Alexandria Galtney
Managing Editor
Many basketball fanatics have been tuning in to watch the 2017 NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The tournament highlights a big stage of players with NBA dreams to show what they are capable of. Some, unfortunately, are not always capable of taking advantage of the opportunity and may drop down some draft boards because of it.
This is the 79th Edition of the tournament and it began March 14.
The tournament is divided into four regions and each region has at least sixteen teams, but four additional teams are added per the decision of the Selection Committee.
A total of 68 teams will enter the 2017 tournament, with all 32 conferences tournament winners receiving an automatic bid.
The Ivy League, which previously granted its automatic tournament bid to its regular season champion, will host a postseason tournament to determine a conference champion.
In previous years, had the Ivy League had two schools tied for first in the standings, a one-game playoff or series, as was the case in the 2002 season, determined the automatic bid.
Many NBA hopefuls shined during the first slate of games and either made big leaps or solidified their spots as top draft prospects.
Some of the top five players who climbed the ladder of the draft are Lonza Ball, a point guard of UCLA, Moritz Wagner, power forward for Michigan State University, Zach Collins a center for the Gonzago University, Caleb Swanigan a power forward for Purdue University and Josh Jackson, a small forward for the University of Kansas.
Sone Jackson State University students have their picks on specific hopefuls for the NBA Draft.
Jaclyn Bush, a junior theater major from Ridgeland, Miss. said, “Im not a huge basketball fan but I have been following this player, Lonza Ball. I’ve been hearing that his father wants him to get a $1 billion endorsement from Nike, and I just think that’s crazy. But he has my attention right now.”
During an interview with an Arizona radio station last month, Lonzo Ball’s boisterous father, LaVar, stoked the fire by proclaiming his son would only play for the Lakers.
“He’s going to be the first one that’s homegrown, and trust me, he’ll do the same thing he’s doing at UCLA,”said LaVar.
Aaron James, a senior music production major from Jackson, Miss. said, “I’ve been hearing so much about Lonza Ball, but all of the sweet 16 are good. We’ve got a lot of new talent to watch put for.”
The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament are in the books and the Sweet 16 is set.
The biggest surprises of the first weekend of March Madness is with reigning national champion Villanova, who was ousted by No. 8 Wisconsin on Saturday. That was followed on Sunday as Duke and Louisville, two No. 2 seeds from the ACC, were upset.
With No. 1 overall seed Villanova (+750 odds), No. 2 seeds Duke (+600) and Louisville (+1600) becoming victims of upsets, Kansas and North Carolina are now the best bets to win the NCAA Tournament.
According to sportingnews.com here are the latest odds for all 16 teams remaaining to win the NCAA Tournament:
Kansas +475
UNC +500
Gonzaga +650
Arizona +650
UCLA +900
Kentucky +1000
Florida +1200
Michigan +1600
Baylor +1600
West Virginia +1800
Oregon +1800
Wisconsin +1800
Purdue +2000
Butler +4000
South Carolina +5000
Xavier +7500
The 2017 NCAA Tournament will conclude with the championship game on April 3 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
