They call it March Madness for a reason.
As the 2015-2016 regular season nears its end, a large question has yet to be answered in the eyes of many basketball fans — which team would dominate the NCAA Tournament?
No team has yet to distinguish themselves from the pack. In contrast to last season, there is the lack of an undefeated program ready to take the tournament by storm. Even former powerhouse Duke failed to impress over the course of their season, as the team dropped out of the AP Top 25 rankings during the winter.
The top-ranked teams tended to originate from weak conferences, while the consistent elites of the college basketball universe were mediocre when compared to previous years.
Of course, none of that matters in March. What started as an off year for the NCAA quickly became unpredictable.
Michigan State, a legitimate championship contender, fell in the very first round to No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee.
After that initial shocker, upsets soon became rampant.
No. 12 seed Arkansas-Little Rock earned a hard-fought victory over Purdue. Stephen F. Austin stunned No. 3 seed West Virginia. Even Wichita State rebounded from a mediocre season to stun Arizona.
President Obama was probably the only person in the country to predict the Hawaii upset over Cal. And who can forget Northern Iowa’s half-court shot at the buzzer to shock Texas.
Most fans know these upsets can only last so long, as the stronger programs generally take over the tournament late in March. But at this point, it’s anybody’s game.
The Sweet 16 began with a myriad of teams with various paths to glory. In matchups usually reserved for No. 2 and No. 3 seeded teams, there were a several surprising appearances from lower seeds.
Kansas, a fan favorite to reach the finals, suffered a demoralizing defeat against Villanova, while No. 1 Oregon also met a similar fate.
This tournament has been a rollercoaster ride — if that rollercoaster had jet engines and was airborne. No one could have predicted the early tournament chaos, including the appearance of No. 10 seed Syracuse in the Final Four.
On March 18, ESPN reported there were no perfect brackets remaining out of 13 million submissions. I am reminded of the irony of the 2014 NCAA Tournament when Warren Buffet was worried that someone might predict the perfect bracket and win $1 billion.
This NCAA Tournament has been quite the show. Brackets are busted, fans are ecstatic and Cinderella stories have all but run their course.
This tournament has truly been maddening. After all, it is March.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill Â