UPDATED March 17, 2015

Several teams advanced in conference championships this past weekend, sealing their fate for the March Madness tournament.

Kentucky beat the Arkansas Razorbacks, 63-78, to go 34-0 in the regular season, winning the SEC tournament championship.

Duke did not advance to the ACC championship game, losing to Notre Dame, 64-74.  However, they still managed to snag the number one seed in the upcoming tournament, despite Notre Dame winning the overall ACC championship, beating North Carolina, 90-82.

The first round of play-in games will take place tonight, March 17.  Manhattan will play Hampton in the Midwest bracket and Ole Miss will face BYU in the West.  On Wed March 18, Northern Florida will take on Robert Morris and Boise St. will play Dayton.  These games will allow four teams to enter the official tournament.

Last year’s March Madness was a bracket-busting tournament with a lot of good games and a lot of upsets:

• 12-seeded S.F. Austin beat 5-seeded V.C.U. (77-75),
• 11-seeded Dayton beat 6-seeded Ohio State (60-59),
• 12-seeded Harvard beat 5-seeded Cincinnati (61-57),
• 12-seeded North Dakota State beat 5-seeded Oklahoma (80-75),
• and 14-seeded Mercer beat 3-seeded Duke (78-71).

This NCAA Men’s Basketball season has been a great one. One team is undefeated, one team won back-to-back ACC Championships, and one team is 26-3.

Undefeated at 30-0, the University of Kentucky has the first seed in the Associated Press Top 25.   The team is led by freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns. In their recent game against the University of Georgia, Towns had 19 points in their come from behind win against the Bulldogs.

Their season wasn’t easy with many closely contested games like: Kentucky versus LSU (71-69), Kentucky versus Florida (68-61), and Kentucky versus Ole Miss (89-86).

The Virginia Men’s Basketball team has also had a great season. They are 28-1 and are the second seed in the AP Top 25. They are led by sophomore London Perrantes. Perrantes was a jack of all trades. He had 10 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Virginia is back-to-back ACC champions this year. Their first loss of the season came after starting 19-0. They put their heart and soul into their game against Duke, losing by 6 points (63-69). They also had some tough games this year. They beat Wake Forest by 1 point (61-60), they beat N.C. State by 4 points (51-47), and they beat 16-seeded Louisville by 5 points (52-47).

The Duke Men’s Basketball team like usual is having a great season. They are 26-3 and are the third seed in the AP Top 25. Quinn Cook, a senior, is playing his last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Their season has been an up and down season. They lost by 12 points to N.C. State (75-87), lost by 16 points to Miami (74-90), and lost by 4 points to Notre Dame (73-77). They have also played very dominant games. They beat Presbyterian by 69 points (113-44), beat Fairfield by 50 points (109-59), and beat Boston College by 23 points (85-62).

This March Madness should be a classic. I think a lower seed team is going to make it into the Final Four, but will lose to a higher-seeded team.

Final Four Predictions: University of Northern Iowa, Arizona, Gonzaga, and Kentucky

Championship Prediction: Kentucky beats Gonzaga (65-61).

Who do you think is going to win the March Madness Tournament? Post in the comments.

Disclaimer: Articles designated as “Editorial” represent the views and opinions of the author, not the 2014-2015 Periscope staff, CHS Administration, or the CHS student body.