2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament explained

Year:2018
Teams:68
Finalfourarena:Alamodome
Finalfourcity:San Antonio, Texas
Champions:Villanova Wildcats
Titlecount:3rd
Champgamecount:4th
Champffcount:6th
Runnerup:Michigan Wolverines
Gamecount:7th
Runnerffcount:8th
Semifinal1:Kansas Jayhawks
  • (vacated)
Finalfourcount:15th*
Semifinal2:Loyola Ramblers
Finalfourcount2:2nd
Coach:Jay Wright
Coachcount:2nd
Mop:Donte DiVincenzo
Mopteam:Villanova

The 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 season. The 80th annual edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2018, and concluded with the championship game on April 2, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

During the first round, UMBC became the first 16-seed to defeat a 1-seed in the men's tournament by defeating Virginia 74–54.[1] [2] For the first time in tournament history, all four top-seeded teams in a single region (the South) failed to make the Sweet 16. The tournament also featured the first regional final matchup of a 9-seed (Kansas State) and an 11-seed (Loyola–Chicago).

Villanova (returning after their 2016 national championship), Michigan (making their first appearance since their runner-up finish in 2013), Kansas (returning after their runner-up finish in 2012), and Loyola–Chicago (the "Cinderella team" of the tournament, and the fourth 11-seed to reach the Final Four, after VCU in 2011), all reached the Final Four. Villanova defeated Michigan in the championship game, 79–62.

The 2018 tournament was the first time since 1978 that none of the six Division I college basketball-playing schools based in the Washington, DC metropolitan areaAmerican, Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, Howard, and Maryland – made the NCAA tournament.[3]

Atlantic Sun Conference champion Lipscomb made its NCAA tournament debut.

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams entered the 2018 tournament. 32 automatic bids were awarded, one to each program that won their conference tournament. The remaining 36 bids were "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

Eight teams (the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams) played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the main draw of the tournament.[4]

The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.[5]

Schedule and venues

The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2018 tournament:[6]

First Four

First and second rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

The state of North Carolina was threatened with a 2018-2022 championship venue boycott by the NCAA, due to the HB2 law passed in 2016.[7] However, the law was repealed (but with provisos) days before the NCAA met to make decisions on venues in April 2017. At that time, the NCAA board of governors "reluctantly voted to allow consideration of championship bids in North Carolina by our committees that are presently meeting".[8] Therefore, Charlotte was eligible and served as a first weekend venue for the 2018 tournament.

Qualification and selection

Four teams, out of 351 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2018 tournament due to failing to meet APR requirements: Alabama A&M, Grambling State, Savannah State, and Southeast Missouri State.[9] However, the NCAA granted the Savannah State Tigers a waiver which would have allowed the team to participate in the tournament, but the team failed to qualify.

Automatic qualifiers

The following 32 teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.[10]

ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bid
America EastUMBC24–102nd2008
AmericanCincinnati30–432nd2017
Atlantic 10Davidson21–1114th2015
ACCVirginia31–222nd2017
ASUNLipscomb23–91st
Big 12Kansas27–747th2017
Big EastVillanova30–438th2017
Big SkyMontana26–711th2013
Big SouthRadford22–123rd2009
Big TenMichigan28–728th2017
Big WestCal State Fullerton20–113rd2008
CAACollege of Charleston26–75th1999
Conference USAMarshall24–106th1987
Horizon LeagueWright State25–93rd2007
Ivy LeaguePenn24–824th2007
MAACIona20–1313th2017
MACBuffalo26–83rd2016
MEACNorth Carolina Central19–153rd2017
Missouri ValleyLoyola–Chicago28–56th1985
Mountain WestSan Diego State22–1012th2015
NortheastLIU Brooklyn18–167th2013
Ohio ValleyMurray State26–516th2012
Pac-12Arizona27–735th2017
Patriot LeagueBucknell25–98th2017
SECKentucky24–1058th2017
SouthernUNC Greensboro27–73rd2001
SouthlandStephen F. Austin28–65th2016
SWACTexas Southern15–198th2017
Summit LeagueSouth Dakota State28–65th2017
Sun BeltGeorgia State24–104th2015
West CoastGonzaga30–421st2017
WACNew Mexico State28–524th2017

Tournament seeds

The tournament seeds were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process. The seeds and regions were determined as follows:[11] [12]

