happens when a lower seed team or less favored team ends up winning the match over a higher seed or more favored team. To some, upsets are what makes March Madness the most exciting.

“I mostly went with the teams who are in better seeds, but on a few I had a gut feeling that the upset could happen,” said Goldberg.

“Northwestern University vs Vanderbilt University was the best game so far in my opinion. It was a close game and there were a lot of moments that were intense,” said junior Johnny Greenberg. “I feel like the last games are going to be amazing, too. The Final Four and Championships have always been a great watch.”

March Madness will slowly be coming to a close as all four teams play against their respective opponents on Saturday. However, the most exhilarating game will take place on Monday, April 3: the Championships.

by Sagar Samuel, profile perfectionist