How Exactly Does March Madness Work?

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Danielle Ward

Who will follow Louisville as the NCAA Champions?

March Madness, unless you have fair idea of what it exactly is, is bound to leave you confused as to what it means! It’s a cool name given to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s, that’s NCAA, basketball tournament for men and women teams, held from the second week of March into the first week of April. At the end of this high octane basketball marathon remains the undisputed national champion of basketball at college level. The NCAA oversees more than 1300 college and university members, and is managed by volunteers from these member institutes. Certain criteria are laid down to define active members, and these active members are allowed to participate in tournaments. Also, based on the number of sports sponsored for men and women by the schools and colleges, they are arranged in 3 divisions. Out of all the teams from Division 1, 68 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams are invited to the national championship. A selection committee sits before the tournament to decide upon the invitees. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the teams are decided:- • 31 teams automatically qualify because of winning their respective conferences • Remaining 37 men’s teams and 33 women’s teams are decided upon by the committee Once the teams are decided, two very peculiar tasks are carried out:- Seeds – This is the placement given to a team in any of the four regions Pods – This is the method of grouping seeds for specific first and second round sites

Tickets to the NCAA Final Four are still available.

Decisions regarding seeds and pods are also taken by the committee. The four regions have between 16 to 18 teams each. When the tournament begins, each contest is a knockout, and teams begin to advance into the subsequent rounds of the tournament, resulting in widespread speculations, excitement, and even betting across the nation. Already excited? You might want to check out NCAA Tournament tickets from PrimeSport, the official source for all the tickets you need. Moreover, you can also pre-book your Final Four tickets to ensure that you are present at the most high voltage of contests. Also check out Final Four Travel Packages to gift yourself a complete action packed vacation.