While over 350 teams were eligible to win the NCAA tournament at the beginning of the season, the pool has now been narrowed down to 64 as March Madness is upon us. This is an exciting time for fans of schools that have been included in the tournaments, as upsets and Cinderella stories are commonplace. Luckily for us at Campus Crates, we have multiple schools represented in the NCAA tournament, and 1 in the NIT tournament.
Baylor
Coming in at the first seed is Baylor, where Campus Crates was first started. Baylor is a heavy favorite against Norfolk State on Thursday and with a win, will take on the winner of Marquette and UNC Saturday. After winning the tournament last year, Baylor fans obviously have high hopes for their team coming into this year and many of us at Campus Crates share that same sentiment.
University of Texas at Austin
Another Big 12 powerhouse that Campus Crates serves is the University of Texas. Coming in at the 6th seed, Texas will face a tough test early against Virginia Tech, still riding high off of their ACC Championship victory over Duke. While Texas is the slight favorite going into this game, many expect an exciting performance from both teams. With a win over Virginia Tech, Texas would likely face Purdue. While Texas certainly has a tough road ahead of them going into the tournament, if they play the way they have in the regular season, anything is possible.
TCU
TCU is also represented in the tournament and is a school that some believe could be a potential Cinderella story. TCU ended their season on a somewhat high note, beating UT in the Big 12 tournament and staying competitive against Kansas. In the first round, TCU will be taking on Seton Hall in what is likely to be a very competitive game. With a win they would likely face Arizona who is the first seed. While TCU also has a tough road ahead of them, they played well towards the end of the season and should certainly not be counted out.
SMU
Lastly, SMU will be a part of the NIT tournament. While it does not garner as much attention as the NCAA tournament, some big names are still involved, such as Texas A&M and Oklahoma. SMU enters the tournament as the first seed and will play Nicholls State first. Many teams still take the NIT tournament very seriously and SMU is a legitimate contender to win.
With four of our markets represented in March Madness, many members of the Campus Crates team are extremely excited to root for their respective schools and watch all of the madness unfold.
