COLUMN: March Madness draws to a close

Apr. 6—March Madness comes to a close this weekend for both the men and women's brackets, and I would be lying if I said that my men's bracket is doing very well.

On the other hand, my women's bracket has faired quite nicely, predicting three out of the four Final Four teams correctly (UConn, South Carolina and Iowa).

This is personally one of my favorite times of the year simply because magic is in the air. When it comes to the pros and even college football now due to NIL, it is typically a little bit easier to predict who will end up on top. However, in March Madness it truly is a toss up. Whoever can play the best six-game stretch will come out on top. And in NC State's case, the best 11-game stretch because they have won nine in a row just to get to this point.

Before we dive into the madness a little bit more, I'd like to share what really got me into it. Growing up I mainly watched two teams play, that being Illinois and Iowa. But I really fell in love with basketball by watching Tom Izzo coach the Michigan State Spartans.

Watching Sparty play was and still is simultaneously exciting and heart wrenching knowing how quickly the tide can change in a game. That last part is what really got me into it though. The swift changes to a game's momentum as well as the upsets that happen every year.

That is truly what has turned me into a March Madness fan, watching four games at once to take in as much basketball as I can before it's over.

Now here we are, nearing the end and come Monday night we will be ready for it to start all over again.

By the time this article comes out in Saturday's edition we will know who will be playing the NCAA Women's National Championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. on ABC. But I do not know who is going to win, and I am not even going to try to predict it. All I will say is that I am pulling for Iowa.

The women's tournament has brought such a unique experience that I am not sure I have ever gotten from the women's side of things. They have the superstar edge.From Caitlin Clark's record-breaking season for the Hawkeyes to the Paige Bueckers-led Connecticut Huskies as well as the loaded and undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks. Also let us not forget about NC State and the other stars from the Elite Eight in Juju Watkins and Angel Reese.

I have never enjoyed women's hoops as much as I do right now, and it certainly has to do with the amount of star power and the exposure to the Clark effect living close to Iowa City. I am excited to see how this all plays out and to see how Clark's talents will translate to the WNBA because we all know they most certainly will.

Moving and finishing with the men's tournament. Like I mentioned before, this bracket has not been very kind to me. Although I originally picked Connecticut, I doubted their ability to go back to back, so I swapped my pick to North Carolina. That did not pan out and here they are, matching up with Alabama for a trip to the title game on the line.

I believe they will make it back to the championship. Their offense is just as good as Alabama's and their defense is just too good. They also make second half adjustments better than almost anyone in college basketball. The only way Alabama can win this game is if they get hot from behind the arc like they did against North Carolina.

Jumping over to Purdue and NC State, the matchup between 7'4" Zach Edey and 6'10" DJ Burns is going to be must-see television. Purdue loves to play in the post behind Edey, who can also kick it out to his shooters whenever he feels pressured.

NC State also has played behind Burns in the post and rode the hot hand of DJ Horne. Oddly enough, I covered Horne when he started his career at Illinois State University, and I love seeing a former Redbird making his mark.

At the end of the day, I like Purdue to win this one especially if their shooters shoot the ball even remotely well and set up a number one seed clash with the Huskies.

Unfortunately for the Boilermakers, I just think Connecticut is too good. They can score better than Purdue and they can adapt better than anyone so give me Connecticut to repeat for their sixth title and third in the last 10 seasons.

I would love to hear about how your brackets have turned out both men's and women's so feel free to reach out via my email address, eschweizer@clintonherald.com, to share.