March Madness 2015: A Guide to the NCAA Tournament
Why the numbers 68, 64 and 0 are important to college basketball.
— -- March Madness is a tournament dominated by numbers. From the teams in the competition (68) to the schools that are top seeds (4), the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament captivates millions of fans across the country in a span of a few weeks.
Everyone, it seems, is a hoops expert. Casual viewers become die-hard fans and checking your bracket becomes compulsive behavior during the early rounds.
Whether you're rooting for your alma mater of just trying to show up your colleagues at work for bracket bragging right, fans will be drowning in numbers and statistics. And with the First Four slated to take the court this week, here is a look at some numbers to keep in mind ahead of tonight's tip-off:
74 (Points for Kentucky)
The average points-per-game (74.3 to be exact) scored by Kentucky this season. The No. 1 seed went 34-0 this season and is the favorite to win the tournament. The Wildcats could go 40-0 should they win the tournament, which would make them the first undefeated Division I champions since Indiana in 1976.
Kentucky is also the first team since Duke (in 1991-92) to hold the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press poll for the entire season.
68 (Teams that officially start the tournament)
The number of teams that start the tournament. The four play-in games (which give the winners access to the field of 64) were introduced in 2011. Click here to print out a full bracket.
64 (Teams that open the Second Round)
Number of teams to start the second round, which begins Thursday. The tournament was expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
36 (At-large bids)
Number of schools that receive at-large bids as decided by an NCAA selection committee.
32 (Automatic bids)
Number of Division I conferences that receive automatic bids, a decision made the Sunday prior to the start of the tournament.
15 (As in seed)
Seven times that a team seeded 15th defeated a No. 2 seed in the opening round.
11 (Titles won by UCLA)
Number of titles won by UCLA, the most of any school.
9 (As in Big 12 schools)
The Big 12 set the record for highest percentage of teams from a conference in a single season. Nine of the league's 10 schools made the Top 25 (Texas Tech was the one that did not) -- a 90 percent mark that shattered the previous record of 78 percent set by the Big East in 1991. That year seven of its nine teams were ranked.
7 (As in UConn)
With the No. 7 seed Connecticut and No. 8 Kentucky reaching the championship game in 2014, last year's title match-up was the first ever to not include at least one 1, 2 or 3 seed.
It was also the third final all-time to not feature a No. 1 or 2 seed. UConn was the first No. 7 seed to ever reach (and win) the championship game.
5 (For Georgetown loses)
Number of times (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013) that Georgetown lost to a team seeded at least five spots below it.
1 (As in seeds that all made the Final Four)
Number of times all four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four. It last happened in 2008.
0 (As in upset victories)
Number of times a No. 1 seed has lost to a No. 16 seed. Could it happen this year?
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