March Madness is an annual NCAA basketball tournament held in March and April that determines collegiate champions through single elimination. The tournament, called "The Big Dance," has 68 teams competing for the national championship. The tournament has seven rounds, including the Final Four.
The inaugural 1939 event included eight teams, with Oregon emerging victorious. Selection Sunday reveals the 68 teams, including 32 conference winners and 36 at-large bids. The First Four will begin on March 18 and 19, 2025, following the committee's selection on March 16, 2025.
NCAA March Madness High Seeds and Low Seeds
A team's position in a tournament is referred to as its "seed" in the NCAA. Each team is given a seed by the selection committee according to how they performed in the conference tournaments and regular season. Lower seedings are given to the teams with the best records, and higher seeds are given to the teams with poorer records.
When two seed values are compared, the one that is closest to No. 1 is called the higher seed and the other is called the lower seed. As the tournament goes on, the higher seed plays the lower seed. The teams' matchups and the route to the title are decided by the seeding, which makes it significant.
Also read: March Madness Year on Year Winner List.
When did seeding begin in March Madness?
Seeding did not commence until 1978, and it was a problematic format because each of the 32 teams in the NCAA tournament was seeded differently. The top four seeds in each region went to the sixteen conference winners, while the 11 "at-large" teams and five additional conference winners received separate seeds in each region, numbered one through four.
For instance, the Florida State Seminoles, who faced the Kentucky Wildcats in the first round, were seeded 4L ("at-large") in the Mideast Regional, but the eventual national champions were awarded the 2Q (automatic qualifier) position.
What is a March Madness Bracket?
In the single-elimination format of March Madness, the official bracket is the schedule that shows you which teams are playing which other teams in what order. It is typically displayed as a tree diagram. A pair of teams compete; the victor advances to the following round within the bracket, and so on. The NCAA selection committee is in charge of creating this bracket.
Does Seed 1 usually win March Madness?
Being the top seed is not a guarantee of success. Whatever a top seed accomplishes en route to their probable defeat, upsets, matchups, and injuries are just a few of the variables that could ruin their chances of winning.
But the likelihood of any one of the top four seeds winning the championship is higher than that of any other seed. The first seed in the men's division has won 25 times, more than any other seed as per NCAA. The second-highest mark is five, which goes to the second seed.
Discover: How many 2 seeds have won March Madness?
FAQ's on high seed and low seed
A. Teams are seeded based on performance, with lower seeds having better records. In matchups, higher seeds play lower seeds.
A. Seeding started in 1978, evolving from a complex format to the current system. The '79 tournament had a more straightforward approach.
A. The March Madness bracket is a schedule showing teams' matchups in the single-elimination tournament. Winners progress through rounds in a tree diagram.
A. While there is no guarantee, top seeds have higher chances. The top seed won 25 times and the second seed five times as of March 2025.
A. Selection Sunday, revealing the 68 teams, occurs on March 16, 2025. The First Four start on March 18 and 19.
