March Madness Is Coming: 2023 NCAA Tournament Time Is Almost Here

March Madness is coming. It’s perhaps the most exciting college sports time in the United States. I am referring to the NCAA Division I men’s and women's college basketball tournaments.

Selection Sunday, the day in March that the teams competing in the NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments are announced, is a sports highlight of the year for me. This year’s Selection Sunday is March 12^th, 2023 according to an NCAA webpage.[1] The webpage also lists the dates for all the games. According to the same webpage the men's pairings will be announced beginning at 6 p.m. on CBS, the women's beginning at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

I enjoy speculating about and learning which teams are selected, as well as where and whom they will play.  This year’s fields will contain 68 teams. Eight teams play in a first round to reduce the field to 64.

Men's NCAA Division I College Basketball Tournament

The men's tournament attracts much more attention than the women's. This year there is no clear favorite to win the championship.

However, Houston, UCLA, Alabama, Kansas, and Purdue are five of the favorites, as indicated in recent polls. The most recent men's college basketball Associated Press poll and Coaches' poll Top 25 rankings are listed on an ESPN webpage[2] and other sources.

I'm pleased to state that the University of Kentucky Wildcats seem to be coming on strong as the end of the season approaches. I optimistically hope the Cats can win the championship or at least make the Final Four.

Women’s NCAA Division I College Basketball Tournament

The women’s tournament doesn’t attract as much attention as the men’s.  The undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks are favored to repeat after winning the title last year.

Kentucky is not going to be in it this year. But UK does hold the distinction of being the last team to defeat NCAA tournament favorite South Carolina. UK upset them in last year's SEC tournament championship game before South Carolina went on to win the national championship. The Gamecocks remain unbeaten so far this season. 

Please forgive me for posting another Kentucky note. UK's star player last season, Rhyne Howard, was selected as the #1 pick in the WNBA drat and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award in the WNBA.

While men's basketball gets more attention than the women's game, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame claims home to the "world's largest basketball," which "measures 30-feet tall and weights 10 tons," according to a Women's Basketball Hall of Fame webpage.[3]  Below is a photo I took May 10, 2017 of that basketball.

     

NCAA Ranking System NET

The NCAA NET rankings are one of the factors that the NCAA uses in deciding how to select/place teams for the men's and women's tournaments. The current NET rankings for men's teams are listed on an NCAA webpage.[4] My favorite team, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, are currently ranked 20. 

The women's current NET rankings on listed on another NCAA webpage.[5] The University of Kentucky women's team is currently ranked #78, which is much worse than I'd hoped for before the season began. But given their 12-19 record, is better than I'd expected.

Links on the NCAA webpages above connect to articles that discuss how the NET rankings work.

 

2023 Men’s and Women's NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament Brackets

You can print a PDF bracket for this year's men's tournament from an NCAA webpage[6] and a PDF bracket for the women's tournament from another NCAA webpage.[7]

Lexington, Kentucky’s Basketball Fans (#1 in the World?)

I live in Lexington, Kentucky, which may have a higher percentage of its residents who are college basketball fans than any other city in the world.  It is home to the University of Kentucky (UK) which has won more college basketball games than any other Division I college basketball team. The school also typically leads the nation in home attendance at its games in Rupp Arena, with over 20,000 persons frequently attending per game.

NCAA tournament time is an exciting time here in Lexington.  Persons speculate on how UK will do, who will win, and compete with one another to see who can fill out their NCAA bracket most accurately. Over the years I’ve enjoyed comparing my predictions with those of others as we fill out brackets and compare them.

Basketball’s Origin

As a Christian, I like to keep in mind that basketball has some Christian roots since basketball’s inventor (Dr. James Naismith) graduated from a theological college and served as a chaplain. In fact, he also earned a medical degree, in addition to inventing and coaching basketball and being a physical education instructor.

