2010 NCAA March Madness Bracket

NCAA Tournament Overview

The NCAA stages a tournament style playoff-system to determine the college basketball champion each year. They issue a mix of invitations or at-large bids as well as automatic bids. There are a total of 65 schools which compete in the tournament.

Automatic bids are issued to the 31 teams who win their conference tournament. The Ivy League does not stage a conference tournament so the regular-season conference champion receives the automatic bid.

At-large bids are issued to 34 teams by the NCAA Selection Committee.  The at-large bids are determined by certain factors. Those factors include Top 25 rankings, strength of schedule as well as end of year performance.  The last factor is very subjective but does weigh heavily in the decision. The Committee wants to issue invitations to the teams who will be most competitive in the tournament.

The tournament is split into 4 regions on the march madness bracket.  The regions include East, West, Midwest and South. Each region has a team seeded 1-16.  The best team in each region receives a #1 seed and the worst team receives a #16 seed. The first round matches up teams with the following seeds:

#1 – #16

#2 – #15

#3 – #14

#4 – #13

#5 – #12

#6 – #11

#7 – #10

#8 – #9

The bracket is not re-seeded after the first round. The games are all single-elimination and the winners continue to advance until two teams meet in the NCAA Championship game.

The first and second rounds are played on the first weekend of the tournament. The games are played on Thursday and Saturday or Friday and Sunday. The second week of the tournament includes the semi-finals (the Sweet Sixteen) as well as the finals (the Elite Eight). The teams which win and are still alive after week 2 advance to the Final Four.  The Final Four includes the winner from each of the four regions. The two winners of the Final Four games meet up in the NCAA Championship Game. The winner of this game receives the NCAA National Championship trophy.

An award is also given each year by the Associated Press to the Most Outstanding Player. The winner of the award is usually a member of the Championship Team. Notable winners of the award include but are not limited to:

1955 – Bill Russell	San Francisco
1957 – Wilt Chamberlain	University of Kansas
1958 – Elgin Baylor	Seattle
1959 – Jerry West	University of West Virginia
1979 – Magic Johnson	Michigan State University
1981 – Isiah Thomas	Indiana University
1983 – Hakeem Olajuwon	University of Houston
1984 – Patrick Ewing	Georgetown University
1991 – Christian Laettner	Duke University
1999 – Richard Hamilton	UConn
2003 – Carmelo Anthony	University of Syracuse
2006 – Joakim Noah	University of Florida

Players who have received the award numerous times include both Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1967, 1968 and 1969) as well as Bill Walton (1972 and 1973).  Both players won the award while playing for UCLA under head coach John Wooden.

March Madness History

The NCAA tournament was developed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and first played in 1939. It is known as March Madness or the Big Dance and is played over a three week period during the month of March.

The phrase March Madness was first used by H.V.Porter, an official with the Illinois High School Association.  He published an essay called March Madness in 1939 and over the years the term became popular in Illinois and throughout parts of the Midwest.

However, the phrase gained national recognition after it was used by CBS Sportscaster, Brent Musburger. He popularized the phrase during his annual telecasts in the 1980’s and fans began connecting the phrase and the tournament.

The phrase is now a registered trademark, held jointly by both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Illinois High School Association.

The NCAA Tournament has built a legacy since 1939 which includes dynasties and dramatic underdog upsets. The format from 1939-1950 only included eight teams. However, in the years since it has expanded to include 32, 48, 52 and present day 65 teams. The format has changed numerous times but the excitement has always stayed the same.

The games and betting on the tournament have become a national pastime in recent years. Fueled by television and the popular tournament bracket betting on the NCAA Tournament has surpassed the Super Bowl in total volume. Scores of people flock to Las Vegas and internet websites to place bets on their favorite college teams over the three week period.

NCAA Tournament Championship Winners

UCLA holds the record with 11 national titles. The University of Kentucky is second, with 7 national titles. The University of Indiana and North Carolina both hold 5 national titles. The following is the complete list of all winners from the most recent to 1939:

2009    North Carolina

2008    Kansas

2007    Florida

2006    Florida

2005    North Carolina

2004    Connecticut

2003    Syracuse

2002    Maryland

2001    Duke

2000    Michigan State

1999    Connecticut

1998    Kentucky

1997    Arizona

1996    Kentucky

1995    UCLA

1994    Arkansas

1993    North Carolina

1992    Duke

1991    Duke

1990    UNLV

1989    Michigan

1988    Kansas

1987    Indiana

1986    Louisville

1985    Villanova

1984    Georgetown

1983    N.C. State

1982    North Carolina

1981    Indiana

1980    Louisville

1979    Michigan State

1978    Kentucky

1977    Marquette

1976    Indiana

1975    UCLA

1974    N.C. State

1973    UCLA

1972    UCLA

1971    UCLA

1970    UCLA

1969    UCLA

1968    UCLA

1967    UCLA

1966    Texas Western

1965    UCLA

1964    UCLA

1963    Loyola (IL)

1962    Cincinnati

1961    Cincinnati

1960    Ohio State

1959    California

1958    Kentucky

1957    North Carolina

1956    San Francisco

1955    San Francisco

1954    LaSalle

1953    Indiana

1952    Kansas State

1951    Kentucky

1950    CCNY

1949    Kentucky

1948    Kentucky

1947    Holy Cross

1946    Oklahoma State

1945    Oklahoma State

1944    Utah

1943    Wyoming

1942    Stanford

1941    Wisconsin

1940    Indiana

1939    Oregon

Playblackjack.com March Madness Bracket Contest

The Playblackjack.com bracket contest has become one of the most popular betting items for our players over the last few years. We create an online and printable bracket for each NCAA Tournament each year.

The contest is free for all of our players and the prizes include:

$10,000           1^st place

$5,000             2^nd place

$2,500             3^rd place

$10,000,000    Pick a perfect bracket

The bracket is available for download at the following link.

The contest is active immediately after the teams and seeds are determined. Players can log into the sports section above to fill out and submit their bracket. For players who do not yet have an account here are the steps:

1^st Open an account. Click here.

2^nd Make your first deposit to become an active player. Click here.

3^rd Fill out your bracket for FREE. Click here.