South Regional, Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1VirginiaACC31–2Auto1
2CincinnatiAmerican30–4Auto8
3TennesseeSEC25–8At-large10
4ArizonaPac-1227–7Auto16
5KentuckySEC24–10Auto17
6Miami (FL)ACC22–9At-large22
7NevadaMountain West27–7At-large27
8CreightonBig East21–11At-large30
9Kansas StateBig 1222–11At-large34
10TexasBig 1219–14At-large39
11Loyola–ChicagoMissouri Valley28–5Auto46
12DavidsonAtlantic 1021–11Auto48
13BuffaloMAC26–8Auto51
14Wright StateHorizon25–9Auto57
15Georgia StateSun Belt24–10Auto60
16UMBCAmerica East24–10Auto63
West Regional, Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1XavierBig East28–5At-large4
2North CarolinaACC25–10At-large5
3MichiganBig Ten28–7Auto11
4GonzagaWCC30–4Auto15
5Ohio StateBig Ten24–8At-large20
6HoustonAmerican26–7At-large23
7Texas A&MSEC20–12At-large25
8MissouriSEC20–12At-large32
9Florida StateACC20–11At-large38
10ProvidenceBig East21–13At-large35
11San Diego StateMountain West22–10Auto45
12South Dakota StateSummit League28–6Auto49
13UNC GreensboroSouthern27–7Auto52
14MontanaBig Sky26–7Auto56
15LipscombAtlantic Sun23–9Auto59
16*North Carolina CentralMEAC19–15Auto67
Texas SouthernSWAC15–19Auto68
East Regional, TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1VillanovaBig East30–4Auto2
2PurdueBig Ten28–6At-large7
3Texas TechBig 1224–9At-large12
4Wichita StateAmerican25–7At-large14
5West VirginiaBig 1224–10At-large18
6FloridaSEC20–12At-large21
7ArkansasSEC23–11At-large26
8Virginia TechACC21–11At-large31
9AlabamaSEC19–15At-large36
10ButlerBig East20–13At-large33
11*St. BonaventureAtlantic 1025–7At-large42
UCLAPac-1221–11At-large41
12Murray StateOhio Valley26–5Auto50
13MarshallConference USA24–10Auto54
14Stephen F. AustinSouthland28–6Auto58
15Cal State FullertonBig West20–11Auto61
16*LIU BrooklynNEC18–16Auto66
RadfordBig South22–12Auto65
Midwest Regional, CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeOverall rank
1KansasBig 1227–7Auto3
2DukeACC26–7At-large6
3Michigan StateBig Ten29–4At-large9
4AuburnSEC25–7At-large13
5ClemsonACC23–9At-large19
6TCUBig 1221–11At-large24
7Rhode IslandAtlantic 1025–7At-large28
8Seton HallBig East21–11At-large29
9NC StateACC21–11At-large37
10OklahomaBig 1218–13At-large40
11*Arizona StatePac-1220–11At-large43
SyracuseACC20–13At-large44
12New Mexico StateWAC28–5Auto47
13College of CharlestonCAA26–7Auto53
14BucknellPatriot25–9Auto55
15IonaMAAC20–13Auto62
16PennIvy League24–8Auto64

*See First Four

Regional brackets

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

South Regional – Atlanta, Georgia

South Regional all tournament team

West Regional – Los Angeles, California

West Regional all tournament team

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts

East Regional all tournament team

Midwest Regional – Omaha, Nebraska

Midwest Regional all tournament team

Final Four

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Virginia's South Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Xavier's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (Villanova's East Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Kansas' Midwest Region).

Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas

  1. — Kansas vacated 15 wins, including all NCAA tournament wins from the 2017–18 season after an investigation into the eligibility of Silvio De Sousa.[17] Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with Kansas removing the wins from its own record.

National Championship

See main article: 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game.

Final Four all-tournament team

Game summaries and tournament notes

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2018 tournament saw a total of 11 upsets; 5 of them were in the first round, 5 of them were in the second round, and one of them was in the Sweet Sixteen.

Round South West East Midwest
First roundNoneNo. 13 Marshall defeated No. 4 Wichita State, 81–75No. 11 Syracuse defeated No. 6 TCU, 57–52
Second RoundNoneNo. 11 Syracuse defeated No. 3 Michigan State, 55–53
Sweet 16NoneNo. 9 Florida State defeated No. 4 Gonzaga, 75–60NoneNone
Elite 8NoneNoneNoneNone

Record by conference

ConferenceBidsRecordWin %R64R32S16E8F4CGNC
Big East69–56411111
Big Ten49–4442111
Big 12712–774431
Missouri Valley14–111111
ACC912–99542
WCC12–1111
SEC88–8862
Mountain West22–2211
American32–332
Atlantic 1032–331
America East11–111
C-USA11–111
MAC11–111
Big South11–11
SWAC11–11
Pac-1230–31

The Pac-12 lost all of its teams after the first day of the main tournament draw, marking the first time since the Big 12 began play in 1996 that one of the six major conferences—defined as the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, and both versions of the Big East—failed to have a team advance to the tournament's round of 32.[19]

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and Turner Sports had U.S. television rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. As part of a cycle beginning in 2016, TBS held the rights to the Final Four and to the championship game.[20]

For the first time, TBS held the rights to the Selection Show, which expanded into a two-hour format, was presented in front of a studio audience, and promoted that the entire field of the tournament would be unveiled within the first ten minutes of the broadcast.[21] However, this entailed the 68-team field (beginning with automatic qualifiers, followed by at-large teams) being revealed in alphabetical order, and not by bracket matchups (which was done later in the show). The new format was criticized for lacking suspense, and the show also faced criticism for technical issues, as well as a segment containing product placement for Pizza Hut.[22] [23] [24]

Television channels

Studio hosts

Studio analysts

Commentary teams

Team Stream broadcasts
Final Four
National championship game

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.

