NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Tickets

What's "March Madness"?

There is an affliction that grips what seems like the entire country every March. People who haven't uttered the word "hoops" all year suddenly discuss brackets at great length. They debate "bubble teams," "automatic bids," and "at-large berths." March Madness® refers to the end of the NCAA® Men's Division I College Basketball season, the conference tournaments and the now 68-team, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Who plays?

The top 68 Division I college basketball teams get invitations to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for having some combination of the best record, winning their conference tournament and / or having beaten other strong teams during the season. The NCAA announces the top 60 seeds invited to the tournament as well as the eight teams in the new Round 1 "play-in games" who compete for the remaining spots. The announcement is made by the NCAA on Selection Sunday™.

Rounds 2 & 3

The "Big Dance" as the NCAA Basketball tournament is sometimes called is a single elimination tournament that takes place in venues across the country over the course of three weeks. The thirty-two round 2 games are played at eight venues across the country on the Thursday and Friday following selection Sunday. Round 3 is played in those same eight venues that Saturday and Sunday.

The Regional rounds, or the Sweet 16® and Elite 8® rounds

The 16 teams that win their round 2 and 3 games make it to the Regionals. The Regionals are held in four new venues in the East Regional, West Regional, Midwest Regional or South Regional. Teams that make it to this round are commonly referred to as the "Sweet 16." Teams that win their first Regional game are dubbed the "Elite 8." The regional games follow the same format as rounds 2 & 3. The first games are on Thursday or Friday followed by the second set of regional games on Saturday or Sunday.

Final Four® Round

The four teams that survive both regional games are appropriately dubbed the "Final Four." The final four teams still alive in the tournament go on to a final venue to play the semi-finals and the championship game. Unlike the other rounds that are played Thursday to Sunday, the Final Four games are played on Saturday (semis) and Monday (Championship Game).

Tickets – What's a Strip?

NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament tickets can typically be purchased for individual games – sometimes called sessions – or as a strip. A "full strip" is a ticket to all the games at a venue for the entire round.