All of The Madness That Makes March Great

The Madness has tipped off!  We know the month is almost half finished, but the Madness of March is hitting a fever pitch thanks to college basketball taking center stage.  The games are only part of the story that is March Madness, and here is where we dive into the little known facts about some of the 68 schools vying for the men's National Championship, and other facts about this month - in Final Four form!

1) The Top-4 schools in the Tournament based on their Educational Ranking:  Harvard /  Duke /  Vanderbilt /  Notre Dame

These 4 schools are ranked in the Top-20 of National University rankings conducted by US News & World Report.  Harvard from the Ivy League is Ranked #1!  Ironically Harvard is playing Vanderbilt tomorrow, plus Duke could face Notre Dame on Sunday.  Harvard wins the academic battle, but Duke is the dominant basketball power of this group.

2) The Top-4 school nicknames in the NCAA men's tournament

The Jackrabbits of South Dakota State:  Their nickname fits the team's style of play - speed and full of energy!  The team averages 78 points per game, which ranks then 18th in the country (out of over 300 Division I schools)

The Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State:  I thought "The Devil Went Down To Georgia", but apparently made a western turn around Atlanta and settled into the Deep South!

The Billikens of St. Louis: A Billiken was manufactured in the early 1900s as a bank and statuette and was the national rage for about six months -- kind of that period's pet rock.  During this time, the Billiken was turned into all sorts of things: dolls, marshmallow candies, metal banks, hatpins, pickle forks, belt buckles, auto hood ornaments, salt and pepper shakers and glass bottles.  For the University of St. Louis, the Billiken is the school's "Good Luck figure who represents things as they ought to be".  Does this mean that channeling the Billiken will help me win the lottery?

The Boilermakers of Purdue:  The Indiana's school has a nickname named after a beer cocktail?  That may not be what they intended, but they win this competition with that shot of whiskey dropped into the beer (score!)

3) The Top-4 good things about March

Daylight Savings Time:  More daylight is always a good thing, but I'm sure you were not happy on Monday morning when you still felt off after losing an hour of sleep over the weekend.

St. Patrick's Day:  May the Luck of the Irish be with you, but are you ever that lucky?

Baseball is about to begin:  All the games are in Florida and Arizona right now, so we are being teased right now!

Spring Arrives:  Winter is over!  Warm weather is returning!  The winning part of this month hands down!

4) The Top-4 bad things about March

March comes in Like a Lamb:  Tha means it will go out Like a Lion?  Have I got this backwards?  Does it matter since it's in the 70s right now?

St. Patrick's Day:  Many surveys have seen this day as one of the two biggest Drinking Days of the year.  You may see this as a good thing, but ...........

College basketball all over TV:  If you are not a fan, then this is hell for you!

Still winter for the 20 days:  The worst fact about March by far!

5) The Top-4 useless facts about the teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament

- There are 2 schools whose mascot is the Gael (Iona and St. Mary's)

- Loyola is one of 4 Loyola Universities in the US, with Loyola of Baltimore in the field this year (other locations are Chicago, New Orleans, and Loyola Marymount in L.A.)

- 2 of the coaches in this filed came from Catholic University in Washington, DC (Jimmy Patsos at Loyola, Md., and John Becker at Vermont).  I mention this because this is my Alma Mater.

- Mississippi Valley State campus is in Itta Bena, Mississippi.  The town's population according to the 2010 census is 2208, and the school's enrollment is 2,500.  This fact wins this bracket!

Embrace all of the Madness of March, and enjoy it because April Fool's Day and Tax Day is not far behind.