Simple Explanation of NCAA Brackets

It's the most wonderful time of the year. That's right fellow hubbers; it is college basketball tournament season! So, sit back, open a cold one (if you drink) and turn on the plasma for some serious upsets. Cough cough Duke. What I am going to do for you is break down the simple components of the NCAA brackets.

Let me begin by explaining the selection process. There is a time of the year called "March Madness" when college basketball teams scramble to make the cut for the 65 team NCAA basketball tournament. Thirty of these 65 teams have automatic bids by simply winning their conference. The regular season champion of the Ivy Leauge is also sent to the tournament. The other 34 teams are chosen by a selection committee chosen by the NCAA. The selection committee is composed of 10 members. These ten members are typically athletic directors in college basketball and other top tier position holders. It is considered very prestigious to be a member of the selection committee.

Now that we know how teams are chosen to compete in the tournament let's break down the brackets. There are 16 seeds per 4 regions of the bracket. In each region teams are ranked 1-16 by the selection committee, with the top 4 teams out of 65 presumably holding number 1 seeds in their respective region. The regions are East, Midwest, South and West. Basically, teams are placed in regions in accordance with their conference. Thus, the initial three teams selected from each conference are placed in different regions.