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Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
March Madness 2025: How to fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket
Welcome to March Madness. For the next month, college basketball will dominate the sports world as the 2025 NCAA tournament takes center stage. 68 teams will compete for a chance to etch their names into history by winning the national championship. If this is your first time watching the tournament, get ready to hear this word repeated constantly: bracket. Filling out a bracket is becoming a yearly tradition for many Americans. In a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about one-quarter of Americans fill out a men's bracket 'every year' or 'some years.' A portion of these Americans may not know anything about college basketball. That's OK. You can watch all the college basketball in the world, and it might not matter because ultimately, the bracket is a game of chance. Below are some beginner tips and tricks to follow when filling out your brackets. The above picture is the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship bracket. Right now, there are 68 teams listed on the bracket. After the First Four ends on Wednesday night, the bracket will have 64 teams. The goal is to pick the winner of each game. There are four quadrants, or regions. Each region has schools ranked from No. 1 to No. 16. The goal for each school is to win their region and get to the Final Four. The region winners on the left and right will play each other, with the winners moving to the championship. The winner of that game will be the national champion. Let's look at the West Region's first game (bottom left on the bracket): No. 1 Florida (30-4) vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (24-10). 'No. 1' is the seed, and '30-4' is the team's record. No. 1 is the higher seed, so that's Florida. You can pick either Florida or Norfolk State to win. However, No. 1 seeds rarely lose to No. 16 seeds. No. 1 seeds are 154-2 all-time against No. 16. The most recent upset victory came in 2023 when No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson defeated No. 1 Purdue. You'll notice in some regions that there are two teams listed in a matchup. No. 6. Ole Miss will play No. 11 San Diego St./No. 11 North Carolina in the South Region. San Diego St. and North Carolina will play in the First Four. The winner of that game will face No. 6 Ole Miss. You do not have to pick the winner of San Diego State and North Carolina. However, you can pick that winner to beat Ole Miss if that's your decision. has a printable and interactive bracket. There are various tournament challenges you can enter for free. The NCAA Men's Bracket Challenge, ESPN Tournament Challenge, and CBS Sports Bracket Challenge are some of the more popular internet contests. The grand prizes range from prize money to future trips to the Final Four. The submission deadline for most pools is before the first game at 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 20. The objective for every pool or contest you enter is virtually the same: pick the winners for every game. However, the scoring can vary for each contest, so please read the rules before signing up. Generally speaking, players accumulate points in every round for each winner. However, more points are usually awarded for picking winners in later rounds. In other words, the closer a game is to the national championship, the more points available to win. Knowing this, picking the correct champion and having as many teams as possible in the later rounds can be the difference between winning and losing. What makes March Madness unique from other tournaments are the upsets, especially in the first two rounds. An upset occurs when a higher seed defeats a lower seed. For example, a popular upset pick will be a No. 11 seed over a No. 6 seed. Per the NCAA, a No. 11 seed has defeated a No. 6 seed 61 times (39.1%) since 1985. Therefore, picking at least one No. 11 seed to defeat a No. 6 seed is a good move. Most upsets occur in the first round — 8.5 per tournament since 1985. Don't get addicted to picking upsets. The favorites are favored for a reason. The lowest seed to ever make it to the Final Four is No. 11. No. 12-No. 16 have never made it to the Final Four, so while it would be cool to have the bracket with a No. 13 in the championship, it's never happened. Here are the dates for every round of the NCAA Tournament: First Four: March 18-19 First round: March 20-21 Second round: March 22-23 Sweet 16: March 27-28 Elite Eight: March 29-30 Final Four: April 5 NCAA championship game: April 7 Men's March Madness coverage can be found on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV. Every game can be streamed in the March Madness Live app using a TV provider. TNT, TBS, and truTV games can be streamed with Max, while CBS games can be found on Paramount+.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cumulus Media's Westwood One Presents Exclusive Multiplatform Audio Coverage of the 2025 NCAA® Men's Basketball Tournament
