March Madness Ensues
Selection Sunday, the two most anticipated words of March to all sports fans.
Before that fun can start, 32 NCAA Division I conferences must hold their tournaments over a nine-day span, starting with the Ohio Valley Conference (Evansville, Indiana on Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2) and ending with the Big Ten Conference(Chicago, Illinois on Sunday, March 17.) to decide the automatic bids to the main event.
The NCAA Tournament begins with 68 teams, and with only 32 automatic bids, the other 36 teams are filled with at-large bids. An at-large is a bid or berth in a sporting tournament granted by invitation, not right. These teams are chosen by schedule toughness, conference, and other factors. The teams are then split up into groups of 16 and makeup 4 regions, South, East, Midwest, West.
This year, the Final Four and National Championship will be at Minneapolis, MN on April 6-8.
Below are the place, date, and channels where you can catch other tournament action.
First Four: Dayton, OH, March 19-20, Tru TV
1st/2nd Rounds: Hartford, CT, March 21/23, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: Salt Lake City, UT, March 21/23, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: Des Moines, IA, March 21/23, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: Jacksonville, FL, March 21/23, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: Tulsa, OK, March 22/24, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: Columbus, OH, March 22/24, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: Columbia, SC, March 22/24, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
1st/2nd Rounds: San Jose, CA, March 22/24, CBS, Tru TV, TNT, TBS
South Regional: Louisville, KY, March 28/30, CBS, TBS
West Regional: Anaheim, CA, March 28/30, CBS, TBS
East Regional: Washington, D.C., March 29/31, CBS, TBS
Midwest Regional: Kansas City, MO, March 29/31, CBS