Cincinnati teams play in March Madness
BRACKET. During March Madness, watchers fill out a bracket to predict games. Over 10 billion dollars are made from illegally betting on these games. “I don’t really watch basketball, but I like filling these brackets out,” said Sophia Muhleman, 9.
College basketball starts today. March Madness is a college basketball tournament with 68 schools. These 68 teams will compete for the NCAA college championship and be crowned the best team of 2017-18.
Ohio has four teams in this tournament: Xavier, University of Cincinnati (UC), Wright State, and Ohio State. Cincinnati alone has two of the best teams in the country with Xavier and Cincinnati ranked first and second in their respective regional tournaments.
This is Xavier’s 27th tournament appearance, dating back to 1961. They have been in the Sweet 16 eight times, Elite 8 two times, and have never been in a Final Four game. Last year, Xavier made it to the Elite 8 but lost to Gonzaga.
Led by seniors Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura, Xavier looks to make a deep run as a number one seed in the West. The Musketeers will play either North Carolina Central or Texas Southern in Friday at 7:20 p.m.
“Hopefully Xavier makes a long run and can appear in its first Final Four,” said Andrew Fehr, 9.
Cincinnati has appeared in 31 tournaments and had two back-to-back championships in 1961 and 1962. They are the 16th most winning team in college basketball history with 1757 wins.
UC is led by Gary Clark and Jacob Evans and hopes for a long run as a number two seed in the challenging South. UC will play Georgia State on Friday at 2:00 p.m.
“I feel like UC is one of the most slept-on teams in their region,” said Max Keller, 9.
Ohio State is also in the South alongside UC. Ohio State is a fifth seed and has a history of making deep runs in the tournament. It has been in the tournament thirty five times and has made the Final Four a whopping eleven times.
The Buckeyes are lead by Jae’sean Tate and Keita Bates-Diop. The Buckeyes play SD State today at 4:00 p.m.
“I love Ohio State and want them to play really well in the tournament,” said Claire Henry, 9.
Wright State is unlike these other Ohio teams. Wright State has only been in two previous tournament games and has lost both. The Raiders are looking for their first win in the postseason this year.
Wright State is the 14th seed and will face off against number three seeded Tennessee. The game will be held today at 12:40 p.m. It is led by Grant Benzinger and Loudon Love and hope for its first tournament victory after twenty five years.
