Chapter 32: March Madness Opener
Sports in the U.S. are cyclical and often bring continuous surprises. When the audience was still immersed in the football showdown of the Super Bowl of the American "Spring Festival Gala" in February, the time had quietly come to March. March is definitely a special month for the United States, a month that makes the whole country restless, just because of a big holiday. This festival can allow presidential figures like O'Guanhai to participate, basketball god Michael Jordan to support his alma mater, and sponsors across the United States to compete for interests. It transcended sports and truly became a national event---- and this is March Madness.
"March Madness" refers to the NCAA's collegiate league knockout rounds held from mid-March to early April each year. Why "crazy"? The word swirled like a clear stream over the National Sports Festival in March, with hundreds of the nation's top college basketball teams battling it out for a 64-spot spot in the NCAA playout tournament. Each team sharpened their knives and embarked on a journey with their original dreams.
Of course, the NCAA has such a high level of attention in the United States, which is inextricably linked to the alma mater complex of Americans. Almost all Americans have watched a few basketball games in college, and even after graduation, everyone still has a heart for their alma mater and wants to bring glory to their alma mater. For example, in a game between the University of North Carolina and Duke University at home not long ago last year, Michael Jordan, a well-known alumnus of the University of North Carolina, came to the arena in person and wore a North Carolina jersey to cheer for his alma mater with the fans.
And the enthusiasm and dedication of fans across the United States to college league is unmatched by any other country. From President O'Kanhai to ordinary people, everyone is busy filling out their NCAA bracket and even making bets on the teams they support. Every year in March, the U.S. lottery makes a lot of money as a result.
As a full basketball fan, former U.S. President O'Ao Guanhai also filled out his own bracket yesterday. He predicts that the University of North Carolina will be the traditional powerhouse and the University of Louisville will be the finalists of the University of Louisville this year.
"Win, or go home!" That's the slogan of March Madness. And every game can be described as an all-round battle between two teams and even two schools on and off the field. In addition to the gladiatorial battles where college players do their best on the field, there is also a war between cheerleaders, team mascots and fans off the field. It can be described as a series of good shows, which is dizzying.
The NCAA tournament stage is much more complicated than the NBA's East-West East and West where the top eight are ranked by record and win-loss and then go all the way. One of the big reasons is that there are a lot of teams participating in the NCAA regular season, there are 328 colleges and universities of different sizes participating in the regular season in the whole United States, the NCAA is divided into 32 divisions in the country, plus some independent teams that do not belong to any division, the champion team of each regional tournament can get an automatic place in the tournament, and the Ivy League without a regional tournament is awarded a place by the division regular season champion, and if the two teams have the same record, they will play a single game at a neutral venue.
The eligibility of the remaining non-league champions is determined by a selection committee (made up of some schools' athletic directors and zone specialists), known as "invited spots". Invitations are based on a number of factors such as the team's record, form, division, and more. Every year after the regular season, the strong teams will lock in the invitation spots, and some teams with decent strength and marginal records are called "bubble teams". The result of the invitation will be announced on "Select Sunday".
The national championship is divided into East, West, Southeast and Southwest, with 17 teams in each region, and the seeding order is discharged, and the way to enter the tournament does not affect the seeding. The final two teams from each region play the first round of matches, which are held at the same venue, followed by a single-elimination tournament in which 16 teams play each other in a straight position. After reaching the round of 16, they will take a break for nearly a week and go to another city to continue the round of 16 and the round of 8, which are called the "Sweet 6" and "Elite 8" respectively.
The remaining teams from each region are called the "Final Four" and move to the semi-finals and finals at the venue where the Final Four will be held that year. The final four games of the year will be the focus of national attention, and the NCAA men's basketball championship is also the most lucrative sporting event in addition to the NFL playoffs (including the Super Bowl), surpassing the NBA and MLB playoffs.
Because the Trojans won the championship of the Pacific 12 Conference this year after four years, and the existence of the Chinese Li Mojie, who has attracted much attention as this year's top pick, the NCAA league specially arranged the Trojans in the opening game to face the opponent at Staples Arena, and the opponent is the University of Maryland, which has an excellent interior line this year.
