The road to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are filled with excitement, debate and meticulous analysis. But how do the 68-team fields actually get selected? This guide provides a behind-the-scenes look at the selection process, criteria and key factors that shape the brackets for March Madness.
How Do Teams Qualify for March Madness?
31 automatic qualifiers — Teams that win their conference tournaments receive automatic bids.
37 at-large bids — The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees use a combination of metrics and evaluation tools (details below) to choose the at-large teams.
Who Selects the Teams?
The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees, respectively, oversee the selection, seeding and bracketing process for each tournament. These committees evaluate teams using data-driven metrics, game results and expert observations to determine the best at-large teams and ensure competitive balance in the tournaments.
The Division I men’s and women’s committees are composed of conference commissioners, athletics directors and experienced administrators from across Division I basketball. Each committee consists of 12 members serving five-year terms, ensuring a fair and balanced approach to selection.
Selection begins with each committee member submitting an initial ballot on the first day of the selections meeting, followed by rounds of voting and discussion until the final bracket is set. The committees meet multiple times throughout the season to analyze team performance and adjust rankings accordingly.
See the full list of committee members: Men's Committee | Women's Committee
How Are At-Large Teams Selected?
Men’s Tournament
Key Metrics Used:
- NET Rankings (NCAA Evaluation Tool).
- Quadrant Wins and Losses (more details below).
- Results-based metrics (Wins Above Bubble, KPI and Strength of Record): These metrics help evaluate a team’s resume. Wins Above Bubble, a new metric for the 2024-25 season, shows how many more, or fewer, wins a team has against its schedule versus what a bubble team would expect to have against the same schedule.
- Predictive-based metrics (Torvik, BPI and KenPom rankings): These metrics help evaluate the quality of teams. Torvik was added to the team sheet list for the 2024-25 season.
Learn more about the men’s selection, seeding and bracketing process.
Women’s Tournament
Key Metrics Used: The committee team selection criteria and priorities include the following, listed alphabetically, as it is up to each committee member to decide priority order:
- Bad losses.
- Common opponents.
- Competitive in losses.
- Early performance versus late performance.
- Head-to-head.
- NET ranking.
- Observable component.
- Overall record.
- Regional rankings.
- Significant wins.
- Strength of schedule.
Learn more about the women’s selection, seeding and bracketing process.
NET Rankings Explained
The NCAA Evaluation Tool is one of many criteria that each committee considers in the team selection and seeding process. It considers two key components:
- Team Value Index — TVI is the strength of victories based on opponent and location.
- Net Efficiency — Offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency equals net efficiency, which is adjusted to account for the strength of the opponent and the game location.
Men’s Quadrant System Ranges (vs. team rankings in NET)
Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 136-240
Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353
Learn more about the NET and its role in men’s basketball selections.
Women’s Quadrant System Ranges (vs. team rankings in NET)
Quadrant 1: Home 1-25, Neutral 1-35, Away 1-45
Quadrant 2: Home 26-55, Neutral 36-65, Away 46-80
Quadrant 3: Home 56-90, Neutral 66-105, Away 81-130
Quadrant 4: Home 91+, Neutral 106+, Away 131+
Learn more about the NET and its role in women’s basketball selections and other frequently asked questions.
How Are The Brackets Built?
Selecting Teams
- Each committee member chooses the top eight teams, in no particular order, from teams that are under consideration.
- The top eight vote-getters are ranked 1 through 8 by each committee member, with the top four from that vote moving into the field. The other four are placed in a “holding room.”
- The committee members then list eight more teams from the under consideration list.
- The top four vote-getters join the other four in holding for a rank of those eight teams. The top four from that ranking are moved into the field.
- This process repeats itself until 37 at-large teams have been selected.
Seeding Teams
The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees rank the 68 teams using a seed list, which orders teams from 1 through 68. This seed list remains unchanged once finalized and serves as the basis for placing teams into the tournament bracket.
Teams are ranked and placed using a voting process:
- The seeding process begins with each committee member choosing the top eight teams, in no particular order, from teams that have already been voted into the field or have earned the automatic qualifier.
- The top eight vote-getters are ranked 1 through 8 by each committee member, with the top four from that vote moving into the top four spots on the overall seed list. The other four are placed in a “holding room.”
- The committee members then list eight more teams from the teams that have already been voted into the field or have earned the automatic qualifier.
