When the calendar flips to March, the days start to get longer and baseball season nears. That’s all well and good, but the first question sports fans ask is simple: When does the NCAA Tournament start?
Annually, the NCAA Tournament stands as one of the biggest sporting events of the season on multiple fronts. From capturing the attention of the general public to enticing bettors with non-stop action, there’s something for everyone.
Start Date for NCAA Tournament in 2025
As of March 16, all of the conference tournaments for the men’s games will have concluded, allowing a bracket to be created. This is, of course, known as Selection Sunday, which falls on Sunday, March 16, this year.
The bracket will be released that night (6:00p EST) with the play-in games taking place on Tuesday (March 18) and Wednesday (March 19). Those games are now officially known as the First Four.
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In most bracket pools, these four games are not counted. In that vein, the tournament (your bracket contest) officially kicks off on Thursday (March 20) with 16 games spanning the better part of 12 hours, a schedule that is mirrored the following day as the first round wraps up.
How Many Rounds Are There in the NCAA Tournament?
For a team to claim the 2025 NCAA championship, they must win six consecutive tournament games (the play-in round doesn’t technically count). Last season, the UConn Huskies dominated once again, becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since the 2007 Florida Gators.
So, which days do you need to block off in your calendar?
- Round 1: March 20-21 (Thursday-Friday)
- Round 2: March 22-23 (Saturday-Sunday)
- Sweet 16: March 27-28 (Thursday-Friday)
- Elite Eight: March 29-30 (Saturday-Sunday)
- Final Four: April 5 (Saturday)
- Championship: April 7 (Monday)
The final two games of this tournament will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to those games, each of the four regions has their designated locations that are not D-I home courts.
How Many Teams Make the March Madness Tournament?
On Selection Sunday, the tournament committee will unveil 68 teams, with 36 of those securing “at-large” bids. These at-large teams are selected based on the committee’s assessment of their viability, without needing the automatic entry that comes from winning a conference tournament championship.
As previously mentioned, there will be four play-in games before the tournament officially begins, resulting in a final field of 64 teams divided into four regions of 16. The tournament tips off officially on March 20.
Where Is March Madness Hosted?
The first round consists of 32 games played across eight different cities in the USA. To ensure fairness, multiple games are held on the same day and at the same location. This setup guarantees that when the winners advance two days later, no team faces a travel disadvantage.
The cities that are hosting action in the first week (Rounds 1-2):
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Denver, Colorado
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Raleigh, North Carolina
- Seattle, Washington
- Wichita, Kansas
As the stakes rise, ticket demand follows suit and thus, the games the following week move to larger cities that can handle the influx of people (Sweet 16-Elite 8).
- Atlanta, Georgia (State Farm Arena)
- Indianapolis, Indiana (Lucas Oil Stadium)
- Newark, New Jersey (Prudential Center)
- San Francisco, California (Chase Center)
With just three games left in tournament play, the action shifts to prime time in terms of timing and venue. The finalists are decided on Saturday night in the optimal TV window while the 2025 champion is crowned on April 7, a day in which the NBA goes dark, giving the finale a stage unto itself (Final Four-Championship).
- San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome)
Is the NCAA Tournament Single Elimination?
It is!
Teams battle all season long to earn the seed placement the committee assigns them, and that determines their path to raising a banner. March Madness is a race to six wins—and we’ll have you covered with all the numbers, trends, and predictions to help identify which team will come out on top!
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