The University of Maryland is the only large-scale comprehensive public institution of higher learning in the Washington area, founded in 1856, covering an area of 1,250 acres, or about 7,600 acres. The University is located in the heart of the City of College Park in Prince George County, Maryland, within the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is only 13 kilometers from Washington, D.C. The University of Maryland is one of the top 10 public universities in the United States and one of the Big Ten Conferences in the Midwest. This year, the University of Maryland, with center Alex Lane from Ukraine as the core, did not have a good record, but also reached the NCAA round of 64.
"Penguin Live, as a member, you can watch games from all over the world from home! Think about it, can you become stronger without recharging?" It is still the trio of Duan Xu, Zhang Weiping and Xu Yi who broadcast today's NCAA game. Since the last Penguin live broadcast, Li Mojie led the team to reverse UCLA in the Double Heroes and played terrifying statistics, the post-game statistical ratings of that game actually exceeded the ratings of the Guangdong team and the Xinjiang team in the CBA finals last year, so the shrewd Penguin immediately bought all the games of the Trojans in the next NCAA. If it weren't for Li Mojie's current inability to sign an endorsement contract, maybe he would have signed him a long time ago.
The advertising words are all done: Hello everyone, I'm Li Mojie, a disconnected city and a weak warrior, a knife of ninety-nine levels, the treasures all depend on fighting, I am waiting for you here!
"Director Zhang, do you know the news of this year's draft?" Teacher Duan first threw out a question.
"Of course I know, this year was an absolute draft year, but there was a Chinese star who might have been elected the champion in previous years!" Coach Zhang's face is not difficult for me.
"Yes, yes, Li Mojie is known as the star who is most likely to become the second Chinese champion!" The one next to him who leaked out of the big white legs was responsible for Xu Yi said in her sweet voice.
"It seems that we will not have less time to deal with him in the future!" Teacher Duan sighed.
"Well, last time we Penguin Sports News sent someone to interview, but unfortunately they didn't send me, what a pity!" Xu Yi said with a look of pity.
"Haha, don't worry, there will be a chance, are you afraid that he won't have a chance when he enters the NBA?" Director Zhang said with a smile.
At Staples Arena, the USC Trojans are warming up for their opener in minutes' time.
"Anderson, excited?" Li Mojie practiced shooting, and looked at Anderson next to him with a malicious expression.
"Of course I'm excited, this is Staples Arena, and you see the big stars sitting next to me, oh my God, there are more than the last time we came!" Anderson said nervously.
Li Mojie's eyes swept away, and he could recognize them alone: Cameron Diaz, Adam. Sandler, Stallone, and some Chinese faces: International Zhang, Daniel Wu and others.
When these big stars saw Li Mojie looking at them, they also waved to Mojie, a new star who has attracted a lot of attention recently, which greatly satisfied Li Mojie's little vanity, it turns out that he is also a character now!
"Huh, and her?" Suddenly, Li Mojie saw a female star with a sweet smile, this is Chen Yanxi, who ruined her image because of filming a Condor Heroine in later generations, but Li Mojie immediately reacted, this xiaolongbao is indeed his alumnus, and it makes sense to come and see, is it now to remind her not to accept the script of a screenwriter surnamed Yu in the future?
"Hey, Mojie, do you know her?" Richardson saw that Li Mojie had been staring at a Chinese woman, and walked over and asked.
"Ah, no, oh, I do know each other, but I don't know each other." Li Mojie hesitated.
"It's okay, Anderson, you're one of the players who could be drafted in the first round this year, and they're all here to see you play!" Anderson exhaled deeply and said to himself. Anderson benefited from the team's excellent record and Li Mojie's assist ability, excellent pie-eating ability, and there is really no great rookie this year, so he, a player with the same role as another Rocket's Anderson, is also predicted to be selected at the top of the second round, of course, if the luck is really good, then the end of the first round is not out of luck.