The top four vote-getters join the other four in holding for a rank of those eight teams. The top four from that ranking are moved into the field as the initial 2 seeds (spots 5-8 on the overall seed list).
- This process repeats itself until all tournament teams have been seeded.
- Throughout selection week and right up until the morning of Selection Sunday, the committees will revisit the seed list, scrubbing it until it is satisfied with the order of the 68 teams. The scrubbing process involves comparing the first team with the second, the second with the third, the third with the fourth, and so on. When a team moves up a spot on the seed list, it is then compared to the next team up, and when a team moves down a spot on the seed list, it is compared to the next team down.
Key Men's Bracketing Principles
Regional assignments:
- The four No. 1 seeds are placed in separate regions.
- The highest-seeded team chooses its preferred region.
Conference and rematch rules:
- The first four teams from the same conference are placed in different regions when they are among the top four seed lines.
- Teams from the same conference cannot meet before the Elite Eight if they played each other three or more times.
- When possible, rematches from the previous year’s tournament are avoided in the First Four and first round.
First Four games:
- The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65-68 compete in First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday.
- Winners advance to designated first-round sites.
Geographic and venue considerations:
- Teams are placed as close to home as possible to maximize fan accessibility.
- A team cannot play in a facility where it has played more than three games in a season.
Bracketing adjustments:
- If necessary, a team may be moved up or down one seed line to meet bracketing principles.
- The committee balances regions across the top four seed lines (top 16 teams) using true seed numbers to ensure no region is significantly stronger than another. Ideally, there is never a difference of more than five between the region with the lowest total and the one with the highest.
Key Women's Bracketing Principles
Regional assignments:
- The four No. 1 seeds are placed in separate regions.
- The highest-seeded team is assigned to the closest regional location. Learn more about the process for bracketing.
Conference and rematch rules:
- The first four teams from the same conference are placed in different regions.
- Teams from the same conference cannot meet before the regional final if they played each other three or more times.
- Rematches from the previous year’s tournament are avoided in the First Four and first round.
First Four games:
- The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65-68 compete in First Four games on the Wednesday and Thursday after Selection Sunday at four of the top 16 campus-hosted sites. Learn more about the First Four selection process.
- Winners advance to the first round and remain at the same host site.
Top 16 seeds host first- and second-round games:
- The top 16 seeded teams have the opportunity to host first- and second-round games at their home arenas if they meet hosting requirements.
- If a top-16 team does not submit a bid or does not meet the requirements, the committee selects another location that aligns with bracketing principles.
Geographic and venue considerations:
- Teams are placed as close to home as possible to maximize fan accessibility.
- For the regional competition, a team may not be assigned to play in any arena in which it has played more than three regular-season games, not including conference post-season tournaments.
Bracketing adjustments:
- If necessary, a team may be moved up or down one bracket line to meet bracketing principles.
- The committee balances regions using true seed numbers to ensure no region is significantly stronger than another.
NIT and WBIT Selection Process
Men’s National Invitation Tournament: The NIT features 32 teams not selected for the NCAA tournament.
How are teams selected?
The top 16 teams not selected for the NCAA tournament will receive an automatic bid (exempt status) to the NIT. These teams, which will be guaranteed the opportunity to host a first-round game, will be determined as follows:
- The top two teams not selected for the NCAA tournament from both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference.
- The highest-ranked team from each of the top 12 conferences (based on the KenPom Conference Ratings) not selected for the NCAA tournament.
- The top teams from each conference will be determined based on the average of the teams’ ESPN Basketball Power Index, Kevin Pauga Index, NCAA Evaluation Tool, Ken Pomeroy Rating, Strength of Record, Torvik ranking and Wins Above Bubble ranking.
The rest of the field will be selected as at-large teams by the NIT’s committee.
Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament: The WBIT features 32 teams from Division I. These teams will include select automatic qualifiers and at-large teams, as follows:
- The first four teams not selected for the Division I Women’s Championship – as determined by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee – will receive an automatic bid and will be the first four seeds in the WBIT.
- Regular-season champions of any Division I conference (as determined by the conference’s tie-break protocol) not selected to the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will secure an automatic qualification to the WBIT.
- The remaining at-large field will be determined by the eight-member WBIT Selection Committee. Reclassifying schools are not eligible to participate in the WBIT.
