Story by Sam Bell, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of PBS

For those that kept tabs on college hoops this year, it is very obvious that this season has been nothing but absolute madness. Throughout the regular season thus far, there have been five teams to upset the number one seed, as well as the multiple top ten upsets that took place. And the tournament hasn’t even started yet.

After a weekend of absolute insanity during the conference tournaments, the bracketology experts were ready to publish the 2016 March Madness bracket.
Before I break down who is where in the bracket, there are a few things those that don’t follow sports should know. The bracket is broken down into four regions: Midwest, east, west and south. Each region of the bracket has teams seeded 1-16, so that is why there are more than one #1 seeds and so on.

So, let’s get down to business. Starting with the South region, it goes as follows: #1 Kansas will face off against #16 Austin Peay, #9 UConn goes up against #8 Colorado, #5 Maryland vs. #12 South Dakota State, #4 California vs. #13 Hawaii, #2 Villanova vs. #15 UNC Asheville, #7 Iowa vs. #10 Temple, #3 Miami (FL) vs. #14 Buffalo, and #6 Arizona will take on the #11 seed, which will be either Vanderbilt or Wichita State.

The next region that was revealed was the West. Here’s where the committee believes each team should be placed: #1 Oregon vs. the winner of #16 Holy Cross or Southern, #8 Saint Joseph’s vs. #9 Cincinnati, #5 Baylor goes up against #12 Yale, #4 Duke faces #13 UNC Wilmington, #2 Oklahoma vs. #15 California State Bakersfield, #7 Oregon State vs. #10 VCU, #3 Texas A&M vs. #14 Green Bay, and #6 Texas vs. #11 Northern Iowa.

Next up, we have the East region. This is how it will be lined up: #1 UNC will face the winner of FGCU and F Dickinson, #8 USC vs. #9 Providence, #5 Indiana vs. #12 Chattanooga, #4 Kentucky vs. #13 Stony Brooke, #2 Xavier vs. #15 Weber State, #7 Wisconsin vs. #10 Pittsburgh, #3 West Virginia vs. #14 Stephen F. Austin, and #6 Notre Dame will face the winner of Michigan and Tulsa (Go Blue!)

Last, but certainly not least, we have the Midwest region. They line up as follows: #1 Virginia vs. #16 Hampton, #8 Texas Tech vs. #9 Butler, #5 Purdue vs. #12 Little Rock, #4 Iowa State vs. #13 Iona, #2 MSU vs. #15 Middle Tennessee, #7 Dayton vs. #10 Syracuse, #3 Utah vs. #14 Fresno State and #6 Seton Hall vs. #11 Gonzaga.

So there we have it folks, the 2016 March Madness bracket. So print off your brackets, fill them out, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

About the writer…

Sam Bell is a sophomore from Mackinaw City. She played three sports in grade school, including basketball, volleyball, and softball. Outside of reporting on sports, Sam enjoys listening to music, hanging out with her friends, and with her cat, Oliver. She is a Psychology and Community Leadership major and is considering Sports Journalism.