First Four

First and second rounds

Regionals

Final Four

Internet

Video

Live video of games was available for streaming through the following means:[25]

Audio

Live audio of games was available for streaming through the following means:

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Wilco. Daniel. Last perfect bracket busts after UMBC pulls off biggest upset in NCAA tournament history. National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA.com. March 17, 2018. March 17, 2018. UMBC (The University of Maryland Baltimore County) scored the biggest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament, beating top overall seed Virginia 74-54 Friday night, and becoming the first 16 seed to win a game in 136 tries..
  2. News: Bushnell. Henry. UMBC shocks Virginia, first 16-seed ever to beat a 1. Yahoo Sports. March 17, 2018. March 17, 2018.
  3. News: DC colleges will have a season without March Madness for the first time since 1978 . March 10, 2018 . Washington Post.
  4. Web site: Syracuse, Texas Southern win in First Four games Wednesday night. Moriarty. Morgan. 2018-03-14. SBNation.com. 2019-02-24.
  5. Web site: Full seed list for the NCAA tournament, 1-68. Moriarty. Morgan. 2018-03-11. SBNation.com. 2019-02-24.
  6. Web site: 2016-18 preliminary rounds . November 14, 2014 . NCAA . April 6, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180423170454/https://www.ncaa.com/mbbprelims . April 23, 2018 . dead .
  7. News: NCAA gives North Carolina a deadline to repeal HB2 or lose events until 2022. newsobserver. March 18, 2018. en.
  8. News: N.C. gets NCAA tourney sites after HB2 repeal. ESPN.com. March 18, 2018.
  9. Web site: Division I teams face penalties, lose postseason. May 10, 2017. NCAA.
  10. Web site: NCAA conference tournament schedule: Tracking March Madness automatic bids. NCAA. March 4, 2018.
  11. Web site: Selection Sunday 2018 Schedule: Official NCAA Tournament Bracket And More After March Madness Show. Alex. Kay. Forbes.
  12. Web site: March Madness 2018: Official NCAA Tournament bracket seeding 1-68. CBSSports.com. March 12, 2018 .
  13. marchmadness . 978069584040398849 . March 25, 2018 . South Region All-Tournament Team .
  14. marchmadness . 978070719773986816 . March 25, 2018 . West Region All-Tournament Team .
  15. marchmadness . 978072003856003073 . March 25, 2018 . East Region All-Tournament Team .
  16. marchmadness . 978073503084793862 . March 25, 2018 . Midwest Region All-Tournament Team .
  17. Web site: Kansas basketball on probation as violations downgraded . ESPN.com. October 11, 2023. April 25, 2024.
  18. Web site: Villanova Wins National Championship For Second Time in Three Years . villanova.com . April 3, 2018 . April 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180403174908/http://www.villanova.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/040318aaa.html . April 3, 2018 . dead .
  19. News: The fast and unprecedented fall of the Pac-12 . Myron . Medcalf . ESPN.com . March 16, 2018 . March 16, 2018.
  20. Web site: 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship commentator teams announced . NCAA . March 5, 2018 . February 7, 2018.
  21. News: Selection show: Tournament teams revealed in 1st 10 minutes . https://web.archive.org/web/20180313031619/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/selection-show-tournament-teams-revealed-in-1st-10-minutes/2018/03/06/98632aa8-215d-11e8-946c-9420060cb7bd_story.html . dead . March 13, 2018 . Associated Press . Russo  . Ralph D. . March 6, 2018 . Washington Post . March 12, 2018 . 0190-8286.
  22. News: TBS really made a mess of the NCAA selection show . March 12, 2018 . Boston.com . March 12, 2018.
  23. News: 6 ways the NCAA bracket selection show was pretty odd . SBNation.com . March 12, 2018.
  24. News: Media Views: NCAA tourney 'Selection Show' loses suspense, adds immediacy . Caesar . Dan . stltoday.com . March 12, 2018.
  25. Web site: Maiman. Beth. March Madness TV schedule: How to watch and live stream every game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. NCAA. March 9, 2017. March 8, 2017.