It is that time of the year again! The NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Tournament is upon us. Get ready and buckle up! Because these next three weeks are going to be filled with of entertainment.
How Does It Work?
There are 351 men’s basketball teams that compete at the NCAA Division I level. Each team competes in a certain conference. Once the regular season of each conference is over, the teams compete in their conference tournament.
After all conference tournaments are done, a selection committee is responsible for picking 68 teams to compete in the NCAA Tournament from those 32 conferences.
You win, you advance. You lose, you go home. The winner of the NCAA Tournament is considered to be the “national champion.�
Selection Process
32 teams are automatically invited to the NCAA Tournament
- These 32 teams automatically qualify by winning their conference tournament
- The beauty about the conference tournament is anyone has a chance. For example, if a team finishes in last place in their conference during the regular season, but wins the conference tournament, they automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament
The other 36 teams the committee selects receive “at-large�
- An “at-large� bid is determined by several metrics
- The most common metric is the Rating Percentage Index (RPI)
- The RPI is a number given to a team based on their wins/losses and its strength of schedule
- The committee then takes into factor a team’s wins’ vs the Top 50
- Losing against “bad teams� never helps a team’s case to make the NCAA Tournament
- The better wins a team has, the better off they will be before the selection show
- Normally, the “High-Major� conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, PAC 12) get more teams into the NCAA Tournament
- In this year’s tournament, 32 of 36 teams that received “at-large� bids are “High-Major� teams
Format
The NCAA Tournament is divided into 4 regions (East, West, Midwest, South)
- 16 teams are assigned to one region
- Each team is seeded 1-16
- There are “play-in� games in the East, Midwest, and South regions: So technically, there is more than 16 teams in these regions
- Two “play-in� games are compromised of the four lowest seeds: The 4 lowest seeds are 16 seeds
- The other two “play-in� games are of the “Last 4 In�
- The “Last 4 In� are the last “at-large� teams the committee select to be in the tournament
- The “Last 4 In� are 11 seeds
- After the “play-in� games are complete, the First Round begins
Rounds
First Round
- 1 seed vs 16 seed
- 2 seed vs 15 seed
- 3 seed vs 14 seed
- 4 seed vs 13 seed
- 5 seed vs 12 seed
- 6 seed vs 11 seed
- 7 seed vs 10 seed
- 8 seed vs 9 seed
 Round of 32
- The winner of the 1/16 game plays the winner of the 8/9 game
- The winner of 2/15 game plays the winner of 7/10 game
- The winner of 3/14 game plays the winner of the 6/11 game
- The winner 4/5 game plays the winner of 5/12 game
Sweet 16
- The winners of the games played in the Round of 32 play in the Sweet 16
- 16 teams participate in this round
Elite 8
- The winners of the games played in the Sweet 16 play in the Elite 8
- 8 teams participate in this round
Final 4
- The winners of the games played in the Elite 8 play in the Final 4
- 4 teams participate in the round
National Championship
- The winners of the games played in the Final 4 play for the National Championship
- The 2 remaining teams play for the championship
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Must See Games in The First Round
East Region
- 4 Florida vs 13 East Tennessee State
- 8 Wisconsin vs 9 Virginia Tech
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West Region
- 3 Florida State vs 14 Florida Gulf Coast
- 7 St. Mary’s vs 10 VCU
Midwest Region
- 8 Miami vs 9 Michigan State
- 5 Iowa State vs 12 Nevada
- 6 Creighton vs 11 Rhode Island
South Region
- 5 Minnesota vs 12 Middle Tennessee State
- 7 Dayton vs 10 Wichita State
Who Wins it all?
Duke
Duke has had a bit of an up and down season. However, after winning four games in four days and claiming the ACC Tournament title, the Blue Devils are as hot as any other team in the country. It seems like Coach K’s team are started to gel at the right time. .
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ENJOY THE GAMES!
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