Mark your calendars as that march madness is now counting down the days until brackets and pools open!
The 2025 March Madness tournament starts with “Selection Sunday” on March 16. There will be 68 teams out of 355 that will play in the NCAA tournament for men’s basketball.
Here’s who and what to look for when the brackets open.
According to the NCAA, “The Division I men’s basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams that compete in seven rounds for the national championship title. The seven rounds are, First Four, First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and then the NCAA Championship game.”
The NCAA said, “Selection Sunday is the day when the Selection Committee reveals the full NCAA tournament bracket, including all teams and all seeds.”
The dates for each round are as follows:
First Four: March 18-19
First Round: March 20-21
Second Round: March 22-23
Sweet 16: March 27-28
Elite Eight: March 29-30
Final Four: April 5
NCAA Championship Game: April 7
“There are two ways that a team can earn a bid to the NCAA tournament,” based on the NCAA. “The 31 Division I conferences all receive an automatic bid, which they each award to the team that wins the postseason conference tournament.”
Here’s what the top 10 is looking like according to AP:
(keep in mind that these will be changing as the season goes on)
- Auburn (23-2)
- Florida (22-3)
- Duke (22-3)
- Alabama (21-4)
- Houston (21-4)
- Tennessee (21-5)
- Texas A&M (20-5)
- Iowa State (20-5)
- Texas Tech (20-5)
- St. Johns (22-4)
To learn more about the odds of a “perfect bracket”, here’s a video from the NCAA. Anything can happen, so pick and choose wisely!