PRIYA COOPER / SPORTS EDITOR

MAXIMILIANO ACOSTA / ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Every March, 68 teams are announced to compete up to seven rounds of single elimination for a chance to win a national championship. Last Sunday night, the NCAA announced this year’s teams. UConn’s women’s team and Duke’s men’s team both earned the top overall seeds in their respective brackets going into this year’s tournament. 

Duke is the No. 1 seed for the men’s bracket and plays St. John’s on Friday, March 27. Photo courtesy of @dukembb/Instagram

In USD’s  history, Toreros have  only been selected a total of four times, the most recent appearance being in 2008. USD beat UConn’s men’s team and lost in the second round to Western Kentucky. Last year, during the first rounds, No.14 Oakland 80 stunned fans by winning against No. 3 Kentucky. 

A  12-member  NCAA  Division I Men’s Basketball committee which consists of directors from many teams reviews games through the season, look at individual profiles, difficulties  of schedules, win-loss performances and more to rank teams from 1-68. With this, they place the teams into seeds, ranging from 1-16 in the four regions: East, West, South, and Midwest. Some teams in the same conference might be placed together  so they are separated to satisfy  certain logistical rules.

USD sophomore Shivam Patel discussed his opinions on the teams competing in March Madness. 

“I believe that the current team  from  University of Arizona might be the best team we’ve had in years and I have them winning the championship,” Patel said. “However, when I bet online, I prefer to pick the underdogs in the tournament. So far, the most painful March Madness games I have experienced had to be when the University of Arizona played against Clemson back in 2024, the hunter brothers scorched us in the last minute of the game. Or  it  had to be when Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner hit a buzzer  beater this year  against  Nebraska. I usually watch the games when they are in the second half as that’s when they really get the adrenaline flowing and if there’s  a good match up.”

One of the reasons March Madness  is so popular across the country is because of the annual bracket challenge. People make picks and fill out brackets  according  to  who  they think will win each game, and there are always major upsets where higher ranked teams lose to an underdog which makes the  competition more engaging. 

The March Madness bracket challenge  started  in 1977 and had  millions   of participants each year. The  challenge  has only  grown in popularity  over the  years, and  despite  the amount of participation no one has ever predicted a perfect bracket.    

Zero  perfect brackets  remain as of this year and 26, 576, 887 brackets have fallen according to ESPN. The odds of making a  perfect  bracket  are 1 in 9.2 quintillion.

So far there have been a decent  amount  of  upsets in this year’s tournament. The only No. 1 seed to have been eliminated so far is the South bracket. The  Florida  Gators lost  to  Iowa  in the second round  while  Michigan,  Arizona and Duke all remain in the tournament. Duke came  close  to  losing in the  first round, only having beat the No. 16 seed Sienna 71-65. The largest upsets have been No. 12 High Point beating No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82 and No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth University beating out No. 6 University of North Carolina 82-78. 

No. 11 University of Texas also pulled off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by defeating  No. 3 Gonzaga, despite  Gonzaga  being a top-15 team  all season  and Texas  barely  making the field as a last-minute at-large bid. Texas has become the only double-digit seed  to  advance  to the Sweet 16.

USD sophomore Charley Gianulias shared his thoughts on March Madness so far. 

“I  don’t bet on college sports because I don’t see a reason to, I’m more into professional basketball because of what I see on my feed, but college sports is always a competitive watch,” Gianulias said. “My roommates and I always have ESPN going on. So  far,  I  am very happy High Point beat Wisconsin because I am a big fan of High Point. I have a mutual friend at High Point  and  it’s  kinda funny that Wisconsin lost because I know they were number five seed.”

Some games have been played  locally  even though there is no college from San Diego  in  this  year’s tournament. A few games from the first two rounds will be hosted at Viejas Arena. Teams like Villanova, Kansas and Arizona played in San Diego on Friday, March 20 for the first round. Winners of the matchups on Friday played Sunday, March 22 in the second round to try and secure a spot in the Sweet 16.

USD junior Liam Edwards described what thought he had while making his picks. 

“I picked Kansas to win March Madness,” Edwards said. “I have no ties to Kansas and have only ever driven through it to other places, but I love Darryn Peterson and think they are  really good. Like many other people I never watch college basketball outside of March Madness, but when it’s March, you are required to. While making my bracket I looked at seeds and also relations I had with every school. Wisconsin rejected me so I put them out in the first round.” 

UConn is ranked No.1 in the women’s bracket and set to play UNC on March 27. Photo courtesy of @uconnwbb/ Instagram

All    Sweet   16  games will  take place on Thursday, March 26 or Friday, March 27. And after the  winning  teams  proceed   to  the  Elite Eight  which is  followed by the Final Four. The Final Four decides who will play in the Championship game, which is set to be played on  Monday, April 6   at  the   Lucas Oil  Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.  

The Duke men’s basketball team is a one-seed favourite in the 2026 tournament. Photo courtesy of @dukembb/Instagram