What is March Madness? | NCAA Basketball Tournament | Forum

March Madness most commonly is used to refer to the final month of the U.S. college basketball season. For Illinois residents, it also refers to the Illinois High School State Basketball Championships. The primary college tournament during this time is the NCAA basketball tournament that pits 68 teams from across the country against each other in a single elimination tournament. March Madness ends with the NCAA Final Four and NCAA Championship game at the end of March and beginning of April of the year the tournament is being played. Other terms for March Madness also include the “Big Dance,” “NCAA Tournament,” and even the “Final Four” although that actually refers to the final four teams that remain in the NCAA basketball tournament.

What is Different About March Madness Compared to College Football?

March Madness differs from the end of the college football season in that all 68 teams have a shot at winning the college basketball championship. In college football the championship is decided by a single game that pits the top two teams from the BCS rankings against each other for the BCS National Title. As a result, college basketball fans have a vested interest in their teams performance for a longer period of time at the end of the basketball season when compared to college football.

How Are the Teams Picked for March Madness?

The NCAA Selection Committee announces the teams who have made the current year’s NCAA basketball tournament during Selection Sunday. There are 31 automatic conference qualifying teams with the remainder of the tournament teams earning at-large bids. Regular and conference tournament records, strength of schedules, and quality of out of conference wins and losses are taken into account with the Committee picks the teams to play in the NCAA tournament. Every year, there are teams who fail to make the tournament that fans and pundits believe should have done so along with teams that are considered “undeserving.”

The Popularity of NCAA Tournament Cinderella Teams

For those who are new to following college basketball, a Cinderella Team is one that is not expected to win by most but continues to do so and advance through the tournament. When fans fill out their NCAA Tournament brackets to compete in office pools or NCAA Tournament online contests, the person who normally wins will have uncanny success in choosing who will be that year’s Cinderella Team. There are some rules about picking Cinderella teams; however, such as a 16 seeded team has never beaten a number 1 seed, and choosing too many teams to pull Cinderella-like upsets can commonly result in a very poor performing bracket.

March Madness Buzzer Beaters

Other March Madness Terms

When new fans search for a good explanation on what March Madness is, they also commonly need to learn additional terms associated with the tournament. For example, the fourth round of the tournament (since expanding to a field of 68) is referred to as the NCAA “Sweet Sixteen” which is the final 16 teams left in the tourney. The fifth round of the tourney is called the “Elite Eight,” the semi-finals are the “Final Four” and the championship game is self-titled.

How Often Are March Madness Games Played?

For the college basketball fan who really enjoy watching a lot of basketball, the second and third round of the tournament have games that occur through the day and late evening. Starting in 2011, all games are broadcast on either a television network or directly on the NCAA website so fans can enjoy watching any game that they want to see during March Madness.
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What is March Madness?