Madness on the court March served as both a time for Gables students to enjoy college basketball and learn about European History

BY SELA PENA, STAFF WRITER

MARCH MADNESS, ONE of the biggest basketball tournaments of the year, fnished in early April. While some fans simply watch the games to enjoy some classic basketball, millions of others virtually compete in the men’s and women’s tournaments in hopes of achieving the impossible: a perfect bracket. In addition to this tradition, the University of Miami (U.M.) made it to at least the “Elite 8” round in both tournaments, making the month of March an exciting one for Miami fans and Gables students.

Business magnate Warren Buffet offered $1 billion to anyone who could create a perfect bracket and predict the winner of every single game, as per Bleacher Report. Despite the odds of predicting every single game correctly, considering each game a 5050 bet, being 1 in 9.2 quintillion, according to the NCAA, every bracket creator goes into the tournament with high hopes that they will be the frst to accomplish the feat. The thrill of the challenge and the possibility of winning big keep people coming back year after year.

“The bracket shows how much support you are willing to potentially lose for your team. It says a lot about your support for a team” sophomore Alexander Contreras said.

U.M.’s men’s and women’s basketball teams both put on a great performance during March Madness, beating all odds and winning over fans with their grit and determination. The men’s team, seeded ffth, made it to the Final Four for the frst time in U.M.’s history Meanwhile, the women’s team, seeded ninth, also had a strong run, making it all the way to the Elite Eight before falling to third-seed Louisiana State University (LSU), the tournament’s winner.

“I was hoping for U.M. to win the whole thing and I was still very proud that a school so close to us made it so far,” freshman Santiago Paguaga said.

As March Madness endured, Gables’ AP European History teacher Kathryn Landsea made her own similar bracket challenge right outside her classroom. Euro Madness, as it was called, allowed sophomore students to choose between many infuential people in European history in each round of the “tournament”. Although there were no defnite upsets in Euro Madness, it was an interesting way to incorporate education into a popular event. The main reason Landsea created this is that it gave her students a way to review for the fnal AP exam while also connecting it to a popular event that many know about. In order for a winner to be chosen, Landsea had her students place a vote on who they thought the most signifcant individual in history was. Adolf Hitler was named the most infuential individual in the course. of NCAA March Madness brackets have ever predicted every game correctly

“I think it served as a good review of major fgures in AP Euro and their accomplishments and contributions,” AP European History teacher Kathryn Landsea said.

On the sports side, March gave basketball fans something to watch anxiously in hopes of maintaining a good bracket or simply enjoying the game.

13 cities across the United States hosted games for the March Madness Men’s tournament