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It is a looking glass for human hope, excellence and positive social change. It is, in short, a microcosm of the human existence, with all of its exuberance, tragedy and triumph.

The excitement and tradition of "March Madness" as we know it today has been shaped by many significant events in NCAA tournament history: The first NCAA men's basketball tournament was held in 1939 with the first championship game held at Northwestern on March 27, 1939. Only eight teams competed in two regions. Oregon defeated Ohio State in the championship, and the West region held a third-place game.

Although the NCAA tournament now determines the national champion, that was not always the case. Until the 1950's, the NIT was considered a more prestigious tournament than the NCAA, and teams often chose to enter the NIT and bypass the NCAA tourney. Because of this dichotomy, two of the best centers of the 1940's never met in an NCAA tourney.' George Mikan's DePaul team traditionally entered the NIT, while Bob Kurland's Oklahoma A