This and much more biographical information about Dr. Naismith and the origin of basketball is available on numerous websites, including the websites Springfield.edu[8], NaismithBasketballFoundation.com[9], KansasHeritage.org[10], and Kansas Historical Society[11]. You can even hear Dr. Naismith talk about the invention of the game in an “excerpt from a January 31, 1939, broadcast of the radio program ‘We the People[12].’ ”

NCAA Tournament History

The first NCAA men's division I college basketball tournament took place in 1939. The tournament has occurred annually each year since.

Another tournament, the NIT, began in 1938 one year before the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament's early years, the NIT was more prestigious. 

The first NCAA tournament in 1939 only had eight teams. The size of the tournament has expanded several times over the years, culminating in its expansion to the current 68 team size beginning with the 2011 tournament.

From 1964-1975 UCLA under coach John Wooden won 10 NCAA titles over the 12 year period. That is a record that may never be broken. UCLA has a total of 11 NCAA titles counting its 1995 title under coach Jim Harrick. The University of Kentucky with 8 NCAA titles (under five different head coaches) ranks second in total titles behind UCLA.

Gambling on the NCAA Tournament

Many fans gamble on the tournament either by wagering on games or by paying to fill out tournament brackets for a gambling pool.  In some past years I’ve enjoyed placing some small bets with friends on the tournament or individual games.  But, I am basically opposed to gambling, and in recent years haven’t even placed any small friendly bets.  This year I won’t participate in any pools. And, since I didn’t win any of those friendly pools several years ago, please don’t expect any good predictions from me on the tournament.

Also, although my small friendly wagers years ago were only in fun—and my friends and I enjoyed them—I do know of cases where people got very upset over disputes about “small friendly bets.”  I do not advocate gambling with money, even in fun.  And, I especially think gambling on NCAA tournament pools may be starting to get out of hand.  I shudder at the possibility that someone may try to “fix” a game for gambling money.

You can find links to many articles about gambling scandals involving college basketball by searching the Internet. Due to a 2018 United States Supreme Court decision, sports betting has become legal in many more places in the United States, as I discussed in an article on the nowdefunct website CraftNewsReport[13] in 2019.

Please focus on the entertainment and don’t gamble any money you can’t afford to lose—better yet, don’t gamble any money.

More of My Personal Perspective and Closing Thoughts

I am not a big sports fan in general. I consider professional sports too professional.  I’ve never been a big fan of high school sports. And, other than college basketball and University of Kentucky football, college sports haven’t interested me a great deal.  But, Division I men’s (and women’s) college basketball still fascinates me, and in my home state of Kentucky is perhaps The Sport. Some claim basketball is almost a religion in Kentucky.

Personally, I am not as fanatic about college basketball as I used to be. But, I remain excited about the NCAA tournament, especially since the University of Kentucky is one of perhaps  a few dozen teams that may have the best chance to win the men's championship this year.

However, to put college basketball in perspective, I want to point out that obviously college academics are much more important than athletics.  It is sad in a sense that academics do not attract the publicity or fan support that athletics do.  Large numbers of alumni donate huge sums of money to schools specifically to attain quality season seats for college basketball (and college football).

For example, although the University of Kentucky has many fine features and programs, including its Patterson School of Diplomacy, its Pharmacy School, and a very nice library system, it is perhaps best known for its men’s basketball team.

And its basketball and football programs apparently generate enough revenue to pay for themselves, other sports programs at the university, and to help fund a few other things, as noted in the athletics department’s projections for the 2018-19 academic year stated in its 2018 annual report[14]  and apparently still true during the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2022, according to a UK webpage.[15] UK is apparently one of the few schools whose athletic department is self-sufficient, with a balanced budget.  

 .

Winning games keeps the fans who buy tickets and donate money happy and helps UK coach John Calipari keep his job.  But, all things in perspective.  Regarding the NCAA men's and women's tournaments, even though 67 of the 68 teams in each of this year’s tournaments will end their season with a loss, they are all winners if they play fair, have fun, and keep the proper perspective between athletics and academics.

