Let The Games Begin — March Madness Starts Today!
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The NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championships are among the most widely watched collegiate sporting events in the United States. These games transform even casual basketball fans into loyal supporters of teams they may have never followed before. Here is everything you need to know about what is popularly known as "March Madness."
History
The NCAA tournament began in 1939 with just eight teams. Organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the first championship was won by the University of Oregon. Over time, the tournament has expanded to its current 68-team format.
Henry V. Porter, an Illinois high school coach, first used the phrase "March Madness" in the 1930s. It became linked to the tournament in the 1980s after sports announcer Brent Musburger used it during an NCAA men’s game.
Though the women's basketball championship also occurs in March, "March Madness" originally referred only to the men's tournament. This changed in 2022 when the NCAA officially extended the name and logo to the women's event.
Team selection
The championship comprises 68 teams. The 32 winners of the Division I postseason basketball tournaments automatically qualify. An additional 36 teams are invited by a special NCAA selection committee. This selection is loosely based on their win-loss records and rankings. However, there are no firm rules for choosing the teams.
Format
March Madness is a single-elimination tournament, meaning teams are out after one loss. It starts with 68 teams, but four are eliminated in the opening round, called the "First Four." The remaining 64 teams are split into four regions of 16 teams each. The teams are then ranked 1 through 16. The first-round games pit the higher-seeded teams with the lower-seeded ones. For example, No. 1 plays No. 16, No. 2 plays No. 15, and so on. This system theoretically gives top teams the best chance to advance, but upsets are common every year.
In 1985, No. 8 Villanova defeated No. 1 seed Georgetown in the championship game, becoming the lowest seed ever to win the title. More recently, in 2023, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson beat No. 1 Purdue in the first round of the tournament. This marked just the second time that a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1 seed.
March Madness 2025
The 68 teams for the men's and women's championships were revealed on March 15, 2025. The men's "First Four" will be played on March 18 and 19, 2025. The women's opening round will occur on March 19 and 20, 2025.
Fan brackets
Every year, millions of Americans try to forecast the winners of each game. However, experts estimate the odds of correctly predicting every game are 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that there has never been a verified perfect bracket. Gregg Nigl from Columbus, Ohio, came the closest. In 2019, he correctly predicted the outcome of the first 49 games.
Happy March Madness!
Resources: NCAA.com, NPR.com, Wikipedia.org
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22 Comments
isaacg100about 4 hoursBro im just sad the Bagers lost
slaybaddieabout 11 hoursI bet Florida is gonna be in final 4 but might not because of the 1 point game- fumorokumigyabout 23 hoursLet’s go Duke
gamergeek5 daysWow GU with the blowout over Georgia...Lez go Zags!
bobbybooboo5 daysduke winning no doubt about it- the_magician6 daysThey will probably lose their first game the Gonzaga Bulldogs beat them by 40 points. Gonzaga is probably going to win the Championship!!!
fcb3766 daysGo Duke! JT was there.
celticsgod05 daysYes sir, Jayson Tatum is my favorite NBA player!!!- fcb3764 daysI thought so, CELTICSgod0!
dream_beyond6 daysBaylor!! (I feel like I'm going to be pretty alone on this)- gamergeek6 daysGonzaga beat by 40 at the start of the season...
- 12858606 daysdukkkkke
- celticsgod05 daysOh yeah!!!
nakyung7 daysOMG this is very interesting!
