Do You Know Your March Madness?
March 17, 2025
“The tournament has begun.”
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The term “March Madness” was given to the game of basketball by Illinois high school teacher Henry V. Porter in 1939. However, it was only after CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used it during coverage of the 1982 NCAA Tournament that March Madness became synonymous with this beloved sporting event.
Since the inception of the tournament, 37 different teams have won a national championship. UCLA has won the most national championships of any school, hoisting the trophy 11 times.
The most successful programs include:
• UCLA: 11 championships
• Kentucky: 8 championships
• North Carolina: 6 championships
• UConn: 6 championships
• Duke: 5 championships
• Indiana: 5 championships
The tournament is a single-elimination event consisting of 68 college teams. The tournament begins with the First Four, where eight teams compete for four spots in the main 64-team bracket. After that, the competition follows a single-elimination format leading up to the championship game
When the teams are whittled down to only four remaining, the penultimate round is played, aptly known as the “Final Four.”
It is estimated that Americans annually bet $8.5 billion on the competition.
“Bracketology” involves filling out predictions for the tournament’s outcome, often in office pools or online competitions. Participants try to predict which teams will win each matchup, leading to intense competition and excitement as the tournament progresses.
According to our friends at the “Morning Brew” newsletter – the odds of picking every game correctly are a mere 1 in 120 billion.
