The March Madness bracket will be revealed Sunday evening, setting the schedule for more than two weeks of competition in a season that saw the Southeastern Conference dominate the rankings.
Bubble watch is a term to track the teams that are teetering between making and not making the NCAA Tournament. These teams are considered to be “on the bubble.”
Teams that win conference tournaments secure automatic berths — often at the expense of others. So bubble watch is essentially keeping tabs on teams that need to win to get in or need others to lose to sneak in.
Every game of the men’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — either on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV and their digital platforms, including Paramount+. The NCAA will also stream games via its March Madness Live option.
Every game of the women’s tournament will be aired — here is a schedule that will be updated with matchups — on ESPN’s networks and streaming services with select games on ABC.
- First Four: March 19-20
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
- Final Four: April 4
- Championship game: April 6
- First Four: March 18-19
- First round: March 20-21
- Second round: March 22-23
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: April 5
- Championship game: April 7
The women’s bracket is arranged similarly to the men’s side with a few exceptions. The play-in games along with the first- and second-round games usually are played at the home arenas of the top four teams in each region.
Neutral sites begin in the Sweet 16.
A total of 68 teams make the NCAA Tournament.
Eight of those teams start in a preliminary round called the play-in games. The four winners there make it into the field’s traditional 64-team, single-elimination bracket played at neutral sites across the country.
Teams are seeded 1 through 16 and split up into four regions. A 12-member NCAA selection committee determines the field. Seeds are determined by wins, losses, strength of schedule and other metrics.
The top four teams are No. 1 seeds, the next four are No. 2 seeds and on down the line. The games start with 1 versus 16, 2 versus 15, etc., in each region.
March Madness is the catchphrase given to college basketball’s postseason, and many consider it the perfect term to capture the craziness that often happens in conference tournaments and NCAA brackets.
Magazine writer Henry V. Porter coined the phrase in 1939 while writing about the Illinois High School Association’s state tournament. It gained traction nationally after former CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger used it in reference to the NCAA Tournament in 1982. Both entities tried to trademark the term, which led to a lawsuit.
A federal court in 1996 ruled the phrase had “’dual use” beyond the high school tournament, and the sides now share marketing rights.
The men’s NCAA Tournament field is set to be revealed at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.
The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set to be revealed at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
