| Year: | 2024 |
| Teams: | 68 |
| Finalfourarena: | State Farm Stadium |
| Finalfourcity: | Glendale, Arizona |
| Champions: | UConn Huskies |
| Titlecount: | 6th |
| Champgamecount: | 6th |
| Champffcount: | 7th |
| Runnerup: | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Gamecount: | 2nd |
| Runnerffcount: | 3rd |
| Semifinal1: | Alabama Crimson Tide |
| Finalfourcount: | 1st |
| Semifinal2: | North Carolina State Wolfpack |
| Finalfourcount2: | 4th |
| Coach: | Dan Hurley |
| Coachcount: | 2nd |
| Mop: | Tristen Newton |
| Mopteam: | UConn Huskies |
| Attendance: | 713,877 |
| Topscorer: | Zach Edey |
| Topscorerteam: | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Points: | 177 |
The 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2023–24 season. The 85th annual edition of the tournament began on March 19, 2024, and concluded with the UConn Huskies successfully defending their title to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2007, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75–60 in the championship game on April 8, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
ASUN champion Stetson and SWAC champion Grambling State made their NCAA tournament debuts. Additionally, Duquesne made its first appearance since 1977, Samford made its first appearance since 2000, McNeese made its first appearance since 2002, and Wagner made its second-ever appearance, its first since 2003.
The first round of the tournament saw the Southeastern Conference (SEC) struggle, with only three out of the initial eight teams advancing to the next round.[1] [2] Three SEC teams suffered first-round upsets. On the other hand, the Pac-12 Conference saw all four of their teams advance to the second round, though Arizona was the only team in the conference to make the Sweet Sixteen.[3]
This was the first NCAA tournament since 2019 to not see a 15-seed defeat a 2-seed. All the 1 and 2-seeds advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, marking only the fifth time it has happened and the first since 2019.[4] Also, with No. 11 seeded NC State advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, this marked the 16th consecutive tournament where a double-digit seed made the regional semifinals. The Wolfpack eventually became the sixth 11-seed to reach the Final Four.
The Final Four consisted of UConn (second consecutive appearance), Alabama (their first Final Four appearance in program history), NC State (first appearance since 1983), and Purdue (first appearance since 1980).
With No. 1 overall seed UConn winning the championship, this was the first time that the top overall seed won the tournament since Kentucky in 2012.
A total of 68 teams entered the 2024 tournament. A total of 32 automatic bids are awarded to each program that won a conference tournament. The remaining 36 bids are issued "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The Selection Committee also seeds the entire field from 1 to 68.
Eight teams (the four-lowest seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams) played in the First Four. The winners of those games advanced to the main tournament bracket.
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2024 tournament:[5]
First Four
First and Second Rounds (Subregionals)
Regional Semi-Finals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four)
Glendale hosted the Final Four for the second time, having previously hosted in 2017.
The 68 teams came from 34 states and the District of Columbia.
Teams who won their conference championships automatically qualify.
| Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| America East | Vermont | 10th | 2023 | |
| American | UAB | 17th | 2022 | |
| Atlantic 10 | Duquesne | 6th | 1977 | |
| ACC | NC State | 29th | 2023 | |
| ASUN | Stetson | 1st | ||
| Big 12 | Iowa State | 23rd | 2023 | |
| Big East | UConn | 36th | 2023 | |
| Big Sky | Montana State | 6th | 2023 | |
| Big South | Longwood | 2nd | 2022 | |
| Big Ten | Illinois | 34th | 2023 | |
| Big West | Long Beach State | 7th | 2012 | |
| CAA | Charleston | 7th | 2023 | |
| CUSA | Western Kentucky | 26th | 2013 | |
| Horizon | Oakland | 4th | 2011 | |
| Ivy League | Yale | 7th | 2022 | |
| MAAC | Saint Peter's | 5th | 2022 | |
| MAC | Akron | 6th | 2022 | |
| MEAC | Howard | 4th | 2023 | |
| Missouri Valley | Drake | 7th | 2023 | |
| Mountain West | New Mexico | 16th | 2014 | |
| NEC | Wagner | 2nd | 2003 | |
| Ohio Valley | Morehead State | 9th | 2021 | |
| Pac-12 | Oregon | 18th | 2021 | |
| Patriot | Colgate | 7th | 2023 | |
| SEC | Auburn | 13th | 2023 | |
| Southern | Samford | 3rd | 2000 | |
| Southland | McNeese | 3rd | 2002 | |
| SWAC | Grambling State | 1st | ||
| Summit League | South Dakota State | 7th | 2022 | |
| Sun Belt | James Madison | 6th | 2013 | |
| WCC | Saint Mary's | 13th | 2023 | |
| WAC | Grand Canyon | 3rd | 2023 |
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All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.
Related article: Tobacco Road (rivalry)
See main article: article and 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game.
