There are seven rounds of The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament consists of 68 teams competing in seven rounds for the national title.
In addition, there is a second division called The NCAAs Women's Basketball Tournament that begins after the conclusion of the men's tournament. The women's field is usually selected on the same day as the men's bracket announcement. However, because of differences in the number of teams involved and the timing of the tournaments, not all places can play all rounds. For example, some teams cannot be seeded since there are not enough places left when they enter the tournament. Such teams must complete all seven rounds to win the championship.
The first round is called the "play-in game." It is contested between the last remaining undefeated team and a team with a losing record. The winner advances to the next round while the loser goes home.
The remaining teams play one game each to determine which ones will advance to the next round. The team that wins more games than their opponent moves on. If ties occur, then a "elimination game" using different rules from the rest of the tournament will decide who advances.
There are 68 teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Four of those teams are eliminated in the tournament's first round (known as the First Four), leaving us with a field of 64 for the first round. Those 64 teams are divided into four zones of 16 teams each, with each team rated one through sixteen. The top-ranked team from each zone advances to the second round, while the other teams drop down a zone.
The second round is called the Second Weekend. It consists of a best-of-three series between the remaining teams. The winners advance to what is known as the Sweet Sixteen, which is a best-of-three series against another group of eight remaining teams. The winners of these games qualify for the Elite Eight, which is also a best-of-three series between more limited groups of four and five teams. These games determine who moves on to the Final Four, which is where the two highest-scoring teams meet in a single game to see who will win the national championship.
In addition to the main event, there are also several smaller tournaments that take place within the context of March Madness. These include the National Invitation Tournament, which is open to all men's teams that have completed their seasons in accordance with various awards ceremonies; and the College Basketball Awards Show, which honors the top players in college basketball.
Finally, there is the most important tournament of them all: the NBA Playoffs.
The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, also known and branded as NCAA March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAADivision )'s I level, to determine the national champion. The tournament consists of four rounds called "seeds", "regions", "sub regions", and "conferences". Each round is conducted on a different day with each team playing one game during each session of that round. The final four teams play in what is arguably the most exciting part of the tournament: the championship game.
In the NBA, the term "March Madness" refers to the playoffs. The term comes from the fact that the event used to benefit children of faculty members at the University of Missouri before it moved to New York City. In 1938, when the original tournament was held, schools were allowed only two participants instead of the current number. Thus, the qualifier "for men's basketball" was added to distinguish this event from other women's tournaments at the time.
Today, the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament is also held in early March, and features 12 teams competing for the title. The winners of the men's and women's tournaments meet in the National Championship Game on April 4th at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The NCAA college basketball tournament, a six-round, single-elimination marathon, holds unique relevance for a list of the finest teams who have not won the national title. The event has been going on for nearly 80 years and is known as " March Madness ". It begins on a Thursday will see all the remaining games played over the next five days with a final on April 2.
In addition to the main event, which is held in Kansas City at the Sprint Center, there are also several other secondary tournaments taking place during the month of March. These include the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) and the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Both of these events are separate from the main tournament but use the same format as the first round of the NCAA tourney. In fact, the WNIT was originally called the "March Madhouse" because it used to take place right after the conclusion of the NCAA tournament. However, this pattern has changed over time so that now both events take place near the end of the month.
There are actually two different numbers commonly cited for the number of rounds in the NCAA basketball tournament. One is 68, the other is 64. They both come from the amount of time it takes to complete a round of basketball games.
That position is the team's seed. The top-seeded team is assigned a number 1 mark, while the lowest-seeded team is assigned a number 16 mark.
The First Four games will be held on Thursday, March 8 at a pair of sites: No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 UC Santa Barbara and No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Cincinnati. The winners advance to the second round, which takes place on Saturday, March 10. This year's field includes all Atlantic Coast Conference schools except for Duke, which plays in the Midwest Region. There are also two teams from California -- UCSB and Cincinnati -- and one from Texas -- Michigan State.
Finally, there are three teams from Missouri and one from North Carolina. They are called the Midwest Region. Each of these regions has its own special rules regarding what happens after the first round. More information about this year's First Round can be found below.
In addition to the original 32 teams that made up the NCAA basketball tournament's first field in 1939, four more teams have been invited to participate.
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