This week marks the start of the Division I men’s basketball tournament, also known as “March Madness.” This year the pool of tournament teams has been expanded from 65 to 68 teams, making brackets a bit more difficult than past years. The first-round teams competed Tuesday and Wednesday, while the rest of the tournament begins this weekend. The tournament will conclude with the national championship game April 4.

Pools and bracket challenges are extremely popular among both students and professionals across the country. Many sports websites, such as ESPN.com and CBSsports.com, offer cash prizes or ticket packages for those with the most accurate bracket at the end of the tournament.

Last year, the Duke Blue Devils won the tournament, which was the school’s fourth national championship.

Dan Cook can be reached at cook9156@stthomas.edu.