Why is the NCAA bracket now 65 teams instead of 64?

  • Thread starter climbhi
  • Start date
In summary, the NCAA has expanded their March Madness basketball tournament to include 65 teams, with a "play-in" game for the final spot. Three teams from Wisconsin have made it into the tournament - UW, MU, and UWM. There is also representation from the Utah schools, including Weber State. Marquette University, located in Milwaukee, is a top school in Wisconsin, known for its basketball team. The city of Milwaukee is described as a small market city, similar to a smaller version of Chicago. The conversation also includes predictions for upsets in the tournament. The acronym NCAA stands for National Collegiate Athletic Association.
  • #1
climbhi
[SOLVED] NCAA Wierdness

Woohoo, March Madness is just around the corner, I can't wait, college basketball is as good as it gets. But I have just one question I was wondering if anyone knew the answer to. I've seen multiple news casts now and media articles saying that it was a 65 team bracket. What the heck is going on. That doesn't work, if their playing as normal it has to be a power of 2, like 64. 65 teams won't work. What is happening? Did they mess up somehow, or have they changed the format of play or what? Just wondering...
 
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  • #2
It looks to me that there is an opening game. The winner of that plays Texas. So there are really 66 teams?

Whatever it is, I'm really happy 3 WI teams made it in. UW, MU and UWM!
 
  • #3
i'm pretty sure there are 65 teams.
::looks at brackett::
there used to be 64 but now they have a "play in" game. so two teams play for the right to one of the 16 seeds so they can promptly get their ass kicked by the 1 seed.

three WI teams? who is UM?

GO BLUE DEVILS!
and the ACC/SEC in general.
silly midwest teams think they have a chance.
 
  • #4
spacemanspiff sounds right.

MU: Marquette University
UW: University of Wisconsin (Madison)
UWM: University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (where I go!)
 
  • #5
i had no idea that Marquette was in this state. I have no idea where most of the schools in the tournament are.

i'm at UW-madison. it's spring break so i don't see a lot of undergrads around cheering the team on.
 
  • #6
I'm a little shocked by you being in UW and not knowing that Marquette is in WI. MU is about 10min away from UWM actually. Where are you originally from?
 
  • #7
oh I'm new in the area. I haven't even had a cheese curd yet. I'm still not even sure what these Dells people speak of are. i have no idea what kind of operation you wisconsonites have running here. definately need to work on the weather though

I'm here via originally Atlanta and recently Boston.
 
  • #8
Originally posted by Greg Bernhardt
Whatever it is, I'm really happy 3 WI teams made it in. UW, MU and UWM!

Yeah I was pretty happy all three of the major Utah schools made it in too, U of U, USU, and BYU. The U of U (my school by chance) is about the only one that stands a chance though...
 
  • #10
I'll be moving to Milwaukee in July and am thinking of attending some classes at Marquette. It looks a good, small school. What's Milwaukee like? A small Chicago?
 
  • #11
A small Chicago?
A very small chicago, lol. MKE is a nice place, but it is a small market city. Try to get to the east coast, near the lake. It's really beautiful there during spring and summer. Marquette is right downtown and is regarded as a top school in WI.
 
  • #12
My daughter went to Marquette (in Industrial engineering). We went around to a lot of colleges and she felt most comfortable at Marquette. It's a Jesuit school, if that bothers you. It's right down town and the city flows around it. Pam really liked it and she turned me into a fan of MU basketball.

As for Milwaukee, it's larger than most midwestern cities and has all the urban stuff, good and bad. You can't generalize because being pretty big, it has all kinds of neighborhoods. But yes, it's not far from Chicago in more than one sense of the word.
 
  • #13
Weber St over Wisconsin and Mil-Wisconsin over Notre Dame are two of my three first round upset picks. The other is Penn over Ok St - not that you care.

Second round upsets - LSU over Texas, Connecticut over Stanford and St. Joe's over Wake Forest.

Rest of tourney, since I went this far:

Louisville over Oklahoma
Syracuse over St. Joe's
Syracuse over Louisville

UCONN over LSU
Xavier over Florida
Xavier over UConn

Kansas over Duke
Arizona over Illinois
Arizona over Kansas

Pittsburg over Marquette
Kentucky over Dayon
Kentucky over Pittburgh

THen, Kentucky over Syracuse in the national championship

It's weird, I think the 4 best teams, Kentucky, Arizona, Pittsburgh and Kansas are all on the same half of the bracket.

Njorl
 
  • #14
Originally posted by Greg Bernhardt
Weber St. made it and that in Utah right?

Oh yes I forgot, Weber State too, that make four, and to think their only 30 minutes from my school... I can't believe I forgot Weber State, they're the upset specials of all time (well not quite of all time but they do consistently pull off some pretty good upsets!)
 
  • #15
WOOHOO! Marquette beat Holy Cross today to get into the second round!

WI and Weber St. play later today, should be a great game!
 
  • #16
what does NCAA stand for?
 
  • #17
Majin, I'm a member. It's the National Council for Arthritic Athletes.

There's another one that is something like National Collegiate Athletic Association (I may have that one a little wrong but will no doubt be corrected).
 

FAQ: Why is the NCAA bracket now 65 teams instead of 64?

1. Why did the NCAA increase the number of teams in the bracket to 65?

The NCAA increased the number of teams in the bracket to 65 in order to add an extra play-in game known as the "First Four" to the tournament. This was done to allow more teams the opportunity to participate in March Madness and to make the competition more fair for teams from smaller conferences.

2. How did the NCAA decide on adding one extra team instead of expanding the bracket to 68 teams?

The decision to expand the bracket to 65 teams instead of 68 was made after careful consideration and analysis by the NCAA. The organization determined that adding one extra team and creating a play-in game would be the best solution to address concerns about fairness and inclusion in the tournament.

3. Did the addition of one extra team change the selection process for the tournament?

No, the selection process for the NCAA tournament did not change with the addition of one extra team. The same criteria and procedures were used to select the 65 teams for the bracket, with the exception of the play-in game teams being selected separately.

4. How does the play-in game work in the NCAA bracket now that there are 65 teams?

The play-in game, also known as the "First Four," involves the four lowest-ranked teams in the tournament playing against each other for two spots in the main bracket. The winners of the play-in games then move on to the first round of the tournament, while the losers are eliminated from the competition.

5. Will the NCAA ever expand the bracket to include more than 65 teams in the future?

It is possible that the NCAA may decide to expand the bracket in the future, but there are currently no plans to do so. The organization will continue to evaluate the tournament and make changes as needed to ensure fairness and the best possible experience for all teams involved.

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