MUNCIE, INDIANA---The Round of 64 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament begins March 16. Ball State students have a variety of opinions on the competition. 

“I am watching March Madness this year,” said Jackson Divincenzo, a sophomore at Ball State. “That is the plan.” 

One student even mentioned their strategy to bring the excitement into the classroom.

“You have classes, but I still might pull out my phone or pull up another tab on my  computer and have the game up,” said Jacob Walker, a senior at Ball State. 

While some students seem to be bunkering down for the next couple weeks of competition, some aren’t so interested.

“I know it’s a tournament with the college basketball teams,”said Symone Session, a junior at Ball State. “A lot of  people bet on it, and have their brackets and stuff.” 

The Ball State men’s basketball team failed to make the tournament for the twenty-third  straight year. Despite missing out on the tournament, Freshman Lily Stogdill still plans on rooting for the teams from her state.

“Purdue or IU of course. I’ve got to root for Indiana,” Stogdill said. 

While some are rooting for their respective teams to take home the championship, one student is specifically rooting against one team. Jacob Walker

“Whoever wins, it’s cool, as long as it’s not Kentucky,” said Jacob Walker, a student at Ball State. “If Kentucky wins, I’ll literally just throw up. We’re in Indiana, you just can’t root for them.” 

The first round officially begins Thursday afternoon as the ninth seeded West Virginia takes on eight seeded Maryland. 

Contact Isaiah Rosner with comments at isaiah.rosner@bsu.edu

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