March madness title game

Tournament format[ edit ] The NCAA has changed the tournament format several times since its inception, most often being an increase of the number of teams. As of [update] , the tournament includes 68 teams. Qualifying[ edit ] A total of 68 teams qualify for the tournament played during March and April. Thirty-two teams earn automatic bids as their respective conference champions, all of which are awarded via conference tournaments at the end of the regular season.

The committee primarily consists of conference commissioners and school athletic directors who are appointed by the NCAA. Regions[ edit ] The tournament is divided into four regions and each region has at least sixteen teams.

Regions that do not include First Four games have exactly sixteen teams. The committee is charged with making each of the four regions as close as possible in overall quality of teams from wherever they come from. From to , the "Mideast", roughly corresponding to the Southeastern region of the United States , designation was used.

From to , the Mideast region was known as "Southeast" and again changed to "South" starting from The selected names roughly correspond to the location of the four cities hosting the regional finals. From to , the regions were named after their host cities, e. Louis, Missouri , and West Phoenix, Arizona. The committee then divides the teams amongst the four regions, giving each a seed between No. The same four seeds in all the regions are referred to as the seed line i.

Eight teams are doubled up and compete in the First Four. Two of the paired teams compete for No. However, teams are moved to other regions to follow several rules for ensuring competitive balance and avoiding rematches from the regular season in early rounds.

Agbaji was the Big 12's leading scorer, the Big 12 Player of the Year and an All-American, but the tournament has seen the emergence of transfer guard Remy Martin , who was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Midwest Regional despite coming off the bench as a sixth man and missing most of February with injury issues. Both players are not just capable scorers but key pieces in Kansas' perimeter defense, which will be an x-factor for success in the Final Four.

Weaknesses: After a stellar showing in the Big 12 Tournament, the Jayhawks have been a little bit streaky in the Big Dance. The single-digit wins against both Creighton in the second round and Providence in the Sweet 16 had some tense moments, but it was allowing Miami to jump out to a halftime lead that really brought those consistency concerns to the spotlight. Of course, this veteran Kansas team responded by outscoring the Hurricanes over the final 20 minutes.

But if you're looking for weaknesses in this experienced and well-rounded team, it's that we've yet to see a full 40 minutes of its best basketball in the tournament. Key number: 0. Every other team in the Final Four has at least one former five-star prospect on the roster, and the Jayhawks do not have any. Self and experts everywhere have frequently started analysis with some version of the phrase "this might not be Kansas' most talented team, but Outlook: The loss of the NCAA Tournament is not a primary motivation for Kansas, but it's not lost on anyone around the program that Self and the Jayhawks had the best team in the country at the time that the tournament was canceled because of the COVID pandemic.

Agbaji, David McCormack and Christian Braun were all part of that team and in this tournament have seen the bracket break their way at nearly every turn. The successor to Roy Williams got off to a rough start to the season, starting overall without a notable non-conference win and in ACC play, but the Tar Heels' strong close to the season moved this team off the bubble, into the field and now all the way into the Final Four.

Best player: There has been a stylistic shift in North Carolina's lineups with the transition from Roy Williams to Hubert Davis, but he's maintained at least one traditional big that can run the floor with Armando Bacot. It would be a poor decision to not let one of the best rebounders in the country see as much time on the floor as possible, but it's been interesting to watch how Bacot has also adopted modern roles in the offense.

He'll start at the perimeter and float into the lane, giving him the option to either drive to the basket or kick out to one of North Carolina's capable 3-point options if the defense collapses. Scorer, rebounder and facilitator are all in Bacot's wheelhouse, which is why he's the best player on the floor.

Strengths: North Carolina has four players capable of scoring plus on any given night, and that versatility of scoring options make them a dangerous team to face in terms of game planning. Weaknesses: The lack of competitive depth was on full display during the near run by Baylor in the second half of what would eventually be an overtime win for the Tar Heels in the second round.

After Manek was ejected midway through the second half and Love's foul trouble caught up to him before the end of regulation, the Tar Heels' depth issues and matchup problems against elite teams beyond its starting five were on full display. Much has been made of the "Iron Five" who carry so much of the playing time weight and played every minute of the second half in the win at Duke, but the other side of the "Iron Five" is a drop-off in experience and performance should one of those five be knocked out of the game.

Key number: It's just a few ticks above the Tar Heels' respectable season average of While North Carolina has improved defensively in the month of March, it's best course of action will not be to rely exclusively on defensive stops to win against the high-powered Blue Devils.

