In the month of March, fans of American college basketball get excited about March Madness. As an international student, you may be wondering: What is March Madness? The short answer is it is the NCAA college basketball tournament season. College basketball teams from all over the United States play against each other to be named NCAA champions. Keep reading to find out why people get so excited about it and how you can join in the fun.
What Is March Madness?
The first March Madness basketball game was played in 1939. The tournament marks the end of the American college basketball season and determines that year’s championship team. Some people call it the Big Dance — this nickname comes from a comment one basketball coach made to a reporter about the tournament back in 1977.
Basketball teams from 68 US colleges and universities play in the March Madness tournament. These teams come from four regions of the country: East, Midwest, South, and West. In the early games, teams play against others in their region, with winners advancing and losers being eliminated. The “Sweet 16” are the last 16 teams left in the tournament. The “Elite Eight” are the last eight.
The outcome of those final eight games determines the Final Four. Those last four teams, one from each region of the United States, play against each other to see who will win the championship title.
I am a basketball fan and KU is famous for its basketball team. … A game inside Allen Fieldhouse is really amazing.” – Boling from China, University of Kansas
Brackets show the pairings for games. March Madness is a single-elimination event, which means that a team is removed from the tournament after one loss. Fans sometimes refer to this as one-and-done. You can see last year’s bracket here.
You might hear someone mention a “bracket buster,” a team that wins even though they were not expected to. Their win “busts” the bracket because it changes the pairings for the rest of the tournament. If a team keeps winning unexpectedly, you might hear them called a “Cinderella” team after the fairy tale character.
March Madness basketball is popular because it is high-stakes and fast-paced. Even people who are not college basketball fans sometimes watch the games. It is easy to get excited when a single loss can knock a team out of the competition.
The tournament also happens during an otherwise quiet time. American football season is over and baseball has not yet started. With so many games to watch and teams from all over the country playing, sports fans can usually find a team or specific players to get excited about.
So, when is March Madness? The March Madness tournament officially starts on Selection Sunday, when the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee names the teams they have selected to play in the tournament. In 2025, Selection Sunday is on March 16. Over the following three weeks, 68 college basketball teams will play for the tournament.
2025 March Madness Basketball
Teams are ranked by the committee based on their performance during the rest of the season. In the First Four, the highest-ranking teams will play against the lowest-ranking team in their region. The second-place team will play against the 16th ranked team, and so on.
Team rankings are called seeds. So, the top teams in each region are known as the first-seed teams. Most college basketball experts make predictions on which team will take the number-one spot this year, with Auburn University and the University of Kansas among the top contenders.
Here is the schedule for March Madness 2025 men’s tournaments:
First Four — March 18 to 19
Round 1 — March 20 to 21
Round 2 — March 22 to 23
Sweet 16 — March 27 to 28
Elite Eight — March 29 to 30
Final Four — April 5
National Championship — April 7
(Yes, technically March Madness ends in April!)
The First Four games will be at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The championship game will be at the Alamodome stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
Women’s March Madness tournaments will also take place around the same dates, with the First Four scheduled for March 19th and 20th, and the NCAA championship game on April 6th at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Last year’s women’s champion, the University of South Carolina, is among the top NCAA players according to this year’s bracket predictions. (We also have our eye on Louisiana State University!)
How International Students Can Get Involved with American College Basketball
You can gather with friends to watch March Madness games on TV. If you are lucky enough to have a March Madness game played at your college, in most years, you can go watch the games live. Some campuses may host pep rallies, parties, parades, or other events to celebrate their teams. All of these get-togethers are fun ways to spend time with friends and enjoy the excitement of the tournament.
I’ve had a lot of fun going to KU basketball games. The student section is so loud because we all cheer the KU chants together, and of course KU almost always wins, too!” – Saharsh, University of Kansas
You can even play along by setting your own brackets. Take a guess about who you think will play in each game and who will move on to the Final Four and the championship. With so many teams playing, it is difficult to guess correctly, but that is what makes it exciting.
Look at win-loss records, injuries, and who has the best players to decide which teams will be added to your bracket. (You can just fill it in randomly, too.) Being right is nice, but watching the games with friends is where you will have the most fun.
March Madness is a fast-paced and fun cultural experience that you can only find in the USA. Whether you pick your own bracket or just watch the games on TV, March Madness is better with friends. So, gather a group and enjoy the Big Dance!
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