The regular season of college basketball is finally over and March is upon us. On Sunday, March 17, the NCAA selection committee released the 68-team field with lots of interesting matchups. The committee carefully took their time with this bracket, and it will be hard to predict.

Starting off in the first round there’s lots of good games, but some that stand out include five seeded Wisconsin vs 12 seeded JMU and eight seeded FAU vs nine seeded Northwestern. For Wisconsin, the Badgers were on a downward slope the entire month of February, losing eight games. Although that set them back greatly, the Badgers turned it up in the BIG-10 tournament, making finals and almost beating Illinois. Trending upwards, the Badgers are looking good in this matchup. Despite the upward trajectory of Wisconsin, the James Madison Dukes pose one of the most exciting upsets. The Dukes have an outstanding record of 31-3 and even beat Michigan State in their season opener. Look for them to make some noise and win a couple of games. Another matchup that excites most fans is the eight seeded Florida Atlantic Owls vs the nine seeded Northwestern Wildcats. The Owls are coming off the back of a successful season, making the final four last year and have hopes to go far this year. For Northwestern, they are led by senior guard Boo Buie and rely on him heavily for scoring. They may have problems defending FAU’s forward Vladislav Goldin, however, and will need to stop him if they want a fighting chance at winning.

 As far as who to pick for the champion, it is really a toss up. Houston, Purdue and UConn have led the way all year and are strong favorites. Iowa State and North Carolina could also be viable options to go all the way. Make sure to fill out your brackets before the games start on Thursday, March 21 and cheer on your favorite team.