March Madness, the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, sure lived up to its name again this year. It was another year for both sides of the tournament filled with wild buzzer beaters, shocking upsets, and unknown players finally receiving the spotlight. This year, however, was indeed special because of the exponential growth that women’s basketball had shown. March Madness as a whole has had an increase in viewership, not only due to the constant buzzer beaters and upsets but also the heightened excitement around the womens game, that is beneficial to the game of basketball.

Although there were many contenders on the men’s side, the University of Connecticut prevailed and won back to back national championships, which was the first in 17 years. With heavyweights such as UCONN and Purdue looking hard to stop, many were wondering if any team had what it took to outscore these teams in 40 minutes. However, the coaching and the cohesiveness that UCONN outlined the entire season shined once again throughout the entire tournament, winning each game by an average of 23.3 points. Reef Hangai ‘24, a former basketball player, said that, “UCONN winning shows how important that a coach is and how a really good coach can really keep a team winning although they lost some players to the draft.” Makai Monaco ‘24, an avid basketball fan and creator of the March Madness club, said that, “I felt that it was not a great tournament because for me there were a lot of shots going up and not much team basketball,” and that, “I feel like I am watching less and less of college basketball now especially on the men’s side.”

Garnering more viewers in the final than the men’s tournament, the exciting women’s tournament has put an increased spotlight on women’s basketball as a whole. Many who have never watched women’s basketball before have tuned in, as the hype surrounding the women’s tournament this year, due to the rising stars that are quickly becoming household names, have made it an enjoyable watch. Reef Hangai ‘24 said that “before March madness I didn’t really watch girls basketball but this year I watched some games with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Caitlin Clark is really exciting to watch and whenever she gets the ball it always feels like she’s going to do something crazy.” Caitlin Clark has not only helped the Iowa Hawkeyes have success this year but she has also changed the sport as a whole. Not only has the women’s tournament viewership dramatically increased but the WNBA also has increased popularity. Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever jerseys had sold out hours after they became available and teams are moving games to bigger arenas to accommodate the increase in demand to watch these games.  The tide is turning and it is very evident even to ordinary fans, such as Makai Monaco, who explains, “I watched more womens games than the men’s game simply because of the fact that many of the men’s games were not as exciting.”

From Caitlin Clark to Zach Edey and Jack Gohlke, the tournament was a stage for stars to shine, as well as stars to be born. Jordan Reynon ‘24 a former varsity basketball player said that “Jack Goelke from Oakland and when they beat Kentucky” was a clear example of a player stepping up the stoplight and making a name for themselves.  Players like Jack Goelke, who transferred from a Division II school, are given the rare opportunity to play against the top players in the country. These moments make it special as those who were doubted can silence the doubters and end the season of those who were favored.

For some, the excitement of the tournament is closely associated with the brackets that they may have created. Creating a bracket is filling out who you think will win each matchup in the entire tournament, meaning to have a perfect bracket, there is a one in 9.2 quintillion chance. Although the odds are slim, many still create brackets just for the chance that they can make history. Jordan Reynon said that “It was cool to see the perfect bracket number dwindle from the millions all the way to the single digits and finally having zero brackets even after the first round.” Watching the number of brackets and even watching the games to see if each bracket will survive the occurring games adds to the excitement of the tournament.