Source:[7]
| Conference | Bids | Record | Win % | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big East | 3 | 10–2 | .833 | – | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Big Ten | 6 | 10–6 | .625 | – | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | |
| Atlantic Coast | 5 | 12–5 | .705 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | – | – | |
| Southeastern | 8 | 8–8 | .500 | – | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | |
| Big 12 | 8 | 7–8 | .467 | – | 8 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | |
| Pac-12 | 4 | 6–4 | .600 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| West Coast | 2 | 2–2 | .500 | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Mountain West | 6 | 4–6 | .400 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| Atlantic 10 | 2 | 2–2 | .500 | – | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Horizon | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ivy League | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| WAC | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Northeast | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| SWAC | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| American | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| America East | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| ASUN | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big South | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big West | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| CAA | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| CUSA | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MAAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Patriot | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Southern | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Southland | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Summit | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big Sky | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MEAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."[8]
The 2024 tournament saw a total of 9 upsets, with seven in the first round, one in the Sweet Sixteen and one in the Elite Eight.
| West | Midwest | South | East | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round of 64 | No. 12 Grand Canyon defeated No. 5 Saint Mary's, 75–66 | No. 11 Oregon defeated No. 6 South Carolina, 87–73 | No. 14 Oakland defeated No. 3 Kentucky, 80–76 No. 11 NC State defeated No. 6 Texas Tech, 80–67 No. 12 James Madison defeated No. 5 Wisconsin, 72–61 | No. 11 Duquesne defeated No. 6 BYU, 71–67 No. 13 Yale defeated No. 4 Auburn, 78–76 |
| Round of 32 | None | None | None | None |
| Sweet 16 | None | None | No. 11 NC State defeated No. 2 Marquette, 67–58 | None |
| Elite 8 | None | None | No. 11 NC State defeated No. 4 Duke, 76–64 | None |
| Final 4 | None | |||
| National Championship | None |
See main article: NCAA March Madness (TV program). CBS Sports and TNT Sports have US television rights to the tournament.[9] [10] As part of a cycle that began in 2016, TBS televised the 2024 Final Four and the National Championship Game.
This was the first tournament with Ian Eagle as the lead play-by-play announcer.
For the first time since 1997, longtime studio host Greg Gumbel was not part of this year's March Madness coverage due to family health issues.[11]
Beginning this tournament, Max will be streaming all of its games airing on its networks (TNT, TBS and TruTv) on its Bleacher Report Sports Add-On.[12]
CBS will continue to stream all of its games on Paramount+ and for free on March Madness Live.
| Rank | Round | Date and Time (ET) | Matchup | Network | data-sort-type="number" | Viewers (millions) ! | data-sort-type="number" | TV rating[13] [14] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elite Eight | data-sort-value="9" | March 31, 2024, 5:10 p.m. | (11 S) NC State | 76–64 | (4 S) Duke | 15.14 | 6.4 | ||
| 2 | National Championship | data-sort-value="10" | April 8, 2024, 9:09 p.m. | (1 MW) Purdue | 60–75 | (1 E) UConn | TBS | 14.82 | 6.5 | |
| 3 | Final Four | data-sort-value="2" | April 6, 2024, 8:39 p.m. | (4 W) Alabama | 72–86 | (1 E) UConn | 14.18 | 6.7 | ||
| 4 | Final Four | data-sort-value="1" | April 6, 2024, 6:09 p.m. | (11 S) NC State | 50–63 | (1 MW) Purdue | 11.45 | 5.3 | ||
| 5 | Elite Eight | data-sort-value="4" | March 31, 2024, 2:20 p.m. | (2 MW) Tennessee | 66–72 | (1 MW) Purdue | CBS | 10.39 | 4.4 | |
| 6 | Second Round | data-sort-value="5" | March 23, 2024, 5:36 p.m. | (9 W) Michigan State | 69–85 | (1 W) North Carolina | 10.02 | 5.0 | ||
| 7 | Second Round | data-sort-value="8" | March 23, 2024, 3:15 p.m. | (5 MW) Gonzaga | 89–68 | (4 MW) Kansas | 8.28 | 4.38 | ||
| 8 | Second Round | data-sort-value="6" | March 24, 2024, 2:40 p.m. | (8 MW) Utah State | 67–106 | (1 MW) Purdue | 8.08 | 4.34 | ||
| 9 | Second Round | data-sort-value="7" | March 24, 2024, 5:15 p.m. | (12 S) James Madison | 55–93 | (4 S) Duke | 7.80 | 4.03 | ||
| 10 | Elite Eight | data-sort-value="3" | March 30, 2024, 9:44 p.m. | (6 W) Clemson | 82–89 | (4 W) Alabama | TBS | 7.80 | 3.80 |
Westwood One will have exclusive coverage of the entire tournament.
Video
Live video of games is available for streaming through the following means:[15]
For the app this year, a multiview which showed all games airing simultaneously was available for the second straight year.[16]
In addition, the March Madness app will offer Fast Break, whiparound coverage of games similar to NFL RedZone on the First weekend of the tournament (First and Second rounds).
Audio
Live audio of games is available for streaming through the following means:
The March Madness app also supported Apple CarPlay and Android Auto through a native app.[18]