2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
| File:2015FinalFourLogo.png 2015 Final Four logo | |||||
| Season | 1998–1999 | ||||
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| Finals site | Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||
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The 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament will involve 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It is scheduled to begin on March 17, 2015, and will conclude with the championship game on April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Tournament procedure
Pending any changes to the current format, a total of 68 teams will enter the 2015 tournament. 31 of the 32 automatic bids teams will be given to the program that wins their conference tournament. The remaining automatic bid will go to the Ivy League regular season champion since they do not hold a conference tournament. The remaining 36 teams will be granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Eight teams—the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams—will play 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 advance to the main draw of the tournament.
The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 68.
2015 NCAA Tournament schedule and venues
The following are the sites selected to host each round of the 2015 tournament:[1]
First Four
- March 17 and 18
Second and Third Rounds
- March 19 and 21
- March 20 and 22
Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
- March 26 and 28
- Midwest Regional, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio (Host: Mid-American Conference)
- West Regional, Staples Center, Los Angeles, California (Host: Pepperdine University)
- March 27 and 29
- East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, New York (Host: Syracuse University)
- South Regional, NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: Rice University, University of Houston)
National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)
- April 4 and 6
Media coverage
Television
CBS Sports and Turner Sports have US television rights to the tournament.[2] Coverage is detailed below:[3]
- First Four - truTV
- Second and Third Rounds - CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
- Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) - CBS and TBS
- National Semifinals (Final Four) - TBS
- National Championship - CBS
Radio
Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.[4]
See also
- 2015 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
- 2015 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament
- 2015 NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Tournament
- 2015 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
- 2015 National Invitation Tournament
- 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament
- 2015 Women's National Invitation Tournament
References
- ^ "Preliminary round sites announced for 2014, 2015 NCAA tournaments". NCAA. December 16, 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ "CBS Sports, Turner Broadcasting, NCAA Reach 14-Year Agreement". NCAA. January 12, 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ "CBS Sports, Turner Sports announce programming schedule for 2014, 2015". NCAA. May 7, 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ "NCAA, Westwood One extend deal". NCAA. January 13, 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2013.