; NEW YORK, March 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cumulus Media's Westwood One (NASDAQ: CMLS), the largest audio network in the U.S. and the official network audio broadcast partner of the NCAA, will once again be home to every bounce, basket, and buzzer beater of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Westwood One's coverage will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET prior to the First Four® on Tuesday, March 18 and continue with play-by-play action from every game through the National Championship on Monday, April 7. In addition, Westwood One will broadcast live Spanish-language coverage of the NCAA Men's Final Four® on Saturday, April 5 and the National Championship Game on Monday, April 7. Where to Listen Westwood One's complete NCAA men's tournament coverage can be heard on terrestrial radio stations nationwide and via SiriusXM. All 67 Division I men's games will also be streamed online for free at and on and on the newly launched Westwood One Sports app available in the iTunes and Google Play stores. Additionally, the broadcasts will be available for free via the NCAA March Madness Live app or The Varsity Network app. Fans can also access live audio via Alexa-enabled devices by asking to 'Open Westwood One Sports'. TuneIn premium subscribers can also hear all the action live. All-Star Broadcast Team The trio of Kevin Kugler, Robbie Hummel, and P.J. Carlesimo will announce all the action for the Final Four and the National Championship in English. Andy Katz will return to serve as courtside reporter and Jason Horowitz will host the pregame, halftime and postgame shows from the Final Four and National Championship in San Antonio, Texas. In addition to Hummel and Carlesimo, Westwood One's coverage of NCAA March Madness® will also feature a wealth of renowned commentators and analysts including former coach Tom Crean, All-Americans Robbie Hummel and Casey Jacobsen as well as former college stars LaPhonso Ellis, Austin Croshere, Jordan Cornette, Jon Crispin, King McClure and Sarah Kustok. The roster of tournament play-by-play announcers will include Kugler, Ryan Radtke, Scott Graham, John Sadak, Jason Benetti, Noah Eagle, Chris Carrino, Ted Emrich, Spero Dedes, and Nate Gatter. Jason Horowitz and Nick Bahe will host the network coverage from Westwood One's Los Angeles studios. Brad Heller will anchor Westwood One's coverage on satellite, online, and mobile platforms. Westwood One will present the Spanish-language broadcasts of the Final Four and Championship for the seventh time. The games will be called by Rafael Hernandez Brito; former All-American Greivis Vásquez will return as analyst, and former Puerto Rican National Basketball Team coach Carlos Morales will host the broadcasts. Westwood One will produce an outstanding lineup of hour-long college basketball programs that air prior to each day's coverage including 'The NCAA Tournament Today,' 'The Final Four Show,' and 'Championship Monday.' Westwood One's complete schedule of 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament broadcasts: First Four Doubleheaders: Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 pm ET Wednesday, March 19, 6:30 pm ET First Round Quadrupleheaders: Thursday, March 20, 12 noon ET Friday, March 21, 12 noon ET Second Round Quadrupleheaders: Saturday, March 22, 12 noon ET Sunday, March 23, 12 noon ET Regional Semifinal Doubleheaders: Thursday, March 27, 7:00 pm ET Friday, March 28, 7:00 pm ET Regional Final Doubleheaders: Saturday, March 29, 6:00 pm ET Sunday, March 30, 2:00 pm ET Men's Final Four: Saturday, April 5, 4:00 pm ET Men's National Championship: Monday, April 7, 7:00 pm ET A complete schedule of games, announcer bios, exclusive audio content, and a list of radio stations airing Westwood One's broadcast of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship can be found on or the Westwood One Sports app. NCAA, First Four, Final Four, and March Madness are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. About Westwood One Sports Westwood One Sports is home to some of the most exciting sports broadcasts on radio. In addition to being the exclusive network radio partner to the NFL since 1987—featuring regular and post-season NFL football, including the playoffs and the Super Bowl—its other extensive properties include NCAA Basketball, including the NCAA Men's and Women's Tournaments and the Final Four®; U.S. Soccer; The Masters; NCAA Football; and other marquee sports events. Westwood One also distributes and represents Infinity Sports Network. On social media, join the Westwood One Sports community on Facebook at on Instagram at and X (formerly Twitter) at For more information, visit or download the Westwood One Sports app in the iTunes or Google Play stores. About Cumulus MediaCumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) is an audio-first media company delivering premium content to over a quarter billion people every month — wherever and whenever they want it. Cumulus Media engages listeners with high-quality local programming through 400 owned-and-operated radio stations across 84 markets; delivers nationally-syndicated sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming from iconic brands including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, CNN, AP News, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and many other world-class partners across more than 9,500 affiliated stations through Westwood One, the largest audio network in America; and inspires listeners through the Cumulus Podcast Network, its rapidly growing network of original podcasts that are smart, entertaining and thought-provoking. Cumulus Media provides advertisers with personal connections, local impact and national reach through broadcast and on-demand digital, mobile, social, and voice-activated platforms, as well as integrated digital marketing services, powerful influencers, full-service audio solutions, industry-leading research and insights, and live event experiences. Cumulus Media is the only audio media company to provide marketers with local and national advertising performance guarantees. For more information visit About the NCAA The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit and for more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships that support the NCAA and its student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola as official corporate champions and the following elite companies as official corporate partners: Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, GEICO, Great Clips, The Home Depot, Intuit Turbotax, Invesco QQQ, LG, Marriott Bonvoy, Nabisco, Nissan, Pizza Hut, Reese's, Unilever, and Wendy's. Contact: Lisa Dollinger Strategic Communication for Cumulus Media | Westwood One | lisa@
New York Times
18-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Earlier title tipoff, Jalen Rose returns, 76 teams and more March Madness TV takeaways
You will fill out brackets (and many of you will bet on them), celebrate buzzer-beaters and share memes of sad fans. This is guaranteed in March. But what I'm not sure about is whether you will watch the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on April 7 in San Antonio. Why? Well, the men's final has produced historically low viewership over the past two years. Connecticut's 75-60 win over Purdue last year averaged 14.82 million viewers across TBS (7.40M), TNT (6.20M) and truTV (1.22M), the second-least watched title game in history. Advertisement What was the lowest? That came two years ago, with Connecticut's win over San Diego State. The Huskies' 17-point blowout victory drew 14.69 million viewers on CBS. For context: Ten years ago, Duke's win over Wisconsin averaged 28.3 million viewers. UNC-Gonzaga averaged 23 million viewers on CBS eight years ago. Is the blip based on the matchups and margins of victory over the last two years, a trend about the one-and-done nature of men's college basketball, and does it even matter? The executives of CBS and TNT Sports, now in their 14th year as media partners for the men's NCAA Tournament, point to the rising numbers in the earlier rounds of the tournament as an indicator of health. For instance, last year's first Saturday games averaged 10.8 million viewers, the most-watched second-round Day 1 ever. The opening Thursday-Friday-Saturday games — filled with upsets – averaged 9.0 million viewers. The social media numbers have never been better. But the championship game is still the showcase of the sport — the game that means the most as far as where the business of college basketball is at the moment. And the data suggests men's college basketball needs a boost. The NCAA, CBS and TNT Sports worked together to move the start time of the national championship game 30 minutes earlier this year, from 9:20 p.m. (ET) to 8:50 p.m. (ET). That is the most significant change for viewers in 2025. 'The reality is later start times often help with viewership,' CBS Sports CEO and president David Berson said. 'If the game's close at the end, the viewership is going to be there. Oftentimes the later you go, the more you have the viewers to start at the beginning of the telecast. 'But we also understand that we want to appeal to people of all ages. The later you go, the more challenging that is. It's us working with the NCAA to be more fan-friendly. We're happy that we're able to move it a half-hour early, and hopefully, it can give some younger people an opportunity to see more of the game.' The move was celebrated with near-universal acclaim from those who cover the sport. Whether it juices the viewership is something we will learn next month. Below, we offer a viewer's guide to the CBS Sports/TNT Sports coverage as men's college basketball attempts to get its viewership groove back. Sure. CBS Sports and TNT Sports have live coverage of all 67 games of the tournament. The coverage runs across four national television networks: TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. All games are streamed on NCAA March Madness Live. Games airing on TBS, TNT and truTV will also stream live on Max, while games airing on CBS also will stream live on Paramount+. Advertisement CBS will televise the Final Four, beginning with the national semifinals on Saturday, April 5, and then the national championship on Monday, April 7. It is the 43rd time CBS has broadcast the men's NCAA basketball championship. It's the same group as last year. Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson will call the national semifinals and national championship. Gene Steratore will serve as rules analyst throughout the tournament and will be on-site in San Antonio for the Final Four. Just click on this link. The top team of Eagle, Raftery, Hill and Wolfson were assigned to Duke's regional, which is no surprise. That's your top television draw. The excellent Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn group would be looking at a potential St. John's versus either Arkansas or Kansas. That's Rick Pitino against either Bill Self or John Calipari. I'd say it's the addition of Jalen Rose, the longtime ESPN analyst who was part of that company's contract purge in 2023. Rose will work as a game analyst for the first two rounds and as a studio analyst during the First Four and Final Four. Also, look for multiple tributes to Greg Gumbel throughout the tournament. Gumbel, who passed away in December at 78, was part of the tournament's coverage from 1997 to 2023. CBS had a lovely tribute to Gumbel at the start of the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday. 'Greg was such a huge part of CBS and this tournament for decades,' Berson said Berson. 'I don't think you can find a finer gentleman in all of television. We all miss him dearly. We'll have several tributes to him throughout the tournament.' On the production end, Ken Mack takes over as the lead producer on the top team. Advertisement Here you go: They will. Ernie Johnson will host studio coverage from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York with Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith. Adam Lefkoe will host studio coverage from TNT Sports Studios in Atlanta alongside Jay Wright, Candace Parker and Seth Davis. Adam Zucker also will serve as a host from New York. Wally Szczerbiak and Wright will make appearances from the CBS Broadcast Center. Jamie Erdahl, now the host of NFL Network's Good Morning Football, will provide game updates. The tournament begins on Tuesday with the First Four on truTV. No. 16-seeded teams St. Francis and Alabama State play at 6:40 p.m. (ET), followed by No. 11-seeds North Carolina versus San Diego State at around 9:10 p.m. (ET). Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel and reporter Jon Rothstein call the First Four from Dayton, Ohio. Studio coverage for the First Four will originate from Atlanta with Lefkoe, Davis, Rose and Wright. The anecdotal data suggests yes. 'The first round viewership we had last year was the highest ever,' TNT Sports CEO and president Luis Silberwasser said. 'It's hard to know exactly if people are watching it at work or home, but in some cases, we've seen an increase in connected devices so you could attribute that to people sort of working from home and watching it in the first round.' 'I grew up 10 minutes from the St. John's campus so in the 1980s, when the Red Storm were nationally relevant with great players and great teams, that was part of what attracted me to college basketball as a young person,' Eagle said. 'To see it now all these years later, there is electricity in New York City. It's legitimate. You can feel it. (Raftery) and I called a St. John's game of the Garden very recently, and it was a packed house. I think it has an impact on a national scale because it gets a part of the country involved that sometimes doesn't have much of a rooting interest.' My prediction is that viewership overall will be down from last year, but the title game will increase. The combination of the game airing on CBS and the earlier start time should pump up things a couple of million. One trend that suggests the tournament will be down came last week when Duke-North Carolina's second regular-season game drew 2.998 million on ESPN. Their first meeting on Feb. 1 drew 2.29 million. That's below where those games for Zion Williamson's 2018-2019 season at Duke (4.16 million and 4.34 million), per Sports Business Journal's Austin Karp. Advertisement Duke-North Carolina is the sport's signature rivalry and a bellwether where the viewership is in late March. Last year's men's tournament averaged 9.86 million viewers per window across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, per Sports Media Watch, up 3 percent in viewership from 2023. '(NCAA head) Charlie (Baker) and Dan (Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball) have said publicly that they're exploring it,' Berson said. 'This is an event that captivates the country for three weeks every year. There's nothing like March Madness. As they're looking to see if there are tweaks to be made, I think everyone's just being diligent and smart and careful because while we might want to enhance it, given the change in the college landscape that can justify expanding by a few teams. 'No one wants to do anything that's going to take away from how special this tournament is. It's more in their lap their ours. As a partner, we work with them to see how we can best maximize it. But no one wants to do anything that's going to negatively impact this tournament.'
