As February is coming to a close, that can only mean one thing for us sports fans…. March Madness is near! After two years without an NCAA basketball tournament due to the pandemic, it sure does feel good to know that there will be Madness-this March.
The end to the regular season is near and conference tournament play is nearing by the second. Although these conference tournaments can shake up to the whole tournament picture, it is well-documented that No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Baylor have been far better than any other team in the country as of now.
Gonzaga and Baylor, being the only two undefeated, are no doubt the favorite to win it all this year. But, if there is one thing we know about March, there will be Madness. There are plenty of sleeper teams this year that can either contend with these top two teams, or even win it all.
Behind Gonzaga and Baylor, leaves us with the big three in the Big Ten: Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois. Any three of these teams have the star power, depth and coaching to contend for the national championship. Playing in maybe the hardest conference in the nation will undoubtedly leave these teams with the confidence to contend in the tournament.
But we can’t count out teams such as Villanova, who is run by the future Hall of Famer, Coach Jay Wright. Or a team in the Iowa Hawkeyes who are led by Player of the Year, front runner Luka Garza.
No matter what happens this March, we can all be grateful that we have a tournament to watch this year. Although teams are in a bubble and fans will be of limited attendance. It is great to see these teams competing against one another for a chance to win it all.