Amanda Knapp
March Madness refers to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, a single-elimination competition held every spring in the United States to crown a national champion. The tournament features 68 teams playing in a bracket-style format, with the winners of each game advancing to the next round and the losers being eliminated. While the event is called March Madness, it often begins in mid-March with Selection Sunday, where the field of teams is announced, and concludes in early April with the Final Four and national championship game.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 2025 |
| Winner | Florida |
| Runner-up | Houston |
| Score | 65-63 |
| Winner's Coach | Todd Golden |
| Winner's Players | Walter Clayton Jr., Micah Handlogten, Alex Condon |
| Runner-up's Players | Ja'Vier Francis, Mylik Wilson, Milos Uzan |
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What You'll Learn
NCAA college basketball tournament
March Madness refers to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, a single-elimination tournament of 68 college basketball teams that play in spring in the U.S., with the first round of 64 taking place in mid-March. The tournament was first played in 1939 and has since expanded from 8 to 68 teams.
The 2025 March Madness tournament, for example, began with Selection Sunday on March 16 and ended with the Final Four and the national championship game on April 5 and 7. In the 2025 championship game, the University of Florida men's basketball team beat the University of Houston Cougars 65-63, earning its third national title.
While March Madness is only for men's basketball, there is a similar tournament for women's college basketball teams, called the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, commonly known as the "Women's NCAA Tournament."
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University of Florida men's basketball team
March Madness is an NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
The University of Florida's men's basketball team is called the Florida Gators. The Gators play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) of the NCAA Division I. The team first took the court in 1915, but the program did not receive much support from the university until the 1960s. The Florida Gators did not have a permanent home court until 1949 when the Florida Gymnasium opened. The team did not hire a full-time basketball coach until 1960 when Norm Sloan joined, and they did not play in a modern arena until the O'Connell Center opened in 1980.
The Gators' home games are played on Billy Donovan Court in the Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The college basketball season begins in early November, and the non-conference portion of the schedule typically runs until the end of the calendar year. The Gators usually compete in a cross-regional tournament against other top programs and play their annual game against in-state rival Florida State before the conference portion of their schedule begins. The 18-game SEC slate usually starts at the beginning of the calendar year, consisting of home-and-home games against five SEC teams and single games against each of the other eight SEC teams, followed by the conference tournament.
The Florida Gators have built in-conference rivalries with Kentucky and Tennessee since they began consistently competing for conference titles in the 1990s. The Gators entered the 2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and advanced to the Final Four. They defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes to become the first team since the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils to win back-to-back national championships with the same starting line-up. The University of Florida is the only school in NCAA history to have won both the basketball and football national championships in the same season.
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National championship game
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion. The tournament, branded as March Madness or The Big Dance, is played mostly during March and consists of 68 teams. The format has remained largely unchanged since 1985, when it expanded to 64 teams. The 68-team format was adopted in 2011.
The NCAA tournament was first conducted in 1939, with 333 teams having appeared since then. The tournament was cancelled for the first time in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2025 March Madness tournament began with Selection Sunday on March 16 and ended with the Final Four and the national championship game on April 5 and 7. In the national championship game, the Florida Gators defeated the Houston Cougars 65-63, claiming their third national championship since 2006.
The tournament begins with the First Four, followed by the round of 64 (renamed the second round in 2016 but since reverted to the first round), the round of 32 (renamed the third round in 2016 but since reverted to the second round), and subsequent rounds with fewer teams until the final two teams play in the national championship game.
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NCAA bracket
The NCAA bracket is an integral part of March Madness, the annual men's basketball tournament that captivates college basketball fans across the United States. While March Madness primarily refers to the men's tournament, there is a separate NCAA women's basketball tournament that runs concurrently, generating its excitement and fierce competition.
The NCAA bracket is the roadmap for the entire tournament, outlining the path that teams must navigate to reach the coveted national championship game. It is a visual representation of the tournament's structure, with teams placed in a single-elimination format, meaning that a loss results in elimination from the tournament. The bracket is divided into four regions, each containing a set number of teams, ensuring a balanced and competitive field.
The process of filling out the bracket is a meticulous one. Teams are selected based on various criteria, including their performance during the regular season, conference tournament outcomes, and overall ranking. A selection committee, composed of athletic directors and conference representatives, plays a pivotal role in determining the teams' placement within the bracket. This committee evaluates teams' strengths and weaknesses, considering factors such as win-loss record, strength of schedule, and notable victories.
The bracket is typically revealed during a selection show, where the teams and their matchups are announced. This unveiling sets the stage for the tournament, as fans and analysts scrutinize the bracket, predicting upsets and forecasting the teams' trajectories. The bracket is not static; it evolves with each round of games, narrowing down the field until only the Final Four teams remain. These four teams then compete in the national semifinals, with the winners advancing to the national championship game, the pinnacle of March Madness.
The NCAA bracket plays a pivotal role in the excitement and unpredictability of March Madness. It fuels the dreams of underdog teams aiming for a Cinderella story and captivates fans who eagerly fill out their brackets, hoping to predict the unpredictable. The bracket embodies the essence of March Madness, where anything can happen, and the road to the championship is filled with thrilling upsets and memorable moments that echo through college basketball history.
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March Madness schedule
The 2025 March Madness tournament began with Selection Sunday on March 16 and ended with the Final Four and the national championship game on April 5 and 7. The national championship was between No.1 Houston and No.1 Florida, with Florida taking the title with a score of 65-63.
The First Four marks the official start of March Madness, with the nation's top 68 college teams competing in a succession of single-elimination games. On Selection Sunday, the tournament bracket is revealed, and the nation's 32 conference champions find out where they're seeded. The remaining 36 teams score at-large invites to The Big Dance by the Selection Committee.
In 2026, the Final Four games are scheduled to be played on Saturday, April 4, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The games will be broadcast in partnership between CBS Sports and TNT Sports.
For the 2024 tournament, a game-by-game rundown is available on NCAA.com.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, March Madness refers specifically to the NCAA men's college basketball tournament.
March Madness takes place in, you guessed it, March! The 2025 tournament, for example, began on March 16.
March Madness is an annual event, with teams competing to become the national champion.
The tournament starts with 64 teams and uses a single-elimination format, leading to the Final Four and the national championship game.
The University of Florida men's basketball team won the 2025 March Madness tournament, beating the University of Houston Cougars 65-63 in the final.
