March Madness is back. The annual NCAA college men’s basketball tournament captivates the country for two and a half weeks each year. High flying dunks. Crazy upsets. Cinderella stories. You can’t predict what is going to happen. Literally. Every year people do bracket challenges and fail. Miserably. There weren’t even any perfect brackets after the first two days. But that got me thinking. Every year we see upsets happen and busted brackets. Lower seeds take down higher ones. As I write this, Loyola Chicago is about to beat the Number 1 seed Illinois. And at this point it’s not a coincidence. I’ve decided that if I was a college coach, I wouldn’t want my team to be a top seed in the tournament.
Now, you might think I’m crazy. But being a 1 seed comes with a target on your back. Now some teams can cope, but more often than not, a lower seed takes them out before they can hoist the trophy. Of the 34 national champions since the tournament’s expansion, 20 have been one seeds. Yet only seven times has a one seed played another one for the title game. More often than not, a lower seed is going up against the top dog. Now the notion is that as higher seed, you play “easier” teams, but as we all know, it’s called March Madness for a reason.
I had a coach in college that used to always say the most dangerous team is the one with nothing to lose. And that’s exactly why lower seeds play with so much passion and freedom. They have less to lose. There isn’t an expectation for them to win. But the higher seed has the added pressure of performing. And a lot of times, people can’t deal with is. Pressure either makes diamonds or breaks you.
So here’s how I’d do it if I was a coach: I’d aim to be anywhere between a 4-8 seed. Anything higher and the expectations will be extremely high. Anything lower and the road to the final could become extremely difficult early on. The important thing here is to obtain a seeding that is “respectable”. People would expect a 5 seed to do well, but not to the point it cripples their performance
Now, am I saying my idea will guarantee a national championship? Not at all. But if I was a gambling man, which I am, I’d put money that in today’s game, my 4 seed goes further than a 1 seed. Sounds crazy I know. But as I type this, an 8 seed is upsetting a 1 seed. *mic drop*
Caleb Michael 