Embracing March Madness

Fans of college basketball wait all year long for the glorious weeks that encompass the NCAA men’s basketball tournament that is better known as March Madness.

It’s an amazing time, with March Madness brackets being shown off and fans closely monitoring games that have the potential to bust their precious, perfect brackets.

MARCH MADNESS BETTING

When it comes to betting on NCAA games, William Hill has you covered with all manner of wagers, ranging from spreads to totals to prop bets that offer loads of promise.

Gambling on March Madness is massive, and betting tips abound, with everyone proffering a more efficient way to take home the cash

In terms of money laid down, March Madness 2024 generated some $2.7 billion in action, according to the American Gaming Association.

This year, gamblers are expected to pony up $3.1 billion to make the games fun to watch and potentially profitable.

A SLAM-DUNK HISTORY

But things did not start out so gloriously. In fact, the opening tipoff was a rather small-scale affair. The first NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament took place in 1939 with few people seeing the potential.

There were just eight teams competing for the title. The tournament championship was taken down by the Oregon Webfoots, who beat the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 46 – 33.

While game attendance was generally sparse, James Naismith, the man who invented basketball, sat in the stands for the final showdown.

Despite beginning slow, the finals grew quickly. In 1951, it became a 16-team tournament. Then the finals doubled again in ’75 and grew to 64 teams in 1985.

THE COINING OF MARCH MADNESS

Though the term “March Madness” was first uttered by a high school basketball official in 1939, he used the term to reference basketball in general.

The sportscaster Brent Musberger applied the great handle to the NCAA finals in 1982. He was in the midst of commenting on tournament upsets when he enthused, “Folks, it’s madness. It’s March Madness!”

Catchy and descriptive, the moniker stuck. A lot grabbier than NCAA Finals, it’s how we all describe the string of fabulously competitive, do-or-die games that are, right now, in full swing.

THE MADNESS GOES BIG

The first title game to hit the airwaves took place in 1954. It was only shown in America, and, even there, viewing opportunities were limited to certain locales.

Coverage trundled along until 1968. That was when number-one ranked UCLA squared off against the number-two University of Houston. Nearly 53,000 fans squeezed into the Astrodome for the game and some 20-million fans watched from home. Suddenly, the NCAA was a hot ticket.

Houston won that year, 71 – 69.

History was hinted at this past Saturday night, when Houston won again, this time in an early matchup against Gonzaga. The Cougars took down the game but failed to cover the pre-tipoff point-spread.

But there are more games to come, more wagers to be made, and, throughout the tournament, there will be no shortage of viewers. Games played in the first round averaged 12.2 million sets of eyeballs.

WOMEN’S MARCH MADNESS

March Madness is not just for the men. Women’s March Madness kicked off on March 23 and its games will be every bit as much fun to watch and to bet on as the men’s version.

The UCLA Bruins stand out as the top seed. But the team will have to work hard to win this year, with the South Carolina Gamecocks, women’s champs of 2024, working hard to hang onto their crown.

No doubt, the betting will be hot and heavy on William Hill.

WHO’S LIKELY TO WIN IT ALL?

Right now, the front runner for men’s March Madness is the Duke Blue Devils. They won their first match, against Mount St. Mary’s by an impressive 44 points. Then Duke went on to crush Baylor via an 89 – 66 rout.

While the Blue Devils seem unlikely to give up very many points against whatever teams they take on, the beauty of March Madness is that it’s unwise to count out any school that remains in the running.

After all, when it comes to March Madness, we all love the Cinderella stories along with the cash returns they generate for gamblers who enjoy long odds and big payoffs.