Which colleges made March Madness? How do teams qualify? | NCAA Tournament
March Madness has arrived and with that we’re taking a look at the this year’s tournament. Who’s in? How did they get there and above all, who’s likely to win the whole thing?
It’s that time of year From Southeast Missouri State who beat Tennessee Tech, to the strange way in which Fairleigh Dickinson clinched their spot, this year’s tournament is filled with some intriguing stories. Rest assured we’re looking at an absolutely loaded field. Before we get into, however, let’s break down how it all works.
How is the NCAA Tournament field filled?
To be clear, there are two ways to for the NCAA’s big party: You’ve either got to win your conference tournament which means you get an automatic bid, or you receive an at-large bid. It should be said, that there is some fine print involved. For starters, you can’t qualify if you’ve been sanctioned or are moving between divisions. The above-mentioned Fairleigh Dickinson for example, became the first team in history to earn their spot by default, due to their NEC title game opponent Merrimack, not being eligible even though they won the game. That scenario aside, the rule of thumb is that all teams enter the conference tournament regardless of their season record.
How many automatic bids are there?
There are 32 conference tournaments that produce 32 automatic bids. The other 36 at-large teams selected to the field will are announced on ‘Selection Sunday.’
Who has secured automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament?
- Alabama: Southeastern Conference tournament champion
- Arizona: Pac-12 Conference tournament champion
- Charleston: Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion
- Colgate: Patriot League tournament champion
- Drake: Missouri Valley tournament champion
- Duke: ACC tournament champion
- Fairleigh Dickinson: Earns Northeast Conference bid due to title game opponent Merrimack’s ineligibility
- Florida Atlantic: Conference USA tournament champion
- Furman: Southern tournament champion
- Gonzaga: West Coast Conference tournament champion
- Grand Canyon: WAC tournament champion
- Howard: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champion
- Iona: MAAC tournament champion
- Kennesaw State: Atlantic Sun tournament champion
- Kent State: MAC tournament champion
- Louisiana-Lafayette: Sun Belt tournament champion
- Marquette: Big East Conference tournament champion
- Memphis: American Athletic Conference tournament champion
- Montana State: Big Sky tournament champion
- North Carolina-Asheville: Big South tournament champion
- Northern Kentucky: Horizon League tournament champion
- Oral Roberts: Summit League tournament champion
- Princeton: Ivy League tournament champion
- Purdue: Big Ten Conference tournament champion
- San Diego State: Mountain West Conference tournament champion
- Southeast Missouri State: Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion
- Texas: Big 12 Conference tournament champion
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Southland Conference tournament champion
- Texas Southern: SWAC tournament champion
- UC Santa Barbara: Big West Conference tournament champion
- Vermont: America East tournament champion
- Virginia Commonwealth: Atlantic 10 Conference tournament champion