2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship to Begin with NCAA
The Division I Men’s Basketball Committee today announced plans for the 2011 NCAA "First Four" to showcase the expanded field for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
The 2011 championship will tip off with four first-round games, all broadcast nationally in primetime on Turner Broadcasting's truTV. The four games will highlight the start of the Road to Houston as part of NCAA's new 14-year partnership with Turner Broadcasting and CBS Sports.
The expansion to eight teams will constitute the first round of the championship, with the second- and third-rounds played to round out of the first week of play. Two of the first-round games will feature the last four at-large teams selected to the championship field, while the other two games will match teams ranked 65 through 68 on the overall seed list. The winners of the four games will advance to the second round.
In April, the committee was charged by the Division I Board of Directors to determine the new 68-team format for the championship. Since that time, the committee actively solicited input from the NCAA membership. During its annual meeting, the committee reviewed and analyzed options, considering the benefits of each.
When the Mountain West Conference was created in 1999, NCAA membership chose to add a 65th team to the tournament, creating a single opening-round game starting in 2001. Going to 68 teams in 2011 allows for all four regions of the championship to be balanced in size, with 31 conference nfl jerseys automatic qualifiers and 37 at-large selections -- four more than the traditional 64-team configuration.
The two at-large pairings will both occupy the seed line where they would normally be placed in the bracket. The pairings could occupy different lines in the bracket. For example, baseball jerseys one game may be played between two No. 10 seeds, while the other could feature a pair of No. 12 seeds. Winners of those games would advance to play their natural opponent on a 64-team bracket; the No. 10 seed would play a seventh-seeded team and a 12th-seeded team would meet a No. 5 seed. In accordance with the bracketing procedures, teams will continue to be assigned to the closest available geographic location while avoiding regular-season rematches and conference opponents. This marks the first time in tournament history that the last four at-large teams will be publicly revealed.
The winners of the two first-round games involving teams seeded 65 through 68 will advance to second-round play against number one-seeded teams.
The 2010 Selection, Seeding and Bracketing Principles and Procedures are available at www.ncaa.com/finalfour. The 2011 Principles and Procedures will be available in August.
The schedule and location nike air max of the 2011 First Four games will be announced in the coming weeks. "We will examine all options moving forward, and that includes playing the first-round games at one site on one date, at multiple sites on multiple dates, or any combination therein," Guerrero said.
All 68 teams earn full units from the NCAA Basketball distribution fund based upon participation and wins leading to the Final Four. For more details on the NCAA.s Revenue Distribution Plan, go to www.ncaa.org.
Second- and third-round sites for the 2011 championship will be played Thursday-Sunday, March 17-20 in Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Tampa, Tucson, Tulsa and Washington D.C. Regionals will take place March 24-27 in Anaheim, Newark, New Orleans and San Antonio, while the 73rd Final Four will be held in Houston April 2 and 4. Host cities for the second- and third-rounds and regionals have been determined for the 2012 and '13 championships, while Final Four cities have been selected through 2016.