Welcome to The Sporting News’ guide to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Download a printable March Madness bracket and dive into our expert analysis breaking down the NCAA men's basketball tournament start to finish. You can also keep track of the latest news, scores and results from every game with our live March Madness bracket below.
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What is a March Madness Bracket?
How does the March Madness bracket work?
- Your bracket will consist of 64 teams — after completion of the First Four play-in games — divided evenly among the West, Midwest, East and South regions.
- The first round is determined by the NCAA selection committee on a seeding system: A 1-seed (considered the best team in its region), will play a 16-seed (considered the worst), a 2-seed will play a 15-seed, and so on. Pick which team you expect to win the first round and have them advance to the second by writing their name on the ensuing matchup line.
- From there, repeat the process until you have predicted the entire tournament throughout the first and second rounds, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four and NCAA championship game.
- Predict the score of the championship game as a final potential tiebreaker with anyone who may have the same score as you by the end of the tournament.
Tips to win your March Madness bracket
- There are all kinds of strategies to fill out a March Madness bracket. Use whatever methodology you want, but higher seeds are usually favored in their respective matchups, especially in earlier rounds. That doesn’t guarantee victory, however: Upsets happen every year and have been known to bust brackets.
- Picking one or two early upsets won’t bust your bracket— and could actually score you points — but don’t pick a team to go far in the tournament unless you’re confident in their ability. Otherwise, you could potentially cost yourself a higher score.
- Your bracket can be altered as much as you want before the tournament starts; once play has begun, however, it is locked in. Make sure you feel comfortable with your bracket before you submit it — and don’t leave it incomplete!
How Do I Score the Bracket?
The most common scoring method features one point for every correct prediction in the first round; two points for every prediction in the second round; four points for the Sweet 16; eight points for the Elite Eight; 16 points for the Final Four; and 32 points for picking the NCAA champion.
This scoring method places greater weight on correct predictions further into the tournament. For example, simply predicting the correct NCAA Tournament champion is worth as many points for your bracket (32) as a perfect first round. Keep this in mind as you make your picks.
First Four games are not typically used in scoring, which begins in Round 1. An incorrect prediction in any of the First Four play-in games will not result in penalties or lost points.
When do March Madness Brackets come out?
When do March Madness Brackets come out?
The March Madness bracket will be released at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12. It will feature 60 locked-in teams and four empty spaces. The teams that fill those spaces will be determined by First Four games, and the final 64-team bracket will not be set until the day before the first round of the NCAA Tournament begins.
When are March Madness Brackets due?
Brackets are locked in once play begins during Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament at noon ET on Thursday, March 16.
March Madness 2023
March 18-19
Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament consists of 16 games played between 32 teams over the course of two days (Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19).
Below are the following cities for the second round:
March 18
* Birmingham, Alabama (Legacy Arena)
* Des Moines, Iowa (Wells Fargo Arena)
* Orlando, Florida (Amway Center)
* Sacramento, California (Golden 1 Center)
March 19
* Albany, New York (MVP Arena)
* Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
* Denver (Ball Arena)
* Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)
Mar 23-24
The Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament consists of eight games played between 16 teams over the course of two days (Thursday, March 23 and Friday, March 24).
Below are the following sites for each of the four regionals, comprised of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds:
March 23
* West Regional: Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)
* East Regional: New York (Madison Square Garden)
March 24
* Midwest Regional: Kansas City, Missouri (T-Mobile Center)
* South Regional: Louisville, Kentucky (KFC Yum! Center)
March 25-26
The Elite Eight serves as the national quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, consisting of four games played between eight teams over the course of two days (Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, March 26). All games will be played at the same sites as the Sweet 16.
March 25
* West Regional: Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)
* East Regional: New York (Madison Square Garden)
March 26
* Midwest Regional: Kansas City, Missouri (T-Mobile Center)
* South Regional: Louisville, Kentucky (KFC Yum! Center)
April 1
The Final Four serves as the national semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament, consisting of two games played between four teams on Saturday, April 1.
This year, the Final Four will be held in Houston, at NRG Stadium.
March 12
Selection Sunday is on March 12 in 2023, and the selection show will be broadcast on CBS at 6 p.m. ET.
The brackets will be revealed shortly thereafter or, if conference championship games are still ongoing, as soon as the final automatic qualifier is determined.
March 14-15
The initial bracket released on Selection Sunday includes 60 locked-in teams and four empty spaces, to be determined among eight teams — the four lowest-seeded automatic bids and the four lowest-seeded at-large bids — competing in the First Four play-in games. The winners of these four games will take up the final four available spots and complete the field of 64.
The First Four matchups in 2023 will be held on Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15 in Dayton, Ohio, at UD Arena.
March 16-17
Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament consists of 32 games played between 64 teams over the course of two days (Thursday, March 16 and Saturday, March 17).
Games will be played across the following cities:
March 16
* Birmingham, Alabama (Legacy Arena)
* Des Moines, Iowa (Wells Fargo Arena)
* Orlando, Florida (Amway Center)
* Sacramento, California (Golden 1 Center)
March 17
* Albany, New York (MVP Arena)
* Columbus, Ohio (Nationwide Arena)
* Denver (Ball Arena)
* Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)
April 3
The NCAA championship game, the final game of the 2022-23 college basketball season, will be played on Monday, April 3 to determine the champion of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
It will be held in Houston, at NRG Stadium.