NCAA lovers everywhere look forward to this time of year where March Madness keeps them captivated with all the excitement, brackets, and basketball! In this blog, we will break down exactly how the madness of March Madness actually works, along with the schedules and plans this year.
Sample bracket sheet, as displayed in Basketball for Dummies
Let’s Start With the Basics
The tournament includes 68 men’s teams and 68 women’s teams.
32 teams gain automatic entry into the tournament due to winning their conference’s championships. The remaining teams rely on a selection committee to be granted entry into the tournament….which brings us to the first ‘step’ of March Madness:
Selection Sunday
When: Sunday, March 17 (men and women’s teams)
On this day the brackets (the format in which the tournament runs), seeds (committee rankings), and teams were released to the public. After Selection Sunday, there is
The First Four 
March 19-20 (M); March 20-21 (W)
The First Four (also known as First Four Out) does not refer to the number of teams, but the number of matches/brackets played. In this round, the eight lowest- ranking teams play against each other, and the four losing teams are removed from the tournament. This round results in 64 teams remaining, and then on to
The First Round
March 21-22 (M); March 22-23 (W)
During the First Round, those 64 teams play against each other, resulting in 32 remaining teams. Those teams move on to
The Second Round
March 23-23 (M); 24-25 (W)
In the Second Round, the remaining 32 teams play in 16 brackets, and the winners of each bracket result in 16 remaining teams, and on to
The Sweet 16
March 28-29 (M); 29-30 (W)
The Sweet 16 is also the regional semi-finals. The final sixteen teams are set up in matches against other teams within their regional divisions, broken up into geographical areas of East, West, South, and Midwest.
The winners of the regional semi-finals are then moved to the regional finals,
The Elite Eight
March 30-31 (M); March 30 – April 1 (W)
These eight teams play head-to-head to determine the winners, and the remaining four teams from ALL regions are matched up in the NATIONAL semi-finals, as the series is now down to
The Final Four
April 6 (M); April 5 (W)
The Final Four brings excitement and folks really start watching. Of the final four teams, the two winners from the national semi-finals move on to the national finals, the
Championship Game!
April 8 (M); April 7 (W)
Also called the national finals, the FINAL TWO teams play to determine the overall winner of the year’s March Madness tournament!
March Madness’ first tournament was in 1939, and is a yearly frenzy full of excitement and fun. It’s an exciting time in college basketball that is very widely celebrated with parties, beer, wings, pizza and snacks, joining friends, families, and co-workers in fun wagers and bracket competitions. Several restaurants and food chains across the country are providing some awesome March Madness deals. Click HERE to see some specials.
