BY STEVE HASSEY

Sometimes, individuals disappear for days at a time.  Whether hovering over a bracket in the bustling lunchroom or secluded in their basement, they do not have contact with the outside world.

Perhaps this is just a simple symptom of March Madness, the annual competition where the top 68 teams in college basketball compete for the sport’s crowning achievement: a national championship.  Some individuals spend as much as 60 hours scrutinizing play after play during the course of a single week of this tournament while hours of school work, hanging out with friends, and exercising are put on hold.

There is no other way to put it: March Madness is a cult, a cult with a population of over 60 million, filled with everyday men and women.  The insanity sweeps the nation annually, and the most devout fans wait for the next year’s arrival from the moment the current year’s competition ends.

Many people get into the competitive nature of the tournament by focusing on the brackets that nearly every basketball fan in the country fills out.  Last year, over six million individuals competed on ESPN.com alone, and millions of others compete on various other sites, such as yahoo.com and cbssports.com.  Out of all of these competitors, not one was able to predict every single one of the tournament’s 69 games in 2012.

Each self-appointed bracketology expert has a different strategy to try and predict the various matchups, but there are three components that nearly every bracketer ponders: a Cinderella, a Powerhouse, and a losing powerhouse.  The Cinderella is usually a mid-major team that advances far into the tournament to shock the world, such as Butler in 2010 and 2011. The Powerhouse is a traditionally successful team, like Louisville or Indiana, that advances deep into the tournament.  And the losing Powerhouse is another talented team, such as Missouri in 2012, that the competitor predicts to lose in the first two rounds.  A combination of three correct predictions is bracketologist’s dream, but it rarely ever happens.

Junior Hayden Davis, an Ohio State fan, tries to follow this procedure.  He is of the belief that the nation’s top team via the AP rankings, Gonzaga, could be packing their bags much earlier than expected.

“I could definitely see Gonzaga going down within the first two rounds.  They haven’t really had any big tests going into the tournament,” said Davis.  The Bulldogs have the 95th toughest schedule in the country, compared to Duke’s 1st, Louisville’s 7th, and Indiana’s 11th (the other number one seeds in the bracket).  Although Davis is low on the 29-2 Bulldogs, he is willing to take a different mid-major deep into this year’s competition.

“I am going to take Butler pretty far this year.  They are very well coached,” said Davis of Brad Stephen’s team.  The Butler Bulldogs are attempting to make it to their third final in just the last four years, despite the fact their highest seed during that span is a five seed, and they failed to make the field of 68 in 2012.

Nick Payiatis, another Ohio State fan and current MHS sophomore, has a different strategy.

“I look at each team’s record and seed for every matchup, and mainly how much I like them,” said Payiatis.  Needless to say, he is taking the Buckeyes all the way, and has done so every year in his seven-year history of bracket-making.

My Teams To Watch

Virginia Commonwealth – The Rams are very well coached and have a history of advancing deep into the tournament.  After starting out a mere 3-3, VCU has turned their season around, pulling out sole possession of 2nd place in the extremely talented A-10.  Under the leadership of coach Shaka Smart, they advanced all the way to the Elite 8 in 2011. Treveon Graham and Juvonte Reddic will help lead VCU deep into the field of 68, with a possible return trip to the Final 4 in the realm of possibility.

Wisconsin – This team has a knack for upsets, beating Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota during the course of the regular season.  They also came on strong during the Big 10 tournament, marching to the finals before losing a streaking Ohio State squad.  This defensive-minded team could easily knock off Gonzaga– the number one seed for their region– and march on to the Elite 8 for a 4th rematch with Ohio State.

UCLA – I have been high on the Bruins all season.  This program has seen its fair share of tournament success, and Shabazz Muhammad is just the type of player that takes them to the promised land.  The loss of Jordan Adams is not helpful to their chances, but Jon Scheyer, member of the 2010 Duke national championship team, put it perfectly in his description of March Madness:  “Adversity happens.  The team that rises up to it best wins.”  The adversity has certainly happened for this Bruins squad, we will just have to wait and see if they are up for the challenge.

Early Outs

Gonzaga – This West Coast Conference team has not been challenged nearly enough to call them an elite squad.  Their last game against a ranked team was January 19th, and to find their last win against a ranked team, one would have to rewind all of the way back to 2012, and that win over Oklahoma State was by one point.  Sure, this team has glided through WCC play, but it is still the WCC.  Saint Mary’s, a team with a collective 14-2  record in WCC play, ended up as an 11 seed participating in a play in game just for the rights to compete with the big guys.  I can definitely see them losing to a strong Wisconsin team, or Oklahoma State for that matter, in the Sweet 16.

Miami (FL) – The Hurricanes quietly lost three of their last five ACC games in the regular season, leading some to second guess The U.  It is clear that they are talented, with assist-man Shane Larkin, son of local legend Barry Larkin, leading the team at the point, and Reggie Johnson and Kenny Kadij down low, but I can foresee them packing their bags long before Atlanta, most likely to Indiana in the Elite 8 or Marquette in the Sweet 16.

Florida – The Gators have lost four of their last eight games, which is a troubling sign when they play in the  struggling SEC, which submitted a lowly three teams to the tournament.  They also failed to win their conference tournament, conceding to Ole Miss, and are just 4-4 against tournament-bound teams this season.  I cannot see them beating both UCLA in the Round of 32 and Georgetown in the Sweet 16.  This team may have the talent, but Bill Donovan will not be able to reign them in in time for a tournament run.