March Madness: When does the tournament begin

March madness logo on screen and NCAA basketball game play on TV in the background
March Madness FILE PHOTO: March Madness is about to begin. (Rokas - stock.adobe.com)

March Madness is set and the brackets are ready.

Have you filled yours out?

The four N0. 1 seeds were basically a given with Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida having the top spots, CBS Sports reported.

Cameron Boozer led the Dukes to the overall No. 1 seed, Fox News reported. He averages 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. He may be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

As for the teams that barely made it: Miami University (Ohio), NC State, SMU and Texas, were able to beat out Oklahoma, Auburn, San Diego State and Indiana.

To see the complete men’s bracket, click here or see below:

ESPN noted that 31 teams get an automatic ticket to the tournament after winning their conference tournament. The remaining 37 earn an at-large bid, and are selected by a committee.

Four games will cut the field from 68 to 64 for the first round. The First Four will tip off on March 17 and 18 for the men’s tournament, with the first round on March 19 and 20, USA Today reported.

Here are the other sets of games:

Men’s

  • Sweet 16: March 26, 27
  • Elite Eight: March 28, 29
  • Final Four: April 4 (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)
  • Championship: April 6 (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)

Sports Illustrated compiled a complete list of where each game will be played and how to watch. That can be found here.

As for the women’s tournament, the first four play on March 18 and 19 and the first round will be on March 20. Sixty-eight teams will also compete. UConn has a perfect record and a 50-game winning streak, according to ESPN. Other No. 1 seeds include UCLA, Texas and South Carolina.

To see the complete men’s bracket, click here or see below:

Women’s

  • Sweet 16: 27, 28
  • Elite Eight: 28, 30
  • Final Four: April 3
  • Championship: April 5

Sports Illustrated compiled a complete list of where each game will be played and how to watch. That can be found here.

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