Customer Reviews

March to Madness: The Ultimate Fan's Trivia Book

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Author Allan Zullo has compiled over 100 interesting stories and tidbits from various NCAA tournaments between the first one in 1939 and the 2006 event. Readers begin by learning about the first tournament in Northwestern University's Patten Gym when Oregon defeated Ohio State 46-33 in front of hundreds of attendees (including Dr. James Naismith, who invented basketball 48 years earlier). Then in no particular order we learn of many other exciting tournaments and games, stars like Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Gail Goodrich, and Patrick Ewing, and coaches like Adolph Rupp, Bobbie Knight, John Wooden, Al McGuire, etc. There are also famous upsets, unexpected blowouts, lucky bounces, and quite a few games that went down to the wire. We even learn that the term "March Madness" came from the Illinois State High School tournament, and the licensing proceeds today are shared between that organization and the NCAA.

The author avoids controversial issues like ever-increasing money, lucrative coaching salaries (while performing players go unpaid), point-shaving, and academic scandal - solid material for a different book. These pages concentrate on the on-floor excitement, and definitely capture the reader. This is a very interesting, nicely readable effort.

Lotsa fun and interesting tidbits....this is so well researched.
I am not huge NCAA basketball fan so this was such good fun to read!