March Madness Bracket Basics

If this is your first time entering brackets, you have nothing to worry about. Entering brackets is so easy! Even if you haven’t been following basketball all year and you are worried you won’t pick the winner, it’s okay. No one has ever had a perfect bracket. Ever. Let’s go over the March Madness Bracket Basics.

Why enter brackets? It’s super fun! You get a unique opportunity to do something that nobody has ever done before – to create a perfect bracket. You can cheer on your favorite team and keep track of your progress throughout the game. Moreover, you have a chance to win some fantastic prizes!

What is March Madness?

Each year the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournament begins in March – hence the name March Madness. It lasts for 3 1/2 weeks and ends in April.

The Tournament consists of 68 teams. The 32 Conference Championship winners make up the first 32 teams. A 10-member selection committee uses various factors, such as their record and strength of schedule, to choose and seed the final 36 teams.

The seeding is finalized on Selection Sunday. You have from around 6 pm ET on Selection Sunday until about an hour before the first game to finalize and submit your brackets.

You’ll notice that your bracket is divided into four sections, each representing a different region: South, West, East, and Midwest. Within each region there are 16 teams, each assigned a seeding from 1 to 16. The 1 seed is regarded as the top team in the region, while the 16 seed is considered the worst.

Scoring is simple. It is a single-elimination tournament, which means that a team that wins will progress to the next round, while a team that loses is out.

The tournament begins with 64 teams, and in round 1, you will earn one point for each correct team selection. Thirty-two teams remain for round 2, and each accurate pick now earns you 2 points. The excitement builds during the Sweet 16, where the correct picks are worth 4 points. The Elite 8 is worth 8 points, the Final Four gets 16 points, and the Championship game is worth a massive 32 points!

How to enter

There are so many ways to participate in March Madness.

Playing with your colleagues and want a physical copy of your bracket? Here is the link to the official printable NCAA bracket for the 2024 men’s basketball tournament.

There are several websites where you can enter brackets for free. I have a list of them on my March Madness page. Some have substantial prizes.