(ec) essential connection magazine: March Madness: EXPANDED

This year, the NCAA expanded the Big Dance to include 68 teams, so it only seems right that we also expand our coverage of one of our favorite sporting events of the year!

We hope you're as excited about the NCAA basketball tournament as we are!

Make your picks!
Join us in a friendly competition to see how well you can pick your brackets. Ec team members and readers will be participating, and we can't wait to see who you pick to win it all! Earn the bragging rights (and more!) by joining us at http://ec2011bracket.mayhem.cbssports.com/e and using the password MarchMadness. If you need our group name, it's: ec magazine 2011 bracket challenge.

View the Izzone

In the March 2011 issue of ec, we highlighted the Izzone, the student cheering section for the Michigan State's basketball team. Check out this video to learn more and see the Izzone in action:

You can also link to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4O_4k-2kQY

Silent Night
Taylor University, a small liberal arts Christian school in Upland, Ind., won’t play in this year’s Division I NCAA tournament, but the NAIA school has its own special tradition. On the Friday before the fall finals week begins (usually around the middle of December) fans come to the game dressed in their pajamas and stay completely silent until Taylor’s team scores its tenth point. Then, the crowd goes crazy, complete with celebrating and confetti. The game is known as Taylor’s “Silent Night,” and afterward, the students come together for a campus-wide Christmas party! Learn more here. Or watch this video: