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
|
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 area – American, Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, Howard, and Maryland – made the NCAA tournament.[3]
Atlantic Sun Conference champion Lipscomb made its NCAA tournament debut.
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]
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.
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.
The following 32 teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.[10]
The tournament seeds were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process. The seeds and regions were determined as follows:[11] [12]
Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Overall rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Virginia | ACC | 31–2 | Auto | 1 | |
2 | Cincinnati | American | 30–4 | Auto | 8 | |
3 | Tennessee | SEC | 25–8 | At-large | 10 | |
4 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 27–7 | Auto | 16 | |
5 | Kentucky | SEC | 24–10 | Auto | 17 | |
6 | Miami (FL) | ACC | 22–9 | At-large | 22 | |
7 | Nevada | Mountain West | 27–7 | At-large | 27 | |
8 | Creighton | Big East | 21–11 | At-large | 30 | |
9 | Kansas State | Big 12 | 22–11 | At-large | 34 | |
10 | Texas | Big 12 | 19–14 | At-large | 39 | |
11 | Loyola–Chicago | Missouri Valley | 28–5 | Auto | 46 | |
12 | Davidson | Atlantic 10 | 21–11 | Auto | 48 | |
13 | Buffalo | MAC | 26–8 | Auto | 51 | |
14 | Wright State | Horizon | 25–9 | Auto | 57 | |
15 | Georgia State | Sun Belt | 24–10 | Auto | 60 | |
16 | UMBC | America East | 24–10 | Auto | 63 |
Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Overall rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Xavier | Big East | 28–5 | At-large | 4 |
2 | North Carolina | ACC | 25–10 | At-large | 5 |
3 | Michigan | Big Ten | 28–7 | Auto | 11 |
4 | Gonzaga | WCC | 30–4 | Auto | 15 |
5 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 24–8 | At-large | 20 |
6 | Houston | American | 26–7 | At-large | 23 |
7 | Texas A&M | SEC | 20–12 | At-large | 25 |
8 | Missouri | SEC | 20–12 | At-large | 32 |
9 | Florida State | ACC | 20–11 | At-large | 38 |
10 | Providence | Big East | 21–13 | At-large | 35 |
11 | San Diego State | Mountain West | 22–10 | Auto | 45 |
12 | South Dakota State | Summit League | 28–6 | Auto | 49 |
13 | UNC Greensboro | Southern | 27–7 | Auto | 52 |
14 | Montana | Big Sky | 26–7 | Auto | 56 |
15 | Lipscomb | Atlantic Sun | 23–9 | Auto | 59 |
16* | North Carolina Central | MEAC | 19–15 | Auto | 67 |
Texas Southern | SWAC | 15–19 | Auto | 68 |
Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Overall rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Villanova | Big East | 30–4 | Auto | 2 |
2 | Purdue | Big Ten | 28–6 | At-large | 7 |
3 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 24–9 | At-large | 12 |
4 | Wichita State | American | 25–7 | At-large | 14 |
5 | West Virginia | Big 12 | 24–10 | At-large | 18 |
6 | Florida | SEC | 20–12 | At-large | 21 |
7 | Arkansas | SEC | 23–11 | At-large | 26 |
8 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 21–11 | At-large | 31 |
9 | Alabama | SEC | 19–15 | At-large | 36 |
10 | Butler | Big East | 20–13 | At-large | 33 |
11* | St. Bonaventure | Atlantic 10 | 25–7 | At-large | 42 |
UCLA | Pac-12 | 21–11 | At-large | 41 | |
12 | Murray State | Ohio Valley | 26–5 | Auto | 50 |
13 | Marshall | Conference USA | 24–10 | Auto | 54 |
14 | Stephen F. Austin | Southland | 28–6 | Auto | 58 |
15 | Cal State Fullerton | Big West | 20–11 | Auto | 61 |
16* | LIU Brooklyn | NEC | 18–16 | Auto | 66 |
Radford | Big South | 22–12 | Auto | 65 |
Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Overall rank | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kansas | Big 12 | 27–7 | Auto | 3 | |
2 | Duke | ACC | 26–7 | At-large | 6 | |
3 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 29–4 | At-large | 9 | |
4 | Auburn | SEC | 25–7 | At-large | 13 | |
5 | Clemson | ACC | 23–9 | At-large | 19 | |
6 | TCU | Big 12 | 21–11 | At-large | 24 | |
7 | Rhode Island | Atlantic 10 | 25–7 | At-large | 28 | |
8 | Seton Hall | Big East | 21–11 | At-large | 29 | |
9 | NC State | ACC | 21–11 | At-large | 37 | |
10 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 18–13 | At-large | 40 | |
11* | Arizona State | Pac-12 | 20–11 | At-large | 43 | |
Syracuse | ACC | 20–13 | At-large | 44 | ||
12 | New Mexico State | WAC | 28–5 | Auto | 47 | |
13 | College of Charleston | CAA | 26–7 | Auto | 53 | |
14 | Bucknell | Patriot | 25–9 | Auto | 55 | |
15 | Iona | MAAC | 20–13 | Auto | 62 | |
16 | Penn | Ivy League | 24–8 | Auto | 64 |
*See First Four
All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.
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).
See main article: 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game.
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 round | None | No. 13 Marshall defeated No. 4 Wichita State, 81–75 | No. 11 Syracuse defeated No. 6 TCU, 57–52 | ||
Second Round | None | No. 11 Syracuse defeated No. 3 Michigan State, 55–53 | |||
Sweet 16 | None | No. 9 Florida State defeated No. 4 Gonzaga, 75–60 | None | None | |
Elite 8 | None | None | None | None |
Conference | Bids | Record | Win % | R64 | R32 | S16 | E8 | F4 | CG | NC | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Big East | 6 | 9–5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Big Ten | 4 | 9–4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Big 12 | 7 | 12–7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||
Missouri Valley | 1 | 4–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
ACC | 9 | 12–9 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | |||||
WCC | 1 | 2–1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
SEC | 8 | 8–8 | 8 | 6 | 2 | ||||||
Mountain West | 2 | 2–2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
American | 3 | 2–3 | 3 | 2 | |||||||
Atlantic 10 | 3 | 2–3 | 3 | 1 | |||||||
America East | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
C-USA | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
MAC | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
Big South | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | ||||||||
SWAC | 1 | 1–1 | 1 | ||||||||
Pac-12 | 3 | 0–3 | 1 |
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]
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]
Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.
Live video of games was available for streaming through the following means:[25]
Live audio of games was available for streaming through the following means: