Seventh grader Mason Bhatia loves college basketball, and March Madness is his favorite time of the year for a reason.

March Madness is the annual NCAA Division I basketball tournament, with 64 teams competing in a single-elimination competition. The tournament started on March 17 and spanned three weeks.

The University of Michigan Wolverines were the 2026 men’s champions and the UCLA Bruins were the 2026 women’s national champions.

For diehard fans like Bhatia, it’s one of the highlights of the year.

“March Madness is so inconsistent,” Bhatia said. “And yet, so consistent in being inconsistent.”

Millions of fans tune in every March and April to games, starting with the First Four and ending with the National Championship. According to the NCAA, the men’s national championship game had 18.3 million viewers.

The most recognizable part of this event are the brackets, the tree-like diagrams that display the tournament matchups and schedule of games.

Some fill out brackets for a chance to win the $1 billion payout offered by the betting app Kalshi to anyone who correctly predicts the outcome of every game – a feat that has 9.2 quintillion to one odds, according to Yahoo Sports.

Some fill out brackets just for fun.

“I like predicting my brackets because I like feeling that I know sports,” Bhatia said.

Some proclaimed NCAA basketball fans aren’t entirely sure what’s going on with all the games and matchups unfolding in the early stages of the tournament.

“Texas University?” confused seventh grader Everett Davies said. “They didn’t make it, right?”

Texas proceeded to make it to the final 16 teams – the tournament’s so-called Sweet 16. Along the way, Texas knocked off two higher ranked teams, sixth seed BYU and third seed Gonzaga University.

Davies had the Michigan Wolverines winning the whole tournament. Davies was right about something when Michigan won the championship against the University of Connecticut Huskies, while others like Bhatia were wrong.

“Because they’re good, I guess,” Davies said.