March Madness is a tournament t he 68 teams are divided into four regions and organized into a single elimination “bracket”, which predetermines, when a team wins a game, which team it will face next. Each team is “seeded”, or ranked, within its region. After an initial four games between eight lower-seeded teams, the tournament takes place over the course of three weekends, at pre-selected neutral sites around the United States. Lower-seeded teams are placed in the bracket against higher seeded teams. Each weekend cuts three-fourths of the teams, from a Round of 64, to a “Sweet Sixteen”, to a “Final Four”; the Final four usually play on the first weekend in April. These four teams, one from each region, battle it out in one destination for the national championship.
The 2012 tournament begins with the selections on March 11 th . March 12 th is considered National Bracket Day. The tournament officially starts on March 13 th and 14 th with the First Four. After that the second round starts on March 15 th and 16 th . The Third round starts on March 17 th and 18 th .
The Sweet Sixteen rounds are played on March 22 nd and 23 rd . The Elite Eight is played on March 24 th and 25 th . The Final Four is played on March 31 st . The National Championship on April 2 nd 2012.
You can Follow and learn more about the tournament at: http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness
Here are some March Madness Facts I pulled from the history books:
With 11 national titles, UCLA holds the record for the most NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships. The University of Kentucky is second, with 7 national titles, while Indiana University and the University of North Carolina are tied for third with 5 national titles. 2010 champion Duke University ranks fifth with 4 national titles.
A #15 seed has reached the Round of 32 four times
A #14 seed has reached the Sweet Sixteen (Regional Semi-finals) twice
A #12 seed has reached the Elite Eight (Regional Finals) once
An #11 seed has reached the Final Four and played in the national semi-final game three times
A #8 seed has reached the National Finals (Championship Game) three times, though one was vacated by the NCAA
A #8 seed has won the National Championship once:
No team as a #16 seed has ever defeated a #1 seed since the field was expanded to 64 teams
The University of Pennsylvania’s 1979 Final Four appearance is also notable as they made it as a #9 seed-out of 10 teams in their region-making them the lowest seed to make the Final Four in the Pre-64-team era
The pairing of #8 seed Butler and #11 seed Virginia Commonwealth in the 2011 National Semifinals game had the lowest seeded combination (#8 v. #11) ever to play in a National Semifinals game
Richmond is the only team to win first round games ranked as a #15, #14, #13, and #12 seed.
Butler is the only team to make consecutive Final Fours while not being a #1 or #2 seed either time (#5 in 2010, #8 in 2011).
I love the March Madness Tournament and like millions of people I do fill out a Bracket. If you like you can join me at: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1
March Madness is considered to be one of the most popular college basketball tournaments in America. The tournament attracts millions of fans and is the second biggest income for Las Vegas Sports Books.
The only way to Be and Outlaw is to be Wanted so get in on the fun and excitement of March Madness!