Money will be lost and friendships will be destroyed.  It’s March Madness again.

The NCAA recently released the bracket for this year’s March Madness Tournament.  First round games are scheduled to begin on Thursday, Mar. 16.

The origins of the biggest college basketball tournament in history began in 1939, according to history.com.  It grew from four teams to 68 and has become the biggest gambling event in the United States, behind the Super Bowl.

Last year, Villanova won the championship over North Carolina with a three point buzzer beater.  With the win last year, it is very possible they can repeat their success.

As expected, “bracket experts” have given their upset choices based on the seeds of each team.

This year, Villanova, Gonzaga, Kansas and North Carolina have taken the number one seeds in their respective regions (East, West, Midwest and South).

Villanova is favored to win, according to fivethirtyeight.com.  The probabilities are based on a simulation created by Nate Silver and Jay Boice.  They, like many others, create their own formula and use realistic stats from each team to calculate their strengths and weaknesses against opponents.  The other three teams in the final four are Gonzaga, Kansas and Kentucky, a seed two in the Southern conference.

From a different perspective, CBS has multiple analysts with their own predictions.  Two of their brackets consist of Kansas defeating second-seed Duke in the final.  Another predicts Duke beating third-seed UCLA in the championship.  Two others put Arizona, seed two in the West, winning the tournament.  Yet another gives the win to third-seed UCLA over Duke.

Even with the range of predictions, all the teams within these brackets are in the top three seeds of their respective conferences.  Upset games can fuel this tournament, but there doesn’t seem to be any near the top.

Whether betting on a bracket or just opposing a friend’s pick, following each game is going to be a priority for hundreds of people.

Save yourself, the Madness is upon us.