The March Madness bracket is truly madness.

“March Madness” is the name for the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament that extends from March 14 to April 3. The tournament consists of the top 64 teams in the country that are put into a bracket by college basketball experts.

The buzz that surrounds the tournament is largely because of the brackets that are filled out. People from all over the country try to create the “perfect bracket” by correctly guessing the winner of all 63 games. According to ESPN, about 70 million brackets are filled out each year, and nobody has guessed more than the first 34 games correct.

This year at The Scratching Post, we selected two students and two teachers whose knowledge about college basketball and filling out brackets varies. They have the option to pick between 9.2 quintillion ways to fill out their bracket. We will see how they do.

Name: Becky Bahlmann
Do you follow college basketball?: “I follow a little. I mostly just see ESPN alerts so I know who the best teams are.”
How do you make your picks?: “Most of my picks are based on how much I like the state and sometimes their name. I usually pick my upsets based on who teams people talk a lot about and then I pick the upsets.”
Cinderella team?: “I think South Carolina or Xavier could be Cinderella teams. Also Michigan!”
Who is your Champion?: “I have Duke winning it all!”

Name: Brandon Jones
Do you follow college basketball?: “I somewhat follow it. I wouldn’t say I’m a die hard fan.”
How do you make your picks?: “I research how they did during the season. My biggest thing is strength of schedule. I also go for my gut feeling.”
Cinderella team?: “ND Going to the final four. Go Irish!!”
Who is your Champion?: “UNC… they are hungry coming off of a big loss to Duke in the ACC tournament. I can see them taking home the trophy!”

Name: Ms. Day
Do you follow college basketball?: “Not at all!!! I would rather dust!”
How do you make your picks?: “By which mascot would win in a fight. It’s a very interesting outlook.”
Cinderella team?: “Pretty much my whole bracket is cinderella teams but Dayton is in my final four. The only thing that could beat an airplane is a natural disaster.”
Who is your Champion?: “Iowa State. A Cyclone would destroy anything in it’s path.”

Name: Mr. Bellito
Do you follow college basketball?: “Yes, I love college basketball!”
How do you make your picks?: “I usually do it after looking and kenpom ratings, expert picks, and my expertise… or lack thereof after watching games throughout the year.”
Cinderella team?: “I got my 12/5 upset with Middle Tennesee defeating Minnesota, but my other pick was #7 seed St. Mary’s to go to the Elite 8.”
Who is your Champion?: “My champion was Duke defeating Louisville.”