The complete history of March Madness

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March Madness has retained its image as one of the college scene’s most popular and highly anticipated annual sporting events due to the amazing talent that is on display every year for the various prestigious collegiate programs that continue to amass a strong charge towards national title glory on a regular occurrence.

The overall amount of popularity directed towards the beginning of this year’s March Madness tournament has stemmed from years of continuous success and development of some of the game’s most impressive all-time greatest players.

Future hall of famers and NBA All-Stars once made a name for themselves at the collegiate level before heading to the league, with many college fans now often expressing their interest in witnessing the next generation of future NBA players in action during their years at college.

The tournament has remained a pinnacle part of all future basketball developmental programs and is an elevated platform for all college athletes to utilize in an effort to notify scouts and front office members of popular professional ball clubs as to what skills they have to offer at the top level of play.

There is a great amount of history and privilege that has resonated with the NCAA and the March Madness tournament since its earlier years of establishment way back in the late 1930s, with many of the game’s greatest ever college athletes often showcasing their attributes on the biggest stage for all the sports world to see.

  • The most successful team’s in the history of March Madness:

There are several schools who have since made a strong showing as one of the many top destinations for a variety of high-profile talents that are planning on making the swift transition across from high school to college basketball.

The most successful team in the history of the NCAA remains to be the UCLA Bruins who have claimed an astounding eleven National titles in their program’s entire history, with their latest being as far back as 1995.

The Bruins dominated the college scene from 1964 through to 1975 as they would win ten titles across an eleven-year stint, with the likes of future hall of famers Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton donning the fabled white and gold of UCLA during that span.

Second to the Bruins, for most national titles, is the Kentucky Wildcats who have since enjoyed several years of success throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, through to their dynasty years in 1996 and 1998 as well as their most recent title win in 2012 where they were led by the future number one overall pick and NBA Champion Anthony Davis alongside several other NBA All-Star talents.

Alongside the success of UCLA and Kentucky stands the likes of the North Carolina Tar Heels (6 titles) as well as their bitter rivals Duke and fellow historic program Indiana who are both tied for five titles.

This year’s latest March Madness predictions have placed early expectations on the likes of the Houston Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks and the Alabama Crimson Tide to emerge as lively contenders for this year’s title.

  • The origins of March Madness:

The first rendition of the postseason college tournament dates way back to 1939 which was originally an NCAA Division I Men’s basketball event that held eight teams with the Oregon Ducks becoming the inaugural champions after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the final.

During the years since this initial tournament, the NCAA has since expanded the competition from eight to upwards of 64 teams with these past expansions taking place in 1951, which improved the competition to 16 teams, a secondary expansion in 1975 which doubled to 32, and finally in 1985 when the tournament firmly settled on the number of teams competing today.

Whilst the tournament is known by the fabled March Madness tagline for today’s broadcasts, this was never a fully utilized aspect of the event until it was muttered on commentary by legendary basketball and football announcer Brent Musberger with the term now being used for all future renditions of the event to this day.

When it comes to individual moments of brilliance throughout the tournament some of the very best can include the highest scoring game in the tournament’s history which was the Loyola Marymount Lion’s impressive 149-115 victory over the Michigan Wolverines or Notre Dame legend Austin Carr’s impeccable 61 point showing over the Buckeyes in 1970 which remains as the all-time record for the most points in a single tournament game.

The tournament has remained as one of the college scene’s most impactful and highly respected events ahead of season, with this event also garnering a widespread amount of media coverage from all major mainstream corporations as fans of the sport continue to express their excitement surrounding the next top college stars who are set to take the event by storm.