\u2699\ufe0f How it works<\/h3>\n
While the 68 Division I (DI) men\u2019s teams were revealed <\/strong>on Sunday<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> the single-elimination (!!!) tournament officially <\/em>begins tomorrow. Men\u2019s college hoops games consist of two 20-minute halves, with a 30-second shot clock for each possession.<\/p>\n In terms of logistics,<\/strong> after ranking teams from one through 68<\/a>, the selection committee<\/a> then divvied them up into the bracket\u2019s four regions: the East, West, South and Midwest.<\/p>\n The committee also placed teams into each region.<\/strong> Generally, higher-ranked programs earn the privilege of being placed in the region they\u2019re closest to geographically, but that\u2019s not always the case.<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s First Four matchups will determine the final seeds<\/strong>. Texas Southern and Fairleigh Dickinson will battle for the remaining No. 16 seed at 6:40 p.m. ET, and Arizona State will take on Nevada for the No. 11 seed at 9:10 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n Then the real Madness begins <\/strong>with 63 single-elimination contests going down in the next two and a half weeks. The games tip off tomorrow and run through the round of 64, round of 32, the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight and the Final Four before concluding with the championship on Monday, April 3rd.<\/p>\n SOURCE: MATHEY_GIBSON1\/TWITTER<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Before we jump into the No. 1 seeds, <\/strong>there\u2019s one well-known team who won\u2019t<\/em> be dancing this year. Perennial powerhouse and last year\u2019s runner-up UNC is stunningly the first preseason\u2013No. 1 squad since 1985 to fail to make the tourney. The widespread parity in the men\u2019s game has never been so stark (and fun!).<\/p>\n Alabama Crimson Tide (South):<\/strong> The Tide rolled through the SEC<\/a> with just two conference losses this season, earning them the overall No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. Bama will be looking for their first-ever Final Four appearance this year, but will do so under an off-court cloud<\/a>.<\/p>\n Houston Cougars (Midwest):<\/strong> Despite losing their conference tournament<\/a> last weekend, the Coogs received a No. 1 seed. And although star guard Marcus Sasser seems confident<\/a> he\u2019ll be ready to play on Thursday after nursing a groin injury<\/a>, a nagging injury like that could<\/em> spell trouble for the Cougars if they go deep.<\/p>\n Kansas Jayhawks (West): <\/strong>Not only are the defending champ Jayhawks the only No. 1 team with an NCAA trophy, they have four<\/em> of \u2019em. Like Houston, Kansas lost their conference tourney. But if they click their heels three times<\/a>, they could Rock Chalk<\/a> to become the first back-to-back champs since Florida in 2007.<\/p>\n Purdue Boilermakers (East):<\/strong> This season, much of Purdue\u2019s success is rightfully attributed to their Canadian center, seven-foot-four superstar Zach Edey. The top National Player of the Year candidate<\/a> led the Boilermakers out of their late-season stumble<\/a> to take their second-ever Big Ten<\/a> tourney crown last weekend. Hot stuff.<\/p>\n SOURCE: UCLAMBB\/TWITTER<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n No. 2 seed UCLA Bruins (West): <\/strong>The 11-time champion Bruins are seeking their first natty since 1995, but after losing starting junior guard Jaylen Clark to a season-ending Achilles injury<\/a>, nabbing this year\u2019s \u2019ship will be hard. That said, with leading UCLA scorer Jaime Jaquez Jr. and a shut-it-down defense, don\u2019t count the Bruins out.<\/p>\n No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns (Midwest):<\/strong> The Longhorns hooked the Big 12<\/a> tourney thanks to a dominant win<\/a> over No. 1 seed Kansas last weekend. A notable dub, made all the more impressive considering interim head coach<\/a> (HC) Rodney Terry\u2019s been at the helm since then\u2013HC Chris Beard\u2019s December 12th arrest<\/a>. This squad is tough on and<\/em> off the court.<\/p>\n No. 2 seed Arizona Wildcats (South):<\/strong> Led by star forward \u0104\u017euolas Tubelis and his nearly 20 points per game average, these \u2019Cats, who edged the aforementioned Bruins in the Pac-12<\/a> tournament last weekend, could claw out a national title, but they\u2019ll have to bear down<\/a> on their recently weak defense to do so.