Twenty days, 136 teams, 131 games, two tournaments, tens of millions of brackets made by fans—and all for only two winners. The Division 1 NCAA Basketball Championship tournaments – popularly known as March Madness – are some of the most widely watched collegiate events in the nation and arguably the most gambled on collegiate tournaments. Nearly $3.1 billion in bets were placed on the men’s and women’s March Madness tournament this year. Around 21.5 percent of brackets in CBS Sports predicted the Florida Gators would win the men’s tournament. Although there’s no exact data for the women’s side, it was known that University of Connecticut  was a prominent contender from the beginning of the tournament. 

Of course collegiate championship tournaments are very widely watched, but what is it about March Madness that makes it so captivating? Is it the gambling? Is it the quickness of the dual tournaments? Is it the making of brackets? Whatever it is, it definitely makes for a very fun, but very mad March indeed. However, despite the billions of dollars spent on the tournament, many reports say it was rather a predictable year for March Madness on both sides. 

The 2025 March Madness winner for the men’s tournament was three-time tournament champion  Florida, who entered the tournament with a 29-4 win-loss record. On the other hand, the 2025 March Madness winner for the women’s tournament was twelve time champion Connecticut. “It was a very predictable tournament,” says one South student, “you know—same team, same win.” 

A huge aspect of the excitement that March Madness brings is the suspense and the unexpectedness of the tournament. People spend months studying the potential upsets and surprises that may happen during March Madness; but this year lacked any sort of surprise to it that that tournaments have had in the past. According to the NCAA, there were only four upsets in the men’s tournament: three in the first round and only one more in the second round. Those four include: in the first round No. 12 Colorado State beating No. 5 Memphis, No. 11 Drake beating No. 6 Missouri, No. 12 McNeese beating No. 5 Clemson, and in the second round No. 10 Arkansas beating No. 2 St. John’s. In the past there have been many more upsets that create excitement and the madness that makes it so fun for the spectators and followers. 

Similarly in the women’s March Madness tournament experienced zero official upsets as decided by the NCAA’s definition. For the past four years, just four teams have competed in the championship game, in various pairings; this year it was Connecticut vs. South Carolina, in 2024 it was Iowa vs. South Carolina, in 2023 it was LSU vs. Iowa and in 2022 it was again UCONN vs. South Carolina. 

This severe lack of upsets and extra excitement made for a far less surprising and exciting tournament than previous years. Despite this, the men’s tournament had nearly 10.2 million viewers, which was around a three percent increase from the previous year. So, whether March Madness has the madness or not, it still brings in millions of viewers, millions of brackets, and billions of dollars in gambling and revenue.   

Article by Maggie McMillen