March Madness is the popular name for the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball
Championship. After the NBA this is the most popular Basketball championship
championship on the season calendar. It is a single elimination tournament held
during March every year. It is otherwise known as the "Big Dance". March
Madness betting is a very popular pastime for students, basketball fans and
most North American sports fans., The reason for this is not only the tam
loyalties, but the condensed 3 weeks format culminating in the Final Four which
reaches fever pitch and is one of the most popular weekends in sports each year.
The tournament started in 1939 and has a rich history with some dynasty teams
and spectacular underdog stories. March Madness betting is enormously
popular and takes on all shapes including office pools which are very popular.
The games are all shown live on the CBS network in the US except for the opening
game which is broadcast on TNN and ESPN.
The NCAA March Madness Bracket as it is popularly known is made up of four
divisions, headlined by the respective divisional champions. The NCAA selection
committee completes the other position in the bracket which follows a seeding
process that considers factors such as team rankings and win-loss records. A
total of 65 teams start the contest with the two lowest seeded teams playing an
opening round to determine who qualifies for the 64th position in the bracket.
This is also referred to the "in-play" game. The winners of each region advance
to compete in the Final Four, which takes place on the Saturday with the
championship match taking place on the Monday.
UCLA currently holds the record for the most titles with 11, and the
University of Kentucky is second with 7. The reigning champions are the North Carolina Tar Heels who
won the tournament in 2009.
Many sportsbooks run bracket contest for huge prizes. Popular wager types
include money line, futures, player props and team props.
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