March Madness is here, with the best teams in men’s and women’s collegiate basketball facing off for the first time this season on Tuesday — and non-athletes getting into the game by filling out their brackets.
Some are big basketball fans, like GBH’s sports reporter Esteban Bustillos and Morning Edition co-host Paris Alston, and they’re gearing up to crush officemates and friends with their brackets. Others, like GBH commentator Callie Crossley and Morning Edition co-host Jeremy Siegel, are feeling a bit lost. Here are Bustillos and Alston’s tips for following the NCAA basketball tournaments.
Look at local teams
Massachusetts has one representative in the tournament: the Holy Cross women’s team, which beat Boston University 66-61 in the Patriot League tournament to earn the spot.
“After that win, though, they’ll be big underdogs,” Bustillos said. “They'll be facing Maryland, the [No.] 2-seed in their region. This will be the Crusaders' just 13th appearance in the tournament, all time — last time coming in 2007 when they lost to Duke in the first round.”
Holy Cross does have one historical win on their program’s record: 1991, when they beat Maryland in the first round, Bustillos said.
Other New England teams to watch: UConn and Vermont are sending both men’s and women’s teams, and Providence is playing in the men’s tournament.
Do the homework (but make room for March Madness magic)
When filling out her bracket, keep in mind that upsets are less common.
“Out of the past 10 games, at least on the men’s side, eight of the teams who won the title were No. 1 seeds,” Alston said.
Still, it’s a good idea — and more fun — to allow room for some underdogs.
“You’ve got to make room for a Cinderella team to happen,” Alston said. “A team that would make it further in the tournament than most people would expect. ... I always try to pick one of those to go pretty far.”
Those upsets are part of the magic of the tournament, Bustillos said.
“The great thing about like March Madness versus, say, the NBA playoffs is that if you have to beat a team four times, you usually have to be the more skilled team,” Bustillos said. “Any team can beat any team at least one time, which makes the Cinderellas so great.”
Alston said she also looks at win-loss records, and digs deeper for teams with close records, reading articles about their performance earlier in the season.
It also involves some guesswork, Bustillos said.
“Honestly, I think everybody's like, ‘Oh, there’s all the science,’” he said. “But nobody really knows. It’s a lot of guessing.”
A GBH sports reporter’s picks
Bustillos said he has South Carolina winning the women’s tournament, in part because of a local connection.
“Worcester Academy’s own Aliyah Boston led them to the championship last year,” Bustillos said. “I think South Carolina is just — until I'm proven otherwise — they’re the crème de la crème on the women’s side.”
On the men’s side, Bustillos, who is from Texas, went with Houston, the No. 1 seed in their region.
“They have the best overall record,” he said. “I just feel good about them, and they’re a Texas team and that’s all I need, really.”
