“Honestly, there have been so many upsets and crazy games so far this season that it’s going to be impossible to predict how this upcoming March Madness will play out,” said Senior Keegan Dirks.

  The annual college basketball tournament known as March Madness will begin March 15 and will feature the top 68 teams in the nation who will all be competing for the Naismith Trophy, as well as the title of top college basketball team in the country.

  The regular season preceding this year’s tournament has been filled with numerous upsets by several unranked teams. According to sports media website SB Nation, the top ranked Oklahoma Sooners suffered a 15 point loss to the Iowa State Cyclones who were ranked 19 at the time. Along with this, defending champions Duke recently gave up three games in a row all to unranked teams (sbnation.com).

  The upcoming tournament will feature several of the top ranked individual players in the country. This includes LSU Forward Ben Simmons, Providence Guard Kris Dunn, as well as top ranked Oklahoma Guard Buddy Hield, who has led the Sooners to a current 18-2 record. According to CBS Sports, Hield is averaging nearly 27 points, five rebounds, and two assists per game. He is currently making 52 percent of his field shots as well as hitting 52 percent of his three pointers (cbssports.com).

  One of the biggest stories surrounding this year’s tournament includes the self-imposed postseason ban that the Louisville Cardinals have placed on themselves in response to recent allegations against Former Staff Member Andre McGee. The allegations include the hiring of dancers to perform sexual acts with several of the recruits and players on the Louisville team. According to ESPN Go, Former Escort Katina Powell stated that nearly 18 to 19 women were brought to the Louisville dorms and paid to perform sexual acts with players and recruits for money between 2010 and 2014 (espngo.com). This ban will keep the 19-5 Cardinals from participating in the upcoming March Madness tournament.

  Postseason bans have also been placed on the SMU Mustangs for several NCAA violations including academic fraud and unethical conduct. According to SB Nation, the SMU basketball team now faces a one-year postseason ban along with a loss of nine scholarships over the next three seasons (sbnation.com).

  As the season continues to push closer to the start of the tournament, several predictions of seedings have already been made. According to CBS Sports, top ranked teams such as Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma and Xavier may be expecting number one seeds (cbssports.com).

  As no clear favorite has yet to be seen, several teams may have surprises in store for this upcoming tournament. Senior John Kidman said, “I think there are definitely a good amount of dark horses who could really do well in the tournament this year, such as Oregon and Arizona.”

  Several have voiced their own opinion on who they wish to see holding up the Naismith Trophy this year. “I want Xavier to win because they are consistent. They have not been upsetted by an unranked teams this year,” said Senior Johnny Salas.

  Principal Jeff Olivero said, “I’ve been watching USC this year, and I  really think they could do well in the tournament. Typically their team isn’t great, but this year, they are doing very well.”