The History of March Madness and the NCAA Basketball Tournament
Does the term, “March Madness” make you feel like “Alice in Wonderland”? When you hear co-workers talk about who’s going to “the Big Dance”; do you wish you had signed up for the free dance lessons your sister mentioned? If you answered, “Yes!” to either of these questions, you must be new to NCAA Basketball wagering. Welcome to TodayPicks.net! We can help you find your way into the exciting world of March Madness betting and handicapping.
The History of March Madness
Where did the term, “March Madness” come from? “March Madness” is based on the phrase, “Mad as a March hare”. This phrase references the wild, frantic behavior of hares during their mating season, (beginning in March and ending in late April). Usage of the phrase dates back to the 16th Century. Today, some Americans may only associate the term with literature or a crazy relative, while the English use the term to refer to wasteful spending at the end of the budget year. However, no matter where they live, American College Basketball fans know that, “March Madness” can mean only one thing: the Annual NCAA Basketball Tournament!
The NCAA Basketball Tournament
The NCAA Basketball Tournament has been an annual event since 1939. The term, “March Madness” was originally coined by the Indiana High School Association for their annual basketball championships. After Chicago-based sports reporter, Brent Musberger, used the term to describe the NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1982, it became synonymous with the tournament. As there are now 65 schools participating in the tournament, it is sometimes referred to as the “Big Dance”. No matter what you call it, if you plan to wager on the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament, you don’t want to be wildly wasting your money making the wrong bets. TodayPicks.net can help you gain a better understanding of the teams that make up the 2007 College Basketball field with our newsletter. It’s free and full of great information you can use to succeed. Sign up today for TodayPicks.net Free Picks Newsletter.
Today, the 65 teams who participate in the annual tournament are chosen by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee based on the team’s College Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The RPI assigned to each team takes into consideration the team’s schedule, which teams they played and, how tough their opponents were. Once the participating college teams have been determined, the tournament officially starts with the “play-in game” then, it’s off and running for the next few weeks.
2007 March Madness Basketball Championship
The 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament promises to be one of the most exciting in recent years. Much of the pre-tournament media coverage will focus on speculation about which teams will advance through the single elimination competition to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight and, onto the Final Four as the field of competition dwindles to the 4 college basketball teams that represent this season’s best of the best. Finally, the season’s championship game will be played between the winning teams from the Final Four. As you can see there are many opportunities for wagering on the games. The excitement of higher stakes wagering increases as the tournament reaches the final stages. But, why wait? You can start winning today with the purchase of a regular season game pick or choose a weekly or monthly NCAA Picks Package!
