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Build a Winning NCAA Tournament Bracket in 2018
Updated: March 2024

About the NCAA Tournament:

The NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is one of the most anticipated sporting events in the United States. It dates back to the founding days of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The first men’s tourney featured just eight teams. Today, the field now consists of 68 of the 351 NCAA Division men’s basketball programs.

The teams are selected by a committee appointed by the NCAA. The committee is made up of athletic directors, former coaches, and others who study teams throughout the entire season and then gather on the final weekend of conference tournament play to select the field of 68 teams.

There are 31 teams that automatically earn a slot in the tournament by winning their conference tournament. Regardless of a team’s record or standing in the conference during the regular season, if a team wins its season-ending conference tournament, it earns a bid to the NCAA tourney. One conference, the Ivy League, does not play a year-end tournament, so its regular season champion is awarded the automatic invitation.

 

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Thirty-six other teams are then selected by the committee based on things like their overall record, conference standing, strength of schedule, marquee wins, and a variety of other factors. With the teams selected, the committee must also seed them into four different regions, numbers one through sixteen. The best team in each region is, of course, awarded the No. 1 seed. The top seed then plays the lowest, or No. 16, seed in the first round. No. 2 plays No. 15, No. 3 plays No. 14, and so on.

Once a team loses, it is eliminated from play. Over three weekends, the tournament is whittled down to four teams, one from each region. Those four, the Final Four, will meet this year at NRG Stadium in Houston, Tex., on April 2 and April 4.

This year’s favorites include the usual cast of college basketball heavyweights. Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova, and Michigan State are all ranked in the AP Top 10 and each could easily march its way to a national title. Virginia is experienced and plays great defense. Oklahoma has one of the nation’s best player in guard Buddy Hield (25 points per game). West Virginia, Xavier, Oregon, and Indiana are all teams that could make a dash for this year’s Final Four.

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