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Key number: 0. Every other team in the Final Four has at least one former five-star prospect on the roster, and the Jayhawks do not have any. Self and experts everywhere have frequently started analysis with some version of the phrase "this might not be Kansas' most talented team, but Outlook: The loss of the NCAA Tournament is not a primary motivation for Kansas, but it's not lost on anyone around the program that Self and the Jayhawks had the best team in the country at the time that the tournament was canceled because of the COVID pandemic.

Agbaji, David McCormack and Christian Braun were all part of that team and in this tournament have seen the bracket break their way at nearly every turn. The successor to Roy Williams got off to a rough start to the season, starting overall without a notable non-conference win and in ACC play, but the Tar Heels' strong close to the season moved this team off the bubble, into the field and now all the way into the Final Four.

Best player: There has been a stylistic shift in North Carolina's lineups with the transition from Roy Williams to Hubert Davis, but he's maintained at least one traditional big that can run the floor with Armando Bacot. It would be a poor decision to not let one of the best rebounders in the country see as much time on the floor as possible, but it's been interesting to watch how Bacot has also adopted modern roles in the offense.

He'll start at the perimeter and float into the lane, giving him the option to either drive to the basket or kick out to one of North Carolina's capable 3-point options if the defense collapses. Scorer, rebounder and facilitator are all in Bacot's wheelhouse, which is why he's the best player on the floor. Strengths: North Carolina has four players capable of scoring plus on any given night, and that versatility of scoring options make them a dangerous team to face in terms of game planning.

Weaknesses: The lack of competitive depth was on full display during the near run by Baylor in the second half of what would eventually be an overtime win for the Tar Heels in the second round. After Manek was ejected midway through the second half and Love's foul trouble caught up to him before the end of regulation, the Tar Heels' depth issues and matchup problems against elite teams beyond its starting five were on full display.

Much has been made of the "Iron Five" who carry so much of the playing time weight and played every minute of the second half in the win at Duke, but the other side of the "Iron Five" is a drop-off in experience and performance should one of those five be knocked out of the game. Key number: It's just a few ticks above the Tar Heels' respectable season average of While North Carolina has improved defensively in the month of March, it's best course of action will not be to rely exclusively on defensive stops to win against the high-powered Blue Devils.

Timely defensive stops, sure. But North Carolina has to hit threes to keep up on the scoreboard and give itself a chance to win late. Outlook: According to BartTorvik. The seven-game run is absolutely up for critique because of the small sample size, but it backs up what our eyes have told us as well. North Carolina may not be the absolute No.

The Tar Heels are a No. The winner of the Final Four meetings in Kansas and North Carolina also claimed the title that season. So here we go, at the conclusion of a wild tournament that has delivered in almost every round, with two iconic brands represented by teams playing an extremely high level. Let's get into storylines to watch on Monday night: Kansas going for the elusive fourth championship How has the winningest program in Division I men's basketball history only won three NCAA Tournament titles?

Bill Self snapped a painful year title drought in , his fifth year on the job, to move the iconic program into the three-championship club. But absence of another championship under Self has been an oddity bordering on anomaly when you consider he has more often than not brought a team into March that has all the qualities of a national title contender. In the 14 seasons since Kansas' last national championship, Kansas has been a top-four team in the final AP Top 25 poll — released prior to the NCAA Tournament — eight times, and in seven of the last 13 tournaments the Jayhawks have received a 1-seed on Selection Sunday.

The Jayhawks have been a highly-ranked team, received top seeds in the bracket and made deep runs in the tournament, basically checking all the boxes of a perennial title contender. At some point, you figure Self and the Jayhawks are going to break through with another title, right? That was one of those Jayhawks teams ranked No. Not just a title contender, the Jayhawks may have been the national championship favorite heading into the tournament. For a program that was making a trend of tough tournament exits — the , and tournaments all had a No.

Now this year's team has a chance to deliver that elusive fourth national championship, flipping the narrative of how Kansas performs in the tournament and moving the program up the list into more exclusive, and familiar, company for one of the game's true blue bloods. UNC looking to match No. North Carolina is fifth No.

Currently the Villanova Wildcats are the only No. Defeating Kansas on Monday night would add the Tar Heels to that unique piece of NCAA Tournament history as the lowest seed to ever win it all, though suggesting this program, or even this team, has "shocked the world" in doing so would be misguided. North Carolina may carry an 8-seed in the bracket, but it's form over the last month has been among the best in the country.