This year there are a handful of teams picked as favorites among the men, but the University of Kentucky or any other one of the 68 teams has a chance. We will all have to wait and see. Even in the women's tournament, South Carolina is not an overwhelming favorite.

We college basketball fans need to keep all things in perspective -- even during “March Madness.”

Let’s make sure we make time for work, family, friends, doing good deeds, and for enjoying the upcoming spring weather.  And, remember that a university’s library is more important than its basketball team—although somehow it doesn’t seem to attract as much attention—especially for a few weeks in spring as March Madness makes its annual appearance! Enjoy!

ENDNOTES:

[1] “2023 Selection Sunday: Date, schedule, TV times for NCAA bracket reveals"; NCAA.com; March 6, 2023; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-06/2023-selection-sunday-date-schedule-tv-times

[2] "Men's College Basketball Rankings"; ESPN.com; 2022-23, Week 18 rankings; webpage accessed March 17, 2023; https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings

[3] "Women's Basketball Hall of Fame: General Information"; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.wbhof.com/plan-your-experience/general-information/

 

[4] "Men's Basketball: NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings"; NCAA.com; Through games March 6, 2023; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings

[5] "Women's Basketball: NCAA Women's Basketball NET Rankings"; NCAA.com; Through games March 7, 2023; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-basketball-net-rankings

[6] "2023 NCAA printable bracket, schedule for March Madness"; NCAA.com; March 6, 2023; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/mml-official-bracket/2023-03-06/2023-ncaa-printable-bracket-schedule-march-madness

[7] "2023 NCAA women's basketball bracket, printable tournament .PDF"; NCAA.com; February 10, 2023; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2023-02-10/2023-ncaa-womens-basketball-bracket-printable-tournament-pdf

[8] “Where Basketball Was Invented: The History of Basketball”; Springfield College website; webpage accessed February 22, 2020; https://springfield.edu/where-basketball-was-invented-the-birthplace-of-basketball

[9] “Dr. James Naismith’s Life”; NaismithBasketballFoundation.com; webpage accessed February 22, 2020; https://naismithbasketballfoundation.com/james-naismith-life/

[10] “History of Basketball: Dr. James Naismith, Inventor of Basketball”; KansasHeritage,org (site author George Laughead); webpage accessed February 22, 2020; http://www.kansasheritage.org/people/naismith.html

[11] “James Naismith”; Kansas Historical Society website; webpage accessed February 22, 2020; https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/james-naismith/12154

[12] “James Naismith’s Life and Legacy: Celebrating 150 Years: Radio Interview, 1939”; University of Kansas website; webpage accessed February 22, 2020; https://exhibits.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/show/naismith150/collections/radio-interview?platform=hootsuite

[13] James Edwin Gibson; “The Risky Business of Gambling”: CraftNewsReport.com; April 27, 2019; webpage accessed February 22, 2020; https://craftnewsreport.com/the-risks-of-gambling

[14] “2018 Athletics Annual Report”; University of Kentucky Athletics 2018 Annual Report; accessed via the webpage whose URL is listed below; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://storage.googleapis.com/ukathletics-com/2018/09/4c5cc484-2017_18_annual_report.pdf

[15] "University of Kentucky Independent Accountant's Report on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures Performed on the Intercollegiate Athletics Program as Required by NCAA Bylaw 3.2.4.17 Year Ended June 30, 2022"; uky.edu; webpage accessed March 7, 2023; https://www.uky.edu/trustees/sites/www.uky.edu.trustees/files/2022%20UK%20NCAA%20AUP%20Report%20FINAL.pdf

NOTE:

This article was last revised on March 7, 2023. It was originally submitted to Google Blogger on February 22, 2020 and at that time was virtually identical to one submitted to Craft News Report, a website operated by the author’s friend Paul Craft, earlier the same day, February 22, 2020. That article was adapted and updated from a post submitted to Google Blogger in March 2019, which was adapted from posts the author submitted to other websites in previous years.