March is always an exciting month. Students go on spring break, the weather becomes warm again, and most importantly, it’s also arguably the best month of basketball: March Madness. Also known as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it is like the playoffs for college basketball, where 64 teams from all around the country compete over 2-3 weeks for a national championship. The event also opens the possibilities of upsets from mid-major and smaller schools against national powerhouses, most notably the 16th seed vs 1st seed and 15th seed vs 2nd seed upsets, such as 16. FDU’s upset vs 1. Purdue in 2023, 16. UMBC’s upset vs 1. Virginia in 2018, etc. Also, bracket-making is very popular, where fans and many other people who don’t even follow college basketball predict their bracket for the tournament. No one has ever achieved a perfect bracket, which makes it more interesting.

Last night, April 6, was the D1 Men’s basketball national championship between UConn and Michigan, with Michigan winning 69:63, claiming the title. It was a back-and-forth game between two teams, just like how March Madness usually is.

When predicting for this year’s bracket prior to the tournament, Hill boys varsity basketball coach Seth Eilburg said in order to win a championship, you have to be the “toughest team mentally and physically.” Eilberg thought that the Houston Cougars were the strongest candidate, but now that Houston lost to Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen.

“Based on how consistently they’ve played, played well throughout the year, I’d say Arizona,” Eilberg said. However, he also mentioned that “Michigan’s playing really well and Illinois is playing really wel and UConn seems to find a way.”

Looking at it this way, every team in the Final Four that will be played in Indianapolis has an equal chance. According to the ESPN tournament challenge, where the brackets are being made, 23.1% of users picked Duke to win the championship, 20.9% picked Arizona, 14.2% picked Michigan. The eventual Final Four turned out to be Illinois against UConn, and Arizona vs Michigan.

As we can see, a pattern that has been going on is that top-seeded teams are consistently making the Final Four instead of exiting from early upsets. This was especially apparent last year when all four 1-seeded teams from each region (Florida, Auburn, Duke, Houston) made the Final Four. The NIL and transfer portal are a big cause of such an effect. NIL, also known as Name, Image, and Likeness, is an athlete’s personal right to control how their personal rights are being used. Top, wealthy programs pay athletes with endorsements to create financial packages that allow most talents to be stacked among these top programs. The transfer portal also plays a significant role, a system where athletes can transfer and search for a new school, usually influenced by NIL.

When comparing Miami of Ohio, a mid-major team that went undefeated in the regular season, to powerhouses such as Michigan, Mr. Eilburg said, “What gave the Miami of Ohios a chance to beat the Michigans of the world with one-and-done talented freshmen was that Miami of Ohios would have a team that maybe five seniors have played together for four, five year as those guys in Miami Ohio get better, they usually end up at the Michigan’s of the world because they can make so much more money there.”

However, when asked whether the NIL and transfer portal will make March Madness less exciting, Mr. Eilburg stated that “I don’t think it’s made, you know, watching the tournament any less exciting. It’s still, if you love basketball and you love competition, it’s a great event.”

Hill also has many connections with March Madness. Eilburg mentioned that there have been many D1, 2, and 3 basketball athletes who have come out of Hill and competed in each of the tournaments in their divisions. Ryan Moffat played in four NCAA tournaments during his collegiate career with Colgate, Aaron Osgood played in two

tournaments for Cornell, and the most recent, Augustus Gerhart, was the starting power forward for UPenn in this year’s tournament. Talking about if there might be more Hill Alums playing in March Madness,

March is always an exciting month. Students go on spring break, the weather becomes warm again, and most importantly, it’s also arguably the best month of basketball – March Madness. Also known as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it is like the playoffs for college basketball, where 64 teams from all around the country compete over 2-3 weeks for a national championship. March Madness is exciting and attracts a large audience, mostly because all games are single-elimination games, opening the possibilities of game-winning shots. It also opens the possibilities of upsets from mid-major and smaller schools against national powerhouses, most notably the 16th seed vs 1st seed and 15th seed vs 2nd seed upsets, such as 16. FDU’s upset vs 1. Purdue in 2023, 16. UMBC’s upset vs 1. Virginia in 2018, etc. Also, bracket-making is very popular, where fans and many other people who don’t even follow college basketball predict their bracket for the tournament. No one has ever achieved a perfect bracket, which makes it more interesting.

