How Does March Madness Work?

The NCAA Tournament is a 68-team, single-elimination event that crowns college basketball's national champion each spring. Lose once, and you're done.

31 teams earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The remaining 37 spots are awarded through at-large selections, chosen by the NCAA Selection Committee based on résumé strength, quality wins, and advanced metrics such as NET rankings. The committee seeds all 68 teams from No. 1 to No. 16 across four regions, then sets the bracket.

The first round of games (the First Four) trims the field from 68 to 64. From there, the tournament plays out over three weekends: the first and second rounds, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, and, finally, the Final Four and the national championship game.

Each region produces one winner, and those four teams meet at a neutral site to decide the title. Seeding matters. A No. 1 seed opens against a No. 16. A No. 2 faces a No. 15. The bracket is designed so that, in theory, the best teams don't meet until the later rounds, though March has a way of shredding theory in a hurry.

When Does March Madness Start?

The 2026 NCAA Tournament tips off with the First Four on Tuesday, March 17, and Wednesday, March 18 at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The full schedule runs nearly three weeks, finishing with the national championship on Monday, April 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The first round begins Thursday, March 19, and Friday, March 20, across eight host cities, including Buffalo, Philadelphia, Tampa, Portland, San Diego, St. Louis, Greenville, and Oklahoma City. Second-round games follow Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 22 at those same sites.

The Sweet 16 takes place Thursday, March 26, and Friday, March 27, with the Elite Eight on Saturday, March 28, and Sunday, March 29. Regional sites for 2026 are Houston (South), San Jose (West), Chicago (Midwest), and Washington, D.C. (East).

The Final Four tips Saturday, April 4 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET on TBS, with the championship game following on April 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

When Are the 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournaments?

The 2026 college basketball conference tournaments begin March 2 with the Horizon League and run through Selection Sunday on March 15, when the Big Ten and SEC crown their champions just hours before the NCAA Tournament bracket drops on CBS.

All the major conferences tip off during the week of March 10. The ACC tournament runs March 10-14 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte. The Big 12 plays March 10-14 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The Big Ten expanded to include all 18 teams and runs March 10-15 at the United Center in Chicago.

The SEC holds its tournament March 11-15 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Big East plays March 11-14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The first automatic qualifier of 2026 will come from the Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday, March 7. Mid-major conference tournaments fill the early portion of the schedule, with most wrapping up by the time the power conferences reach their semifinal rounds.

All 31 conference tournament champions earn automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, with the remaining 37 at-large spots determined by the selection committee.

When Is Selection Sunday?

Selection Sunday for the 2026 NCAA Tournament falls on March 15, with CBS unveiling the men's 68-team bracket at 6 p.m. ET. The women's bracket follows at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The show typically airs on the Sunday after conference tournaments wrap up, landing somewhere between mid-March and the third weekend of the month.

The 12-member NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee handles the selections. Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill chairs the group for the 2025-26 cycle, joined by athletic directors and conference commissioners from across Division I who serve five-year terms. The committee spends roughly five days in meetings leading up to the broadcast, casting hundreds of ballots to select, seed, and bracket every team in the field.

31 teams earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The committee fills the remaining 37 at-large spots using NET rankings, strength of schedule, quality wins, road and neutral-court performance, and other résumé metrics. Members with a conflict of interest, for example, an AD whose school is under discussion, must leave the room during deliberations on that team.

Who Is on the Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2025-2026 NCAA Tournament?

Keith Gill (Chairperson): Sun Belt Conference, Commissioner
Martin Newton (Vice Chairperson): Samford, Athletic Director
Greg Byrne: Alabama, Athletic Director
Mark Coyle: Minnesota, Athletic Director
Irma Garcia: Manhattan, Athletic Director
Stu Jackson: West Coast Conference
Arthur Johnson: Temple
Zack Lassiter: Abilene Christian
Lee Reed: Georgetown, Athletic Director
Chad Weiberg: Oklahoma State
John Wildhack: Syracuse
Tom Wistrcill: Big Sky Conference, Commissioner

Gill, Byrne, Coyle, and Reed are in the final year of their terms (expiring 2026), while Newton is set to take over as chair for 2026-27.