6 hours ago
1
Shaq Has Some Advice For Rising Basketball Star Caitlin Clark (Exclusive)
Somewhere, an full squad of basketball players is getting fitted for their solid slippers.
Because 1 of the highlights of the yearly Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament are the Cinderella stories.
Whether it was the Stephen Curry and his Davidson Wildcats successful 2008, Sister Jean and the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago successful 2018 oregon the peacocks of Saint Peter's successful 2022, the full satellite seemingly gets down the squads that champion the hoops Goliaths similar Kansas, Kentucky, Connecticut and North Carolina. They assistance america consciousness amended astir the information that our preferred squad was sent location successful the archetypal round, taking our busted brackets with them.
After all, who doesn't emotion an underdog? (Well, different than the fanbases of the teams they beat. We're looking astatine you, Virginia!)
And present that the 68-team March Madness brackets person been set, we'll soon spot what happens erstwhile a squad of athletes support connected believing that the imagination that they privation volition travel true.
Over the people of the adjacent 3 weeks, superstitions volition beryllium adhered to, fake sick calls into enactment volition beryllium made, buzzer beaters volition driblet and dozens of squads volition beryllium bounced from the beloved win-or-go-home tourney.
And travel April 6 (for the women) and April 7 (for the men), 2 squads volition bask their 1 shining moment.
But the players aren't the lone ones with pridefulness connected the line. Before the shot is tipped, you excessively tin get successful the crippled by filling retired a bracket.
And contempt what your sports-obsessed pal mightiness archer you, it doesn't substance if you're a hoops aficionado oregon a full rookie that doesn't cognize the quality betwixt a dribble and a dunk. In the years since the archetypal excavation began astatine a Staten Island barroom backmost successful 1977, no one has ever predicted a cleanable bracket.
The likelihood are, to enactment it lightly, not bully that you volition either, but that's nary crushed to seat yourself.
Consider this your useful playbook arsenic you suit up for March Madness. We can't warrant you'll locomotion distant with immoderate cold-hard cash, but we tin supply an assistance arsenic you sprout your changeable astatine bracketology greatness.
So, survey up, due to the fact that that mansplainer astatine your favourite sports barroom is waiting.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
When does March Madness start?
The NCAA men's hoops tourney tips disconnected Tuesday, March 18. The women suit up the pursuing day. The enactment stars with the First Four, which features 8 teams playing for a spot successful the authoritative circular of 64.
Starting with the archetypal circular (March 20 for the men, March 21 for the women), each signifier cuts the tract successful fractional from 64 to 32, followed by the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight, the Final Four and past the past 2 teams competing for a nationalist championship.
For the Final Four—the past 3 games of each tournament—the women volition deed the hardwood astatine Tampa's Amalie Arena starting April 4. The men volition cheque successful connected April 5 astatine the Alamodome successful San Antonio.
How does March Madness work?
The excitement of each tourney is that it's a single-elimination situation—in different words triumph oregon spell home. The extremity for each squad is to past (i.e. triumph the archetypal crippled connected their schedule) and advance—ideally each the mode to the title game.
How bash I ticker March Madness?
May we suggest getting the squad unneurotic astatine your favourite sports bar? But if you're looking for a much low-key viewing experience, you tin catch each of the men's enactment connected CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, portion the women's games volition aerial connected ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPNU and ABC.
For those who person chopped the cord, you tin watercourse each the CBS matchups connected Paramount+ and the TBS, TNT and truTV enactment connected Max oregon drawback each crippled connected the March Madness Live app.
Porter Binks / Contributor / GETTY IMAGES
Okay, great. Can you thatch maine astir basketball?
Of course! Huddle up. Each broadside gets the full of the 30-second changeable timepiece to marque a basket. No substance however the shot goes done the hoop—whether it's a layup, leap shot, pull-up, slope shot, fadeaway—the subordinate earns their squad 2 points. If they sprout their changeable from beyond the three-point arc, it's worth, well, 3 points.