<\/p>\n No. 3 seed Baylor Bears (South):<\/strong> The 2021 national champs are seeking their second NCAA banner, but these Bears will need their stellar offense to outshine their truly dismal defense to make it happen. You know what they say\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n No. 2 seed Marquette Golden Eagles (East): <\/strong>These Eagles were supposed to stay grounded \u2014 they were picked to finish ninth out of the 11 Big East<\/a> teams this season. However, thanks to offensive power and a penchant for forcing turnovers, Marquette flew the nest and could soar to their first national title in 46 years.<\/p>\n SOURCE: KSTATEMBB\/TWITTER<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n No. 5 seed Duke Blue Devils (East): <\/strong>The traditional blue blood<\/a> program stumbled early in the season, but found their groove in the second half. That late surge helped the Blue Devils win the ACC tournament title<\/a> and a real shot at nabbing a surprise \u2019ship.<\/p>\n No. 6 seed Kentucky Wildcats (East): <\/strong>It\u2019s been a rough few years for this perennial powerhouse, who won only nine<\/em> games in 2020\u201321 and was stunningly upset<\/a> by Cinderella squad Saint Peter\u2019s in the tourney\u2019s first-round last year. After a rocky season start, the \u2019Cats rebounded enough to give Big Blue Nation<\/a> hope for another natty.<\/p>\n No. 3 seed Kansas State Wildcats (East): <\/strong>Kansas State\u2019s seeding was a surprise considering the squad has struggled since February 11th. If they can recapture their early-season mojo, a Wildcat national crown could be possible.<\/p>\n No. 5 seed Miami Hurricanes (Midwest): <\/strong>The Hurricanes have been hot as of late, going 8-1 in their last nine regular-season games to claim a share of the ACC regular-season title. If forward Norchad Omier recovers well from his recent injury<\/a>, good luck to Miami\u2019s Madness foes.<\/p>\n No. 7 seed Texas A&M Aggies (Midwest): <\/strong>The almost-certainly-under-seeded Aggies finished their SEC season just behind overall No. 1 seed Alabama (who, BTW, they also defeated in their last regular-season game<\/a>). Not bad for a team that hasn\u2019t made the last three tournaments.<\/p>\n No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans (East): <\/strong>While these Spartans have taken down some of the nation\u2019s top teams this season, they\u2019ve also struggled with a mediocre conference record. The key to Michigan State\u2019s success is HC Tom Izzo, who\u2019s famous for squeezing shockingly fantastic playoff performances out of mid-level rosters.<\/p>\n Jalen Pickett, Penn State (Midwest): <\/strong>What\u2019s most shocking about the No. 10 seed Nittany Lions\u2019 senior guard is that he wasn\u2019t a unanimous<\/em> all\u2013Big Ten first team<\/a> pick. His offensive power may be the reason the Nittany Lions \u2014 who struggle defensively \u2014 managed to advance to the tourney this year.<\/p>\n Drew Timme, Gonzaga (West):<\/strong> It\u2019s the mustached maestro\u2019s swan song as the \u2019Zags\u2019 probable All-American<\/a> takes one final stab at bringing the first national championship to the storied program. No. 3 seed Gonzaga\u2019s hot and cold season doesn\u2019t offer much hope for a trophy run, but the last tourney of an iconic hooper\u2019s college career<\/a> can\u2019t be missed.<\/p>\n DeAndre Williams and Kendric Davis, Memphis (East):<\/strong> This dynamic duo has been on fire for the No. 8 seed Tigers, combining for a wild 68 of Memphis\u2019 81 points in their AAC tournament quarter-final win<\/a> over UCF. Look for this senior combo to be chaos-makers.<\/p>\n Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Midwest):<\/strong> In a delicious postseason intrastate rivalry, No. 4 seed Indiana\u2019s Jackson-Davis may be the biggest challenger to Purdue star Zach Edey\u2019s Player of the Year crown. The Hoosie will rely on their leading scorer to craft a winning streak \u2014 the squad hasn\u2019t won back-to-back games since February 14th. Heartbreak.<\/p>\n SOURCE: PATRICK SMITH\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Clear your cal and prep all your screens for some epic weeks of basketball, <\/strong>starting with tomorrow and Friday\u2019s jam-packed first-round slate<\/a>. The fun tips off at 12:15 p.m. ET tomorrow when No. 8 seed Maryland faces No. 9 seed West Virginia on CBS in the U.S. and TSN in Canada. Bring on the madness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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1\ufe0f\u20e3 The No. 1 seeds<\/h3>\n
\ud83d\udc4a The contenders<\/h3>\n
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\ud83d\udc0e The dark horses<\/h3>\n
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\ud83d\udcaa (More) players to watch<\/h3>\n
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<\/figure>\n\ud83d\udcfa Tune in<\/h3>\n
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