March Madness: two words that strike excitement in college basketball fans. The term March Madness refers to the NCAA’s basketball tournament that happens every year during the month of March. 64 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s teams compete in a six-round bracket to try to win the national championship. The tournament is hosted in a variety of different cities every year, and Spokane has become a popular host of both the men’s and women’s tournaments over the years.
This year’s Women’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight were played in the Spokane Arena. The teams that played at Spokane this year were UConn, LSU, USC, UCLA, NC State, Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Kansas State.
The most hyped-up game was UConn vs. USC in the Elite Eight on March 31. The hyped-up matchup was going to feature two of the top women’s players in college, Paige Bueckers from UConn and JuJu Watkins from USC, until Watkins experienced a season-ending knee injury.
One student from Whitworth who attended the game was Paige Broadrick. Broadrick, who decided last minute to go to the game, says, “We were excited to go see Paige Bueckers, KK Arnold and Azzi Fudd.” Superstars like these women bring in the big crowds, but the madness in March isn’t created from the top teams and players, but from the Cinderella stories.
Last year at the Spokane arena, the Yale Bulldogs, who were the 13th seed, upset Auburn, who was ranked fourth, to advance to the second round. Upsets like these are not uncommon, and with these upsets come busted brackets and bets lost.
The NCAA’s March Madness tournament has seen a jump in popularity and attendance, especially in the Women’s tournament. Broadrick noticed the attendance, stating, “It was packed in the arena, almost every seat was filled.” Broadrick began following the tournament more and more since coming to Spokane, and saw that some of the tournament was in Spokane over social media. Broadrick explained social media exposure of the players was a reason she attended the game, stating, “I’ve been seeing the players on TikTok and social media more.”
This isn’t the only year that Spokane has hosted a portion of the tourney. In 2027, the Men’s first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament will be played in the Spokane Arena. Gonzaga Women’s team also hosted the first and second rounds at Gonzaga University in 2023. Gonzaga’s Women’s team, in 2023, won both the first and second rounds before losing to Texas University in Portland, Oregon.
March not only brings spontaneous weather to Spokane, but also basketball madness. The tournament returns to Spokane again in 2027, so Whitworth students and Spokane locals can plan now to try to snag some tickets to see some of the biggest names in college basketball, and maybe, if they’re lucky, the upset of the year.
