The following a step-by-step guide to how NCAA Basketball and the final March Madness tournament work. Follow this guide and infographic and you’ll be set headed for one of the best months in sports.
HOW MARCH MADNESS WORKS
THE CONFERENCES
Each of the 32 conferences in division one collegiate basketball plays through their full schedule. 31 of those conferences then enter their respective conference championship tournaments. However, the Ivy League is the only conference that just picks a winner based on season win totals.
Once the teams enter their championship tourneys, winners are determined. Those winners automatically move on to the Madness. Meanwhile, 36 other teams are then selected.
THE BOARD
A Board made up of athletic directors and former conference commissioners then select 36 of the next best teams. 28 of those college squads are chosen by ballot entries. They need to be voted on by at least eight out of ten ballot entries.
The remaining eight clubs are then Wild Card entries. These are usually where you’ll find your Cinderella teams that go on the magical runs.
SELECTION SUNDAY
Following the Board’s selection process, Selection Sunday is the next big event on the map. The final Sunday leading up to the start of the Madness is designated for a television spectacle watched by every collegiate team in the country, not to mention every college ball fan from coast to coast.
The Board-picked teams are divvied and seeded against the higher seeded conference champions. However, four teams face off before the final tournament begins. The four have a particular name…
THE FIRST FOUR
The four highest seeded teams play against one another in a one-game, winner advances, tiebreak, sudden death, play-in-style matchup.
There are a lot of different adjectives for it, but you get the idea.
The two winning teams move on to the Madness to take on a #1 seed from one of the regions. The two losers, watch the rest of the tournament on CBS.
THE REGIONS
There are four regions in the March Madness tournament – WEST, MIDWEST, EAST and SOUTH.
They are based out of different stadiums and arenas each year, each according to their geographical region though.
ROUND 1 aka ROUND of 64
This could be one of the best spectacles in the entire sporting world. People across the USA have been known to either call in sick or use vacation days for the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.
Each of the 64 teams match up against one another – one game after the other. The first round last two days and is generally held on a Thursday and Friday in mid-March. The winners move on. The losers go home.
ROUND 2 aka ROUND of 32
16 games are played to determine who is strong enough to head to the actual meat of the tournament (the next round, which we’ll get to momentarily). Once again, there’s a similar format as the last round, where the winners continue onward and the losers get ready for next season.
ROUND 3 aka Sweet Sixteen
The Sweet Sixteen is absolutely massive for the lower-seeded teams. Why? Well, that’s easy, recruitment. If you can tell potential prospects that you’re team made the tournament, that’s not bad. If you can tell the masses that you made it to the Sweet Sixteen, you’re a contender for some of the best up-and-comers in the country.
The Sweet Sixteen is where the Cinderella’s usually fall. But, if they can pull of the impossible and move on from here, the sky is the limit.
ROUND 4 aka Elite Eight
This where most brackets break. By the way, did you use our TopBet Printable Bracket? It was a beauty. Anyhow, as of a few years ago, somebody had the idea to give Cinderella’s more points for upset wins than regular teams beating lower seeds. This means that a lot of people chose upsets and this where their upset streak usually ends.
The Elite Eight is where the best of the best prevail.
ROUND 5 aka Final Four
The Final Four, if you can make to this round, you’re a damn good team. If you made it this far with 50% or more of your bracket still in-tact, you’re laughing.
Same as every other round – Winners move on. Losers go home. The Final Four is where legends can truly be made.
ROUND 6 aka The NCAA Championship
What more can you say, this where national champions are crowned on the biggest stage in collegiate sports. Following one of the best tournaments on earth, the greatest team in college basketball is crowned.
A win is typically followed by a cutting of the mesh, some mass recognition for the players, and a massive-gigantic pay raise for the coaching staff.
Is it fair? No, but that’s the NCAA.
Enjoy the Madness everybody!