Last night, April 6th, was the D1 Men’s basketball national championship between UConn and Michigan, with Michigan winning 69:63, claiming the title. It was a back-and-forth game between two teams, just like how March Madness usually is.

When predicting for this year’s bracket prior to the tournament, Hill Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Mr. Eilburg said in order to win a championship, you have to be the “toughest team mentally and physically”, and he thought that the Houston Cougars were the strongest candidate, but now that Houston lost to Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen, “based on how consistently they’ve played, played well throughout the year, I’d say Arizona”, Mr. Eilburg said. However, he also mentioned that “Michigan’s playing really well and Illinois is playing really well…and UConn seems to find a way.” Looking at it this way, every team in the Final Four that will be played in Indianapolis has an equal chance. According to the ESPN tournament challenge, where the brackets are being made, 23.1% of users picked Duke to win the championship, 20.9% picked Arizona, 14.2% picked Michigan. The eventual Final Four turned out to be Illinois against UConn, and Arizona vs Michigan.

As we can see, a pattern that has been going on is that top-seeded teams are consistently making the Final Four instead of exiting from early upsets. This was especially apparent last year when all four 1-seeded teams from each region (Florida, Auburn, Duke, Houston) made the Final Four. The NIL and transfer portal are a big cause of such an effect. NIL, also known as Name, Image, and Likeness, is an athlete’s personal right to control how their personal rights are being used. Top, wealthy programs pay athletes with endorsements to create financial packages that allow most talents to be stacked among these top programs. The transfer portal also plays a significant role, a system where athletes can transfer and search for a new school, usually influenced by NIL.

When comparing Miami of Ohio, a mid-major team that went undefeated in the regular season, to powerhouses such as Michigan, Mr. Eilburg said, “What gave the Miami of Ohios a chance to beat the Michigans of the world with one-and-done talented freshmen was that Miami of Ohios would have a team that maybe five seniors have played together for four, five years…as those guys in Miami Ohio get better, they usually end up at the Michigan’s of the world because they can make so much more money there.” However, when asked whether the NIL and transfer portal will make March Madness less exciting, Mr. Eilburg stated that “I don’t think it’s made, you know, watching the tournament any less exciting. It’s still, if you love basketball and you love competition, it’s a great event.”

Hill also has many connections with March Madness. Mr. Eilburg mentioned that there have been many D1, 2, and 3 basketball athletes who have come out of Hill and competed in each of the tournaments in their divisions. Ryan Moffat played in four NCAA tournaments during his collegiate career with Colgate, Aaron Osgood played in two

tournaments for Cornell, and the most recent, Augustus Gerhart, was the starting power forward for UPenn in this year’s tournament. Talking about if there might be more Hill Alums playing in March Madness, Eilburg said that “we’ll always have guys in that…Maybe Ethan Johnston, who’s heading to Marquette, who’s usually in the tournament.” Not only in Division 1, but Hill Alums have also strived in the Division 3 tournaments. Justin Mullen, who was also player of the year in the NEWMAC conference, led his team, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, to the tournament. Josh Cameron and his Wesleyan team went all the way to the D3 Final Four and played in the national championship last season.

March Madness has always been one of the top sports entertainments in the world, and for good reasons, such as bracket making, watching thrilling games, etc. Even with the rising concerns of the transfer portal and NIL, it does not make March Madness any less exciting. Moreover, Hill has many ties in March Madness at many levels of competition, and will continue to have more in the future

“We’ll always have guys in that…Maybe Ethan Johnston, who’s heading to Marquette, who’s usually in the tournament.” Not only in Division 1, but Hill Alums have also strived in the Division 3 tournaments. Justin Mullen, who was also player of the year in the NEWMAC conference, led his team, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, to the tournament. Josh Cameron and his Wesleyan team went all the way to the D3 Final Four and played in the national championship last season.

March Madness has always been one of the top sports entertainments in the world, and for good reasons, such as bracket making, watching thrilling games, etc. Even with the rising concerns of the transfer portal and NIL, it does not make March Madness any less exciting. Moreover, Hill has many ties in March Madness at many levels of competition, and will continue to have more in the future.