The 2024 NCAA Tournament is finally here, and what fun is March Madness without a bracket?
Fortunately, you've come to the right place. Sporting News has every type of college basketball fan covered with our 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket in printable, PDF form, complete with the full field of 68 on Selection Sunday. Download it, print it, fill it out, trash talk your co-workers.
This year's tournament schedule begins with the First Four on March 19 in Dayton, Ohio. The Big Dance ramps up with the first and second rounds March 21-24 and concludes with the Final Four and national championship games April 6-8 in Phoenix.
In addition to the printable bracket below, you'll also find tips and tools to help you fill it out, including picks and analysis from TSN's expert writers.
SN's MARCH MADNESS HQ
Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Expert bracket picks
Printable March Madness bracket 2024
Download Sporting News' printable NCAA Tournament bracket (PDF) by clicking here.
EXPERT PICKS: DeCourcy (UConn) | Bender (UConn) | Iyer (UConn) | Yanchulis (South Carolina women)
When are March Madness brackets due in 2024?
The deadline to submit a men's NCAA Tournament bracket is 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 21 — the start time of the first game between Mississippi State and Michigan. Online bracket pool contests will lock after tipoff.
First Four games (March 19-20) do not count for most March Madness bracket pools.
How to fill out a March Madness bracket
- 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 will be 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.
UPSET PICKS: 10 seeds | 11 seeds | 12 seeds | 13 seeds
How does a March Madness bracket work?
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.
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
March Madness bracket tips from SN's experts
So you've printed a bracket. Need a hand filling it out? Sporting News' staff of college basketball experts will fill out their own brackets on Selection Sunday, sharing the method to their madness. In the meantime, here's a list of tools you can use to win your office pool.
Beware the bracket busters: Think twice about picking the favorite opposite these eight underdogs with serious sleeper potential.
KenPom predictions: College basketball's most popular advanced stats can be a useful tool for spotting sleepers and projecting upsets, but don't get too cute.
Best March Madness bracket names: Having trouble coming up with the perfect pun for your bracket pool? SN wants to help: Consult our list of funny, cheesy bracket names guaranteed to earn you compliments.
Play the odds when picking Final Four, national champs: Don't get cute. Your Final Four should include a lot of chalk.
REGION-BY-REGION GUIDES: South | Midwest | West | East
March Madness schedule 2024
The 2024 NCAA Tournament begins March 19-20 with the First Four play-in games. The first and second rounds will be held from March 21-24 followed by the Sweet 16 (March 28-29) and Elite Eight (March 30-31) a week later. This year's Final Four will take place April 6-8 from Phoenix.
| Round | Dates |
| First Four | March 19-20 |
| Round 1 | March 21-22 |
| Round 2 | March 23-24 |
| Sweet 16 | March 28-29 |
| Elite Eight | March 30-31 |
| Final Four | April 6 |
| National championship | April 8 |
More NCAA Tournament news from Sporting News
Sporting News' 2023-24 college basketball All-Americans: SN's Mike DeCourcy names the 15 best players from the 2023-24 college basketball season.
Sporting News Player of the Year: Purdue's Zach Edey joins elite company as the sixth back-to-back winner of our award along with Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and Ralph Sampson.
Sporting News Coach of the Year: The son of Bob Hurley Sr. is living up to his own standard while leading UConn in its national title defense, succeeding Rodney Terry of Texas and joining such legends as John Wooden, Lute Olson, Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Calhoun as Coach of the Year.
37 best teams that didn't win the NCAA Tournament: Sporting News picks teams from the past three decades that didn't deliver a title. Which was the best?
March Madness Cinderella players we'll never forget: Stephen Curry is among the greatest Cinderella players in March Madness history, but he's not No. 1 on our list.
Most hated college basketball players of all time: Sporting News looks at the most-hated college hoops players of all time. Don't worry, there is a lot of Duke on this list.
10 best schools without a Final Four appearance: Who are the best schools that haven't made a Final Four since the 64-team era began in 1984-85?
Best college players who never made the NCAA Tournament: Say hello to Ben Simmons, Noah Vonleh, Nerlens Noel, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and others who watched March Madness on TV. It's quite a list.
