US Sports: NCAA Basketball

Let the madness begin! 

What is March Madness? 

March Madness (also know as "The Final Four") is a university level basketball tournament involving the top 20% of highest performing teams. There are a total of 345 teams that play in this top level university division. The first Final Four was held in 1939.

How does the tournament work? 

This a single elimination tournament, which means that once you lose, you go home. There are a total of 7 rounds which are as follows:

• First Round: Here, the bottom 8 teams compete to get a spot on the main bracket. 
• Second Round: This is the first major round of the tournament. There are a total of 32 games and the winners of these games move on to the next round. 
• Third Round: This is also know as "The Sweet 16" (a total of 16 games). Teams earn special recognition for making it into this round. 
• Regional Finals: This is also known as "The Elite 8" (a total of 8 games). Further recognition is given to teams that make it into this round.  
• National Semi-Finals: This is also know as "The Final Four" for which the tournament is also named. Only 91 teams in the history of the tournament have made it to this round. Of these 91 teams, only 16 of them have made it to this round more than 4 times. 
• National Championship: This is the final game of the tournament and it determines the winner. Only 35 teams have won the national championship since the creation of the tournament in 1939. 14 of these teams have won the tournament more than once. 

Key Terms: 
NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association
Division I: the top collegiate division in the United States
Cinderella Team: a low-ranked team that does well in the tournament. A 'Cinderella' team is also often a team from one of the smaller schools in the division.
Bracket (pictured above): the tournament is broken down into four regions and teams are placed in the bracket to determine who they will play. 
Seed: each team that makes it into the tournament is given a 'seed' for their division. Each division is made up of 16 'seeds' based upon how good their team performed in the regular season. 
Single Elimination: in order to win the tournament, a team has to win all of the games in which they play. If you lose one game, then you are out of the tournament. 
Bracketology: people who watch the tournament often fill our brackets before the start of the tournament to try and predict who will win. People often enter into competitions online, with their friends or foes, or even to predict the winners just for fun.

Additional tournament stats: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/03/11/march-madness-2012-by-the-numbers/

What is March Madness? What is the Final Four? NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracketology