Going for it all ... In the first game of the March Madness basketball tournament, Parker S. flies high, as he goes for a jump shot while Drew L. and Fran H. attempt to stop him.
March Madness Basketball Tournament Kicks Off as 12 Teams Compete for a Spot in the Final Four
By Bennett O.
As February comes to an end, people from all over the country start scouting college teams and get ready to fill in their brackets for the March Madness basketball tournament.
The college tournament consists of 64 teams and goes on for several weeks. On March 21, The Family Foundation School had their own annual March Madness basketball tournament. The only difference from the college tournament is that it was four on four, and the games were only seven minutes long.
To make it as authentic and realistic as possible, the squads were named after college teams all around the country, and were picked by the captain of each team.
If the squad lost two games before the final round, they were eliminated. The first team gone was University of Miami. “Although we were eliminated first, I speak for my team when I say that we had a great time and enjoyed playing against our friends in the tournament,” said Miami Captain Marc S.
The team that was lighting it up and favored to win the tournament was the University of Maryland, led by Maryland Captain Evan H. Maryland swept every one of their opponents. They passed the ball a lot and made shots left and right, which allowed them to make it to the championship game.
Coming out of nowhere, as the underdog of the tournament, was the University of Connecticut (UConn) under Captain Kevin G., a member of the Falcons varsity basketball team. UConn played with only one goal in mind: to work as a team and to leave it all out on the court.
“Going into the tournament, we knew that we were going to face teams that were bigger and better,” said Kevin. “My team played their hardest every game and didn’t give up.”
The final game began with Maryland scoring the first basket with a layup by Marc E. UConn came right back with an outside jumper from Kevin.
“I’m not a big fan of basketball, but being on the Falcon’s Varsity basketball team motivated me to participate in the March Madness tournament,” said UConn squad member Regina C. This battle continued in the beginning of the game until the score was 6-5, Maryland. Then things started to change.
Maryland went on a 4-0 run to make the score 10-5. However, UConn didn’t give up. With the score at 14-11, Maryland player Ricky S. recovered a rebound and laid it in the hoop securing the win.