Should a subordinate miss the handbasket and idiosyncratic from the different squad snags the rebound, a caller changeable timepiece starts and they get the accidental to score. If the subordinate oregon idiosyncratic connected their squad gets the rebound, they tin support shooting until the changeable timepiece expires. One past note: If the subordinate misses the basket, but hits the rim, they get a full caller 20-second changeable clock.
Michael Reaves / Staff / GETTY IMAGES
Teams tin besides people points done escaped throws that hap erstwhile a foul is called by the referees. If that foul takes spot against a subordinate successful the enactment of shooting (or if the squad has accumulated capable full fouls that they are successful the bonus situation), that subordinate is awarded escaped throws.
If their changeable goes in, they get the accidental to instrumentality 1 further changeable from the free-throw line. If it's a miss, they get 2 shots.
Got it? No? Well, the astir important takeaway is that whichever squad has the astir points astatine the extremity of 2 20-minute halves (or 4 10-minute quarters for women) bounces distant with the win.
Which teams are successful the tourney?
A full of 68 teams gain a bid to some the men's and women's NCAA tournament. And determination are 2 ways for teams to dribble their mode into competition. Each of the 31 Division I conferences get an automatic bid, which is awarded to the squad that wins the post-season league tourney regardless of however they whitethorn person performed during the regular season.
An further 37 at-large teams are chosen by the committee tasked with mounting up the brackets. While they look astatine a full slew of stats, rankings and win-loss records, the process is somewhat subjective meaning that, yes, each twelvemonth there's an unhappy fanbase oregon 2 griping astir the information that their squad isn't dancing.
The teams are divided into 4 regions (East, South, Midwest, West) and fixed a seeding with the 1 seeds considered to beryllium the champion teams that year. The first-round matchups pit the apical squad successful each portion against the bottommost team, oregon the 16 seed, giving them a amended accidental of winning their game. At least, successful theory.
Icon Sportswire / Contributor / GETTY IMAGES
All right, who are the top-seeded teams successful the NCAA tournament?
While each squad technically has a changeable astatine winning it all, mostly speaking the top-seeded teams are considered the odds-on favorites. For the men, that would beryllium Houston, Auburn, Florida, Duke, Tennessee, St. John's, Alabama and Michigan State.
As for the women's squads looking to breakaway from the pack, there's UCLA, USC, North Carolina State, UConn, Texas, TCU, Duke and past year's victor South Carolina.
Eakin Howard/Getty Images
How bash I marque a cleanable NCAA bracket?
Pure dumb luck, perhaps? By each means, sprout your shot, but nary 1 has accomplished this feat, truthful possibly conscionable purpose for besting your besties.
A fewer astute plays to support successful mind: Only 2 16 seeds person ever bushed their opposing 1 seeds successful the men's tourney—UMBC successful 2018 and Fairleigh Dickinson successful 2023—so keeping the apical seeds done the archetypal circular is simply a dependable strategy. Similarly, 2 seeds don't often suffer to 15 seeds. And with the women it's adjacent much rare—16 effect Harvard successful 1998 is the lone squad seeded 14 done 16 to beforehand done the archetypal round.
That being said, determination are always upsets and correctly predicting those bracket busters is usually the cardinal to dribbling past your opponents. The NCAA calculated that successful the past 39 years, lone 12 tournaments person featured less than 7 upsets, to that whitethorn conscionable beryllium the fortunate number.
Picking astatine slightest 1 12 effect implicit a 5 is simply a classical move, with some Wisconsin and Saint Mary's getting bounced from the men's tourney past year. And per the NCAA 11-over-6 upsets are the astir common, conscionable squeaking past 10-7 upsets. Statistically, 2 seeds besides suffer successful the 2nd circular of the tourney 1.2 times each year, which is thing to see earlier taking each the apical teams to the Sweet Sixteen.
However, the quality of the knockout tourney is that a Cinderella squad conscionable indispensable person a spot of magic for 40 minutes to locomotion distant with the proverbial solid slipper. So genuinely thing is possible. Reach heavy wrong due to the fact that that 1 shining infinitesimal awaits.
