Let the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor
The 68 teams qualified for the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament are locked in and March Madness is set to begin soon. Every school that made the list is currently thinking that it can make a run through the Final Four and create shining plays this year, yet as years have gone by, only a select few universities have a realistic chance of accomplishing this goal. During a bunch of games over the next few weeks, dreams will be dashed left and right as buzzer-beaters swish through nets, as teams make their miraculous wins, making brackets everywhere go bust.
For Leonia Deca’s advisor Ms Gianfredi, it is a tradition to have the entire chapter to participate in the March Madness bracket challenge. “It is Duke’s or Rhode Island’s year to lift up the trophy.” As Ms Gianfredi has high hopes for the fierce Duke Blue Devils or Rhode Island Rams to win the tournament. March Madness is filled with unexpected upsets from high seeded teams, according to Washington Post, Head Coach of the Rhode Island Rams said “I said to my wife that I’m more nervous than she could ever be because I know everything that could go wrong, I’m watching everything under the sun. Nobody knows how many things are going on. Coaches do.” Hurley said. Rhode Island Rams are one of the top ten seeded teams in this years tournament and many expect they might have a shot in getting their first ever championship win. However for some people believe a low seeded may make it to the Final Four. I interviewed Johnathan Perino, President of our Leonia Deca Chapter, on his predictions on this years March Madness. He stated, “Davidson all the way! Not a doubt”. Davidson is considered one of the few low-seeded teams in the tournament. Johnathan Perino shows pride in Davidson’s colors because of his brother Joe Perino, a former student at Leonia High School attending Davidson College currently. Who knows? Davidson might have a shot at lifting up the trophy for the first time in their history.
According to CBS Sports, there have been very few occasions where low-seeded teams advance to the latter stages of the tournament. No team given a No. 8 seed or worse has ever reached the national title game and only two universities seeded above the No. 3 line have managed to claim a championship. However, teams in the No. 10 and No. 12 slots have been upsetting their respective better-seeded No. 7 and No. 5 counterparts on a regular basis. These are the two most likely spots on the bracket for upsets over the last 15 years, but don’t usually make it into the second or third weekend of the tournament. Maybe this year, some of these statistics could change and history could be made. Who knows? Let the Odds Be Ever in Our Favor.
