If you are interested with the basic facts and key details about the 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship, we will provide you some information about the single-elimination basketball tournament in NCAA, or also known as “March Madness,” or “The Big Dance.” The tournament is slated to kick off on March 17 until April 6.

Qualification and Selection Process

A total of 68 teams out of 334 eligible Division 1 teams are invited to participate in the tournament. Thirty-one teams automatically receive ticket to the tournament if they win their respective conference championship games. Ivy League also receives an automatic bid because the league does not hold a conference championship.

The remaining 36 teams will be granted bids on an “at-large” basis by a 10-member NCAA Selection Committee, composed of conference representatives and athletic administrators.

Twelve teams have already received automatic bids for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after winning their respective conference’s championships. The teams are North Florida Ospreys (Atlantic Sun Conference), Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (Big South), Northeastern Huskies (Colonial), Valparaiso Crusaders (Horizon), Manhattan Jaspers (Metro Atlantic Athletic), Northern Iowa Panthers (Missouri Valley), Robert Morris Colonials (Northeast), Belmont Bruins (Ohio Valley), Lafayette Leopards (Patriot), Wofford Terriers (Southern), North Dakota State Bison (Summit), and Gonzaga Bulldogs (West Coast)

Where to Watch Live

All the 67 games of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship will be accessible via NCAA March Madness Live app. The application was developed in partnership with NCAA, Turner Sports, and CBS Sports. It can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play Store, Amazon App Store, and Windows Store. Fans will also get to watch all the happenings by accessing Ncaa.com/marchmadness.

Full Schedule

The games are played round-by-round until a single champion is crowned. The tournament will run over a three-week period.

March 15: Selection Sunday (The brackets and seeds are announced to the public on this day.)

March 17 to 18: First Four (This is the first four games in the first round featuring four teams, two from major conferences and two from mid-major conferences. Each winner advances into the next round.)

March 19 to 22: Second and Third Rounds

March 26 to 27: Sweet 16

March 28 to 29: Elite Eight

April 4: Final Four

April 6: Championship (two teams will vie for the national championship)

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