Finally, we are coming up on one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, March Madness. Since Fri. Nov. 1, the beginning of the NCAA basketball season, the anticipation began. One might ask, “What is March Madness?” Every year in March, the NCAA hosts a basketball tournament where the 68 teams compete for the championship. Each champion from their respective conference is awarded an automatic bid, as well as other teams known as at large bids. When asked about the projected #1 seeds in the tournament in March, David Alpert replied, “Duke, Kansas, Villanova, and Oregon.”

To begin the season, our hometown UCONN Huskies looked primed for a big season on the men’s team and women’s team. The Men had a returning class with the likes of Jaylen Adams, Amida Brimah and Rodney Purvis, as well as the incoming freshman, Alterique Gilbert and transfer student Terry Larrier. They began the season at #18, but suffered a tough 9-point loss on opening to Wagner, and followed it up with a devastating 3 point loss to Northeastern.

After losing the top three picks of the 2016 WNBA draft, (Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck) UConn dropped in the preseason polls to #3, behind Notre Dame and Baylor. They started off the season with a tough win vs. #12 Florida State and followed it up with a strong 11 point win vs. #2 Baylor.

The preseason polls showed most of the powerhouse schools on top of the rankings. The incoming freshman class of Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum helped bring Duke to the top spot in the polls, with Kentucky coming in at #2 with the help of freshman Bam Adebayo and Malik Monk. Kansas landed the #2 overall recruit to bump them up to #3, and defending champion Villanova came in at #4. When asked about the preseason rankings, Hall student, Charlie Lage said, “For the most part yes, but it is always difficult to judge how good teams will be before the season starts.” On the women’s side, Notre Dame had many players return, along with a strong recruiting class, to bring them to the top seed, with Baylor in second and UConn coming in at #3.

Once again, the upset storm has hit college basketball. In just the third game of the season for Duke, the Blue Devils were handed a tough loss by Frank Mason III on a buzzer beating shot. The next top seed was the Kentucky Wildcats. They were rolling in the beginning games of the season until the #11 UCLA Bruins came into Lexington and handed Kentucky a 5 point loss. The third different top seed in the country was the defending champion Villanova Wildcats. They remained on top for over a month before playing Butler on the road and losing a thrilling eight point game.

The Wooden Award is an award that is given to the single best player in college basketball that season. At the beginning of every season, 50 men and 30 women are put onto the Wooden Award watch list. This is a list of the people who experts and analysts believe have the best chance to win the award. With last year’s winner, Buddy Hield, making the transition to the NBA, there is an opening for someone to step in and claim their spot as the top player in the country. On the women’s side, Breanna Stewart, last year’s winner, has made a seamless transition to the WNBA, and in her wake she left a trophy up for grabs.