Image Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

What is March Madness? How does the NCAA tournament works?

With every game a win-or-go-home scenario, March Madness captures the passion of college basketball like nothing else.

Image Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

March Madness is the biggest event in college basketball. In a single-elimination tournament that delivers upsets, buzzer-beaters, and unforgettable moments. With every game a win-or-go-home scenario, March Madness captures the passion of college basketball like nothing else.

What is March Madness?

March Madness is the annual NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournament. Featuring the best 64 college basketball teams of the Nation. The tournament starts in mid-March and runs through early April.

How teams are picked for March Madness?

Teams qualify for the tournament in two ways: automatic bids and at-large selections. 32 automatic bids go to teams that win their respective conference tournaments. The NCAA Selection Committee chooses the remaining 36 teams based on factors like NET rankings, QUAD wins, conference strength and injuries and suspensions.

Quadrant	Home	Neutral	Away
Q1	1-30	1-50	1-75
Q2	31-75	51-100	76-135
Q3	76-160	101-200	136-240
Q4	161-353	201-353	241-353

Quad 1 wins are the most valuable and help teams secure at-large bids.
Quad 2 wins still boost a team’s resume but are not as significant.
Quad 3 and Quad 4 losses hurt a team’s chances of making the tournament.

For example: Duke has a record of 16-0 against their Quad 3 and 4 opponents. Against Quad 2, Duke has a record of 5-0. However, in Quad 1, Duke has a record of 6-3 with one game remaining against North Carolina.

How many teams play in March Madness?

March Madness features 68 teams in the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The tournament starts with the First-Four, where four at-large teams and four automatic qualifiers compete in play-in games. After this round, 64 teams advance to the main bracket.

The main tournament follows a single-elimination format with six rounds:

First-round (64 teams)
Second-round (32 teams)
Sweet-16 (16 teams)
Elite-Eight (8 teams)
Final-Four (4 teams)
National Championship (2 teams)

What is Selection Sunday?

Selection Sunday is the day the NCAA Selection committee announces the full tournament bracket. This includes the 31 automatic qualifiers and the 37 at-large teams. The committee also assigns seeds and matchups, setting the bracket for the tournament.

When is the 2025 March Madness men’s tournament?

The 2025 March Madness men’s tournament schedule is as follows:

Selection Sunday: March 16
First Four: March 18-19
First and Second-rounds: March 20-23
Sweet 16 and Elite Eight: March 27-30
Final Four: April 5
National Championship: April 7

March Madness

Suryansh Kumar

NBA/WNBA Writer

nba

wnba

Hello, my name is Suryansh, and I write NBA/WNBA content for ThePlayoffs. I love sports, which is why I write and I love the NBA because of the stats. My aim is to find unique stats and perspectives to provide my readers with another angle on sports.