USA Today
17-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Big 12 sends 7 teams to NCAA Tournament, Houston earns No. 1 seed
Big 12 sends 7 teams to NCAA Tournament, Houston earns No. 1 seed The Houston Cougars will join six other Big 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Big 12 champion Houston secured a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, leading seven conference teams into the tournament. This marks the 11th consecutive year the Big 12 has sent at least six programs to March Madness. Houston (30-4), which captured both the regular-season and Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship titles, earned a No. 1 seed for the fifth straight season and the 17th time in the league's 28-year history. The Cougars, riding the nation's third-longest win streak, open against No. 16 SIU Edwardsville (22-11) in Wichita, Kansas, on Thursday. Head coach Kelvin Sampson is making his 20th career NCAA Tournament appearance. No. 3 Iowa State (24-9) will face No. 14 Lipscomb (25-9) in Milwaukee on Friday as the Cyclones seek their third Sweet 16 berth in four seasons under head coach T.J. Otzelberger. Iowa State has reached the tournament in 11 of the last 13 seasons. Texas Tech (24-9), also a No. 3 seed, will take on No. 14 UNC Wilmington (27-7) in Wichita on Thursday. The Red Raiders are making their sixth tournament appearance in the last seven seasons, including both years under head coach Grant McCasland. No. 4 Arizona (25-8) heads to Seattle to face No. 13 Akron (28-6). The Wildcats have reached the tournament in all four seasons under head coach Tommy Lloyd, advancing to the second weekend in two of the past three years. BYU (24-9) earned a No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 VCU (28-6) in Denver on Thursday. The Cougars have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in both of their seasons in the Big 12. First-year head coach Kevin Young will make his March Madness debut. No. 7 Kansas (21-12) extends its NCAA-record streak with its 33rd consecutive tournament appearance. The Jayhawks, led by head coach Bill Self, take a 13-game first-round win streak into their matchup against No. 10 Arkansas (20-13) in Providence, Rhode Island, on Thursday. No. 9 Baylor (19-14) makes its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 seasons under head coach Scott Drew. The Bears look to extend their first-round win streak to six games when they meet No. 8 Mississippi State (21-12) in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. Big 12 teams have played in four of the last six Final Fours, producing two national champions in the last four tournaments. This year's regional sites include Atlanta, Indianapolis, Newark, New Jersey, and San Francisco from March 27-30. The Final Four will take place in San Antonio on April 5 and 7. First-Round Matchups (Round of 64) Thursday, March 20 (1) Houston vs. (16) SIU Edwardsville – 1 p.m. CT, Wichita (TBS)(6) BYU vs. (11) VCU – 3:05 p.m. CT/2:05 p.m. MT, Denver (TNT)(7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas – 6:10 p.m. CT, Providence (CBS)(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNC Wilmington – 9:10 p.m. CT, Wichita (truTV) Friday, March 21 (9) Baylor vs. (8) Mississippi State – 11:15 a.m. CT, Raleigh (CBS)(3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb – 12:30 p.m. CT, Milwaukee (TNT)(4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron – 5:35 p.m. CT/4:35 p.m. MT, Seattle (truTV)
