Sweet 16: Basketball Terms to Know Now

March 29, 2013

 It's March Madness, and apparently, it's now down to the Sweet 16, which is huge. If you're not familiar with college basketball, or anything you've just read, here's a quick vocab list that might help you get through conversations about brackets and Cinderella teams.

Air ball: When the ball is shot, but misses the rim and backboard completely.
Assist: A pass to a teammate that results in a field goal.
Brackets: The diagrammatic representation of the series of games played in a tournament (in this case, March Madness) leading to a single winner.
Brick: An unsuccessful shot. It's not uncommon for spectators to yell out "Brick!" when this occurs. 
Cinderella team: A low-ranked team, usually from a small school, that is forced to play a stronger team and achieves at least one unexpected victory during the tournament. 
Elite Eight: The last eight teams in the tournament. 
Final Four: The last four teams in the tournament. 
Hook shot: A one-handed shot where the player arcs the ball over the head of the opponents.
Lay-up: A shot made by driving as close to the basket as possible, then bouncing the ball off the backboard and into the hoop.
March Madness: the period of the annual NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) college basketball tournament, with the majority of the tournament taking place in March.
Rebound: When a shot is made but doesn't go in, so both teams scramble to take possession of the ball. 
Seed: a team's ranking at the beginning of the tournament.
Sweet Sixteen: The final sixteen teams in the tournament; the regional semifinal round. 
Turnover: A loss of the ball without a shot being taken.

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  1. ahahah Angelica, you are awesome! I know nothing except "airball!"

    Have a great weekend, doll!

    Holly Foxen Wells

  2. This is so good for me to learn!

    1. Right! Now I can (kind of) participate in a conversation.

      Thanks for stopping by!


  3. LOVING this post, especially since I'm not the most-sport-savvy girl, namely when it comes to sports other than football. Thanks for sharing this, as I truly didn't know the TRUE meanings of ALL of these words. ;}. Great blog.


    1. Thanks Kimberly! I'm so not the sports-savvy girl either, so this was fun.


  4. This is great! Ha ha you have to do one of these in the fall for football season.

    Ali of




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