Why You Shouldn't Watch March Madness ... and 11 Reasons You Should
Why You Shouldn't Watch March Madness ... and 11 Reasons You Should
NBA Substack writers on why they will be — or won't be — tuned into March Madness
We asked some leading NBA voices on Substack:
Will you be watching March Madness?
Check out their answers and subscribe!
Life’s Short
| No. The tournament is almost always a good time when I do make time to watch it — especially in a group setting — but it's one of the necessary casualties of an overpacked schedule at this stage. I definitely can't skip Kings-Wizards or Cavs-Wolves for NCAA upset potential this week. I might tune in if there's some group text buzz building and will watch highlights.
But life's too short for BYU-Duquesne.
Snob Snub
| Hope this doesn’t spoil the mood for those who love this time of year, but I’m an unapologetic NBA snob. No March Madness, no filling out of brackets, no interest.
I always say that my college season ends when Cal State Fullerton plays its last game, which was March 9. My Titans have reached the tournament four times and I’ve been honored to be there in person all three times they’ve gone dancing in the 21st century. When the Titans are playing, I’m all in.
This Year, It’s Personal
| I have helped players that play for Stetson, Florida, Atlantic, Baylor, and Gonzaga. I've also mentored coaches at Akron, Alabama, and Florida. So I'm mostly just watching guys that I care about!
The drama is fun, the games are mostly a car wreck. But I've been watching this tournament since Danny Ainge's famous layup long ago.
Obsession and Ascension
| I adore March Madness. Each year, I enter the tourney with minimal knowledge, then quickly develop an obsession with schools I hadn’t heard of 48 hours prior. This year, I think that obsession will be with Samford. Because … why not?
Also, nothing beats watching a prospect ascend draft boards in real time — think Ja in 2019, Kemba in 2011 — and the shared experience of rapidly getting familiar with future stars alongside millions of other NBA fans is my favorite basketball tradition.
This Is What I Do!
| Count me in for March Madness!
I'm not only a dedicated basketball fan, but as an analyst at NBA Big Board covering the draft, I have a special interest in witnessing prospects shine and boost their NBA status through their impressive performances.
With the 2024 NBA draft shaping up to be unpredictable, I'm eager to see which projected second-round prospect makes a significant leap in the draft rankings following a strong tournament showing.
Two Words
| Two words: Caitlin Clark. I will be paying all the attention to women’s March Madness and zero attention to men’s March Sadness. The product is just better, plain and simple.
I’m sure there is a boring 5-hour podcast on how men’s college basketball lost its way. I won’t be listening to it. I know in my basketball heart the women’s tournament is more exciting and full of personalities, drama, and stars. It’s everything you want from March Madness and must-see TV.
More below, but first …
Cast your vote for/against the Madness of March:
Going Cabanas
| I will be watching March Madness. Specifically, I've been told I'll be watching from a poolside cabana in South Florida, at an experiential weekend designed to highlight how great it can be to watch college basketball from a poolside cabana at this specific property in South Florida.
You'll have to wait for whatever that story turns out to be, but know that my eyes, when not darting around to follow small lizards, will be trained on the women's tournament. JuJu Watkins, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Dawn Staley, steely and prowling, these are the women I want to watch compete, from a cabana in the swamp or anywhere.
You Can’t Watch What You Can’t Watch
| No!
Well, I guess somebody else kind of made this decision for me.
The TV rights holder here in Spain airs some Elite 8 games and the Final Four. But we don’t know exactly which games they are airing yet, and the lack of elite prospects doesn't help either.
Maybe next year with Cooper Flagg and company, I will find the motivation to look for “alternative” streams, if you know what I mean.
It’s March, So …
| I'll be watching, mostly because that's what I always do around this time of year.
I'm less connected to what's actually happening in college basketball than ever, my alma mater (Miami) missed the tournament after making a Final Four run for the first time ever last season, and it appears most of the top draft prospects are international guys.
In other words, my bracket is going to kick ass, because I don't actually know anything about most of these teams.
Basketball Is a Way of Life
| Having grown up in a household heavily influenced by college basketball, March Madness is mandatory watching — but not merely because of familial conscription.
There is a profound personal love centered around the intensity and energy of each game. While the increased unpredictability of the men’s tournament brings my brackets little joy, I’m obsessed with the stories of the relative unknowns taking down giants.
For the women, I can’t wait to watch the individual excellence of players like Watkins, Clark, and Reese.
One Wild Weekend
| Sure, I’ll watch March Madness — for 96 hours.
The first weekend of the tourney is inarguably the greatest postseason event in any sport. As someone who watches the NBA to the near-total exclusion of all other forms of television, I am refreshed and recharged by 16s shocking 1s, massive comebacks, and buzzer-beaters. It's basketball in its purest, wildest form (and so much of it!).
By the time the Sweet Sixteen rolls around, though, I'm usually checked out. After all, the best basketball players in the world are gearing up for the playoffs; can't miss that!
Wildcats and … Catamounts?
| Yes, I’ll be watching March Madness — of course, I've got a relatively strong NBA bias.
I'm particularly interested in how Kentucky's group of guys fare: Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, the whole squad. Dillingham in particular has a big chance to bolster his draft stock, as he's been quite the polarizing pick as of late.
Outside of that, I'm just here for the madness … Vermont vs. Duke has MASSIVE upset potential.
The Single Best Sporting Event in America
| | The Option100p. For my money, March Madness is the single best sporting event in America. And it's always literally for my money when I foolishly enter bracket pools and choose my alma mater, Colgate, to score an improbable first-round upset. Again.
Is this the year? Is Baylor vulnerable?
says maybe. I'll take it!I always like watching the tournament for NBA talent, and Baylor has some in Ja'Kobe Walter and Yves Missi. I've got UConn repeating, so I'll be taking a gander at Stephon Castle, too. I'll even entertain Dalton Knecht.
But at the end of the day, March is about the Cinderellas, and I know who mine is.
Enjoying It for What It Really Is
| I always watch the NCAA tournament. Even if my favorite teams are out, or not favored, the tournament brings back so many fond memories. So many tournament pools that I finished second in … before finally winning. So many nights watching games surrounded by people who also really cared.
That always mattered more than the NBA prospects. The tournament can exaggerate a player's value or hurt them if they have a bad game — so, in my job evaluating players, I consciously tried not to rely too much on what I saw in the tournament.
That was good because then I could enjoy it for what it really is — a celebration of team basketball and the opportunity for underdogs to get some publicity.
Give Me One Shining Moment
| Had 🏀 5x5 existed in the 1990s — for Rick Pitino’s Kentucky heyday, matchups like Duke vs. the Fab Five, and Pat Summitt’s Tennessee peak — it would’ve been all over March Madness.
But once you become a full-time NBA guy, it’s hard to go back. So mostly I’ll just settle for pangs of envy, and hope everyone enjoys this year’s upsets and Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and everything else the way I did … once upon a time.
Still, I’m here for buzzer beaters … show me all your crazy plays and replays!
And I never miss Luther Vandross and “One Shining Moment.”