The NCAA March Madness is a college basketball tournament that takes place from the second week of March all the way to the first week of April. The game results determine whether the competing teams become college basketball champions or not. Each year, millions of college basketball fans get into this American sports frenzy involving both men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments. Because the games are single-elimination knockout tournaments, the championship team must win at least six successive games to gain the title. A single loss sends them home immediately.

Where Did the March Madness Title Originate From?

Initially, the term March Madness was used by Henry V. Porter, a high school official from Illinois, to describe basketball in 1939. The nickname later found its way into NCAA in 1982, when Brent Musburger, a CBS broadcaster and sportswriter by then, used it in news coverage. In such a high-stake competition accompanied by a Cinderella story, the nickname ‘March Madness’ was born. Since then, the term became synonymous with Division 1 men’s basketball tournaments. It is also a hype that relates to 68 men teams and 64 women teams contending for the ultimate prize of college basketball in the US.

Seeds and Brackets

Being a knockout-style game, the team that lose go out and those that win proceed to the next challenge. The bracket is divided into four regions, namely the East, West, Midwest, and South. Every region consists of 16 teams with seeds ranging from 1 to 16. The number 1 seed claims the title of the best team in the region, and number 16 is regarded as the worst team. The selection committee applies a comprehensive approach to see to it that the seeds balance out in all the regions. In the first round, the seeds are matched up as 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, 3 vs. 14, 4 vs. 13, 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and, 8 vs. 9.