Scrambling to do background research on teams to pick for their brackets, Mr. Traina, Junior Dante Wiley, Junior Rodrick Durant-Hicks, and Mr. Sonnenberg attempted to make the perfect bracket in time for the start of March Madness.

They all have been watching college basketball throughout this year and rooting for their underdogs and favorites to win. Each of them have different teams they believe had a really good season and will keep up their performance during the tournament. 

“Auburn has been consistently dominant all year. When you have a coach that brings a lot of energy, you’re in good hands,” Mr. Traina said. 

While Mr Traina has Auburn to continue to perform well, Dante Wiley believes that Duke will keep up their great play going into the tournament.

“Before Cooper Flagg got hurt, Tyrese Proctor and Isaiah Evans were still there making them a really good team,” Wiley said.

While 64 teams make the tournament, it is always some teams that people believe should’ve gotten in that didn’t. It was a couple of teams this year that a lot of people believed should’ve gotten in. For, Mr. Sonnenberg that team is I.U.

“Indiana beat Purdue and Michigan State AT Michigan State which are two really big wins, but they had too many losses to teams they should’ve beat,” he said.

Mr. Sonnenberg and Durant-Hicks both agree that Indiana should have gotten into the tournament.

“Indiana is a better all around team than North Carolina,” Durant-Hicks said, commenting on the team that lost in its first game.

With teams approaching the Sweet 16, many top teams are still in the running. Mr Traina believes that Alabama will take it all.

“Every game I have watched, they played like losing isn’t a option. They aren’t selfish and they have a great leader in Mark Sears,” he said. 

Rodrick Durant-Hicks sees a different team in mind: Florida.

“They play really well together and have barely lost to any top 25 teams in the country,” Durant-Hicks said.

Every year it is a new team that has the famous “Cinderella” run and makes it deep into the tournament. It is a wide variety of lower seeded teams that have a good chance of making a run but Dante Wiley believes Arkansas has it in them.

“If they set their egos aside and play basketball the way John Calapari wants them to play, they can have a cinderella run,” Wiley said.

Arkansas has a lot of talent and experience, but Mr. Sonnenberg thinks that BYU is the sleeper this year.

“They’re good and no one knows about them, they are also on really late at night,” Mr. Sonnenberg said.