Each year, as college basketball teams from around the country move through a frenzied series of regional and national tournaments, Maryland’s General Assembly has a March Madness of its own.
Since the session typically concludes in early April, lawmakers dash through the home stretch in the last few weeks of March. They pass a budget and pass more bills than any other time during the session, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have time to enjoy basketball.
The Senate defeated the House in the annual inter-chamber basketball game on Wednesday. Presiding officers regularly update their membership on the status of the teams that are still participating (we’re down to the University of Maryland women). We’ll see if anybody steps into the House or Senate lounge to check the status of their brackets when the tournament starts back up Thursday.
The UMBC men’s basketball team visited the Senate on Thursday, and was warmly congratulated for winning the America East Conference and making the NCAA Tournament. The 15th-seeded Retrievers bowed out in the first round to top-seeded Georgetown, 66-47, but the Hoyas lost in the next round to underdog Davidson.
To Allan Kittleman, the Senate minority whip and a proud UMBC grad, that was no coincidence. He says UMBC softened Georgetown up.
