The madness begins with a single moment– the unveiling of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Tournament bracket on Selection Sunday. Teams on the bubble hold their breath, top seeds prepare for their path to the Final Four, and fans scramble to fill out their brackets in hopes of predicting the chaos. The annual event sets up the national basketball stage for upsets, buzzer-beaters and Cinderella stories that define the tournament.
Selection Sunday will take place on March 16 at 6 p.m. on the CBS channel, the Sunday before the NCAA Tournament begins. The 12-member NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, made up of athletic directors and conference commissioners, is responsible for selecting, seeding and placing teams in the bracket.
For many basketball fans, Selection Sunday is a must-watch event. Senior Rohit Paka enjoys the excitement and unpredictability of the bracket reveal.
“The best part is the suspense,” Paka said. “Seeing bubble teams, teams that are on the tip of making it, celebrating when they make it in or getting crushed when they don’t is crazy. And it’s fun predicting how the bracket will end up.”
There are two ways a team can qualify to be one of the 68 teams participating in the tournament. First, 32 teams earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments, which mostly take place during the five days prior to selection. The remaining 36 teams are selected by the committee based on their performance throughout the season. Factors such as overall record, strength of schedule, key wins and the NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings play a role in determining these selections.
Sophomore Tony Kitherian also watches the selection show every year and also enjoys the emotional reactions from teams that make or miss the cut.
“Seeing players go crazy when they make it is awesome,” Kitherian said.
Once the teams are chosen, the committee seeds them from one to 16 in each of the four regions. The goal is to create balanced matchups while considering factors like travel distance and conference variety in each bracket. The final step is placing the teams into the bracket, ensuring competitive balance and fair matchups in the first games of the tournament.
However, not all aspects of Selection Sunday are well-received. The show runs for around two hours since the women’s bracket needs to be revealed at around 8 p.m.
“They take way too long to announce everything,” Kitherian said. “I don’t need all the extra talking, just give me the bracket.”
While the timing of the program can be a negative, another point of debate is the fairness of the selection process. The committee has been criticized for favoring certain teams, which may create an unfair environment. For example, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Southeastern Conference are currently recognized as the power conferences.
Another senior who enjoys viewing the bracket selection is Ishita Thatavarthi. She and her family have a tradition of watching it together every year.
“It’s mostly fair, but there’s definitely some favoritism toward power conference teams,” Thatavarthi said. “Some smaller schools get left out even when they have great records, just because they don’t play in a big conference.”
While top-seeded teams are often favorites to win, March Madness is famous for its unpredictability. Lower-seeded teams face an uphill battle.
“It’s tough, but possible,” Thatavarthi said. “We’ve seen teams like Loyola-Chicago and FAU make deep runs and UConn won as a 7-seed before. But realistically, the tournament is set up for top teams to win.”
Kitherian acknowledges that lower-seeded teams rarely win any of the bracket games at all. However, when they do win, it captivates the attention of tournament viewers.
“I don’t think lower-seeded teams can win, but that’s what makes it fun when a team like that goes on a deep run,” Kitherian said. “It’s super rare, but when it happens, everyone gets excited.”
As Selection Sunday 2025 approaches, students and basketball fans alike are ready for March Madness.
“Whether my favorite team makes it to the tournament or not, the next few weeks promise to deliver unforgettable moments on college basketball’s biggest stage,” Thatavarthi said.
