March Madness begins with the NCAA Selection Sunday each year when the NCAA Selection Committee announces the college basketball teams, seeds, and matchups for the tournament. Starting with the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament, the field of 65 was expanded to a field of 68 to include two play-in games. The play-in games are now called the First Four and feature the four lowest seed, at-large teams. As a result, the seeds of the at-large teams chosen to play in the First Four are not known until Selection Sunday announcements are made. For the 2012 NCAA basketball tournament, Selection Sunday will occur on March 11th, 2012. In past and future years, Selection Sunday typically occurs on a Sunday evening after the final college basketball tournament championship game concludes.
When Does the First Four Start?
The first game of March Madness kicks off with the start of the First Four which is also called the first round of the NCAA tournament. For the 2012 March Madness schedule, the Madness commences on March 13th, 2012. The second round of the tournament featuring the largest number of games then occurs on March 15th and 17th, 2012. The 2012 Final Four then kicks off on March 31st, 2012 with the 2012 NCAA Basketball championship game scheduled for April 2nd, 2012 which signifies the end of March Madness for the year.
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