Mounting on the already present stress of tests before spring break, students have growing concern about something else – their NCAA March Madness bracket. Whether it’s to test their luck or compete against their friends, students have been watching their brackets for the past week.

“I keep up on the scores to see how my bracket is doing,” Skyler Barinstein, junior, said. “So far it’s been pretty good, considering I don’t know the sport.”

March Madness creates an opportunity for avid basketball fans and part-time followers alike to be involved in something. No matter who watched the games during the season, when a game comes on during the day, it is easy to spot students pulling out their phones and checking scores.

“I watch a lot of basketball, but I definitely watch more college basketball than usual during March Madness,” Alec Garcia, senior, said.

Garcia made his bracket based on predictions he made after watching a season of college basketball, and put it up against his friends’ brackets.

“I love basketball, and making a bracket is something fun and easy to do to compete with others,” Garcia said.

Creating brackets with friends is popular, but many classes have created competitions between the students and the teacher to see who has the best bracket. Tina LaFerriere, math teacher, created a March Madness group with her calculus students, and it has become a way to compete and connect with each other.

“It’s friendly competition and it’s fun to compete with Ms. LaFerriere,” Barinstein said.

Even though it can come as a distraction to some during class, March Madness is an easy way to connect with others. On top of that, it is a fun experience for anybody involved.

“Beating Ms. LaFerriere’s bracket would be pretty funny,” Barinstein said.

Next year, students hope to continue with the bracket making tradition as more and more classes get involved.