As March Madness gets closer, NCAA Division 1 basketball teams prepare for the single elimination tournament. The tournament is very popular around the world, and  people are constantly watching basketball all day. 

“I like that there are a lot of games going on at the same time, and it’s really exciting. You never have to watch any commercials,” said English teacher Dustin Zubert.

 People aren’t only excited to watch basketball and watching top seeds being upset, but they are also filling out brackets to win money. The question is are there any strategies on filling out a bracket?

“A lot of times I just have to go with my gut or fill it out with whatever my instincts tell me. It’s usually always wrong,” said girls varsity basketball coach Brian Frericks.

Deciding on the brackets is very difficult since top teams are always getting knocked out by lower seeds, which messes up everyone’s bracket.

“(It is) mostly based on watching games. I like to watch college basketball, so whatever I’ve seen, I think they are going to win or not,” said assistant boys basketball coach Scott Ewen. 

Although March Madness has been doing brackets since 1851, there has never been a perfect bracket. But you can be the first.

NCAA men’s college basketball isn’t the only thing fans should be excited about because Iowa’s women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark has been making history. Clark, who just broke the Division l women’s basketball scoring record, has been making people realize that women’s basketball is just as exciting as men’s basketball. 

“I think she’s the most amazing basketball player that’s ever played, and I hope she stays at Iowa for a fifth year actually, instead of going to the pros,” Ewen said.

 “Caitlin Clark is awesome. Basically for the game of basketball. She has a lot more eyeballs, especially the girls basketball. She’s just a great person for the game, and I can’t wait to see her in the WNBA,” Frericks said. 

NCAA women’s basketball is also very exciting to watch, especially with players like JuJu Watkins out of USC who has been putting up multiple 40 point games. And LSU’s Angel Reese who has been dominating college basketball. But Caitlin Clark’s historical four years of basketball at the University of Iowa is a big reason why people are starting to realize that women’s sports are just as great as men’s sports.