March Madness in full swing

Sports – The Branding Iron Online
It’s that magical time of year again. The time of year where fans from around the country come together in celebration of one of sports most iconic events. It’s a time when upsets, buzzer-beaters and absolute madness endure. It’s March again, and the NCAA tournament is underway.
People of all ages print off their brackets, scribble in their picks and watch the television intently for three weeks, praying for a years worth of bragging rights. Some, if lucky, have a chance to watch their college compete for one of basketball’s highest honors, but only one team will leave “The Big Dance” victorious.
The 2016-2017 college basketball season has been everything a sports fan could dream of. There have been higher seeds knocked off their pedestals by small town schools, freshman phenoms emerging left and right and down to the wire games played by the most prestigious schools in the sport. So who is walking out of Glendale, Arizona with the trophy this year?
There doesn’t seem to be a clear cut favorite at this point. The sweet-sixteen is the next round underway and here are some teams looking like championship contenders up to this point.
Gonzaga entered the tournament with an impressive 32-1 record and #2 ranking in the AP Polls. Led by their star big man Przemek Karnowski, the Bulldogs showed the country why they belong in the premier program conversation. Success is not new for Gonzaga, who has made the tournament an astonishing 18 seasons in a row. However, the Bulldogs have never been able to get to a Final Four, losing in the Elite Eight twice. Nevertheless, this could be the year that gets them over the hump.
Kansas hasn’t miss The Big Dance in 28 years, and with senior guard and player of the year candidate Frank Mason III at the helm, the ...


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