Ncaa, March Madness | featured news

First, Morehead State won one for the underdogs. Then, Richmond. Then, Gonzaga. A 13 seed, a 12 and an 11 turned Denver into Upset City on Thursday and gave America an early refresher on why the NCAA tournament is also known as March Madness.

The NCAA men's basketball tournament and the entirety of March Madness are considered by many to be the pinnacle of the playoff experience in sports. And by "many" we mean "those who are too daft to understand that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are superior in nearly every way."

The play-in games begin on Tuesday, March 15. The first round starts on Thursday and runs through March 17-18. The second round runs through March 19-20. The Sweet 16 games will be played on March 24 and 25, while and Elite Eight games start on March 26 and conclude on March 27. The Final Four games will be played on April 2 and the national champions will cut down the nets on April 4.

The NCAA is on the verge of expanding the men’s basketball tournament from 65 to 68 teams beginning next year and announced a new, $10.8 billion broadcasting deal with CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting on Thursday that will allow every game to be shown live for the first time.

Duke ended Butler's miracle run through the NCAA basketball tournament by defeating the gritty underdogs 61-59 to win the national championship on Monday.

Yes, it's a matchup pitting a cute bulldog against a devil, America's favorite underdog against the team people love to hate.

After tossing a big, wet blanket on one feel-good story, Duke gets to go after another. They don't call 'em the Devils for nothing. Jon Scheyer scored 23 points Saturday night to lift Duke, the team so many folks love to hate, to a 78-57 victory over West Virginia and set up a meeting against tiny Butler - a classic matchup of big vs. little, with the national title on the line.

Kansas - gone. Kentucky - gone. Syracuse - gone. Little Butler - still going....

Duke is the favorite among the Final Four to win the NCAA title, while Michigan State is a longshot despite its trip to the finals last year, oddsmakers in Las Vegas said Monday....

Four teams are left on the road to the national championship. In a matchup between bluebloods and the blue-collared, South Regional champion Duke will face East Regional champ West Virginia. And in a meeting of Final Four veterans and never-beens, it will be Midwest Regional champ Michigan State against West Regional champion Butler.