Why March Madness can be both a joy and a danger: What does the Bible say about gambling?
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
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Tomorrow’s games are when March Madness will begin in earnest, as that’s when brackets start to count. An estimated 80 million people are expected to participate, making March Madness one of the most ubiquitous sporting events of the year. However, the truth is that many people will have more than their pride on the line when the first round begins. And for all the fun that the tournament offers, it presents a cautionary tale as well.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good day and welcome to the Wednesday, March the 19th, 2025 edition of the Daily Article Podcast. |
| 0:09.1 | I'm Chris Elkins, nearing today's daily article written by Denison Forum's senior editor for theology, Dr. Ryan Denison. |
| 0:18.1 | The first games of the March Madness 2025 kicked off last night with Alabama State winning a close game over St. Francis of Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina soundly defeating San Diego State. |
| 0:32.5 | The University of North Carolina was perhaps the most controversial of the tournament's final selections, but earned their |
| 0:38.8 | spot in the field of 64 and will go into their match against higher-ranked Ole Miss on Thursday |
| 0:45.1 | as the favorites. And for most people, tomorrow's games are when the tournament will begin in earnest, |
| 0:51.9 | as that's when brackets start to count. An estimated 80 million |
| 0:56.4 | people are expected to participate, making March Madness one of the most ubiquitous sporting |
| 1:01.7 | events of the year. And whether you're a diehard basketball fan or can barely name a single |
| 1:07.1 | player in the tournament, most of us could use some help in making sense of the possible |
| 1:11.5 | selections. That's where I, your humble internet aggregator, can offer a bit of help from |
| 1:17.1 | history. And for any of my co-workers participating in this year's Denison Ministries |
| 1:22.5 | Bracket Challenge, please kindly skip ahead to the next section. Without further ado, I present a few notable facts |
| 1:29.4 | that may or may not have anything to do with what will actually play out over the next three weeks, |
| 1:35.0 | courtesy of ESPN's Keith Lipscomb. Only one of the past 10 champions came from the conference with |
| 1:41.7 | the most bids. That's bad news for any of the record 14 teams from the SEC that made it into this year's field. |
| 1:50.0 | At least one top four seed has lost in the first round in 15 of the last 16 tournaments, |
| 1:57.0 | while a number 14 seed has won only twice since 2017. |
| 2:03.0 | If you're a fan of Cinderella teams, you may want to look at the 11 seeds as they've had |
| 2:08.2 | a representative in the Sweet 16 in eight of the past 10 years. |
| 2:12.9 | Conversely, if you prefer to stick with the one seeds, know that all four have made the Elite 8 just once in the past 14 tournaments. |
| 2:22.3 | If you choose the right one, though, you could be in luck as 13 of the past 17 champions started the tournament atop their side of the bracket. |
... |
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