How does the first four work

Then, the four lowest-ranked teams to earn an automatic bid and the four lowest-ranked teams to receive an at-large bid are placed in the First. The First Four is essentially the play-in round of the NCAA Tournament, where eight teams compete for the final four spots in the team field. The First Four is a play-in tournament to reduce the field of 68 how does the first four work by four, setting the final team field for March Madness. The. But to get to 64, we first have to play the First Four. In those games, the last four automatic qualifiers and the last four at-large bids play.

Explaining the Oft-Misunderstood First Four and How it All Works

Explaining the Oft-Misunderstood First Four and How it All Works

Tournament results for First Four teams since the men's tournament expanded to 68 teams are shown in the table below. To date, is the only year in which none of the First Four winners advanced past the next round. The women's First Four games have been played at neutral sites.

However, unlike the men's First Four, the women's version does not use a single site, instead holding those games at home courts of four of the top 16 national seeds each of which hosts first- and second-round games. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.

Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. Play-in round of the NCAA basketball tournaments. Sports Illustrated. April 22, Archived from the original on April 28, Retrieved April 24, November 17, Retrieved December 16, January 15, Retrieved March 8, The First Four matchups will work the same as they would in a normal year, with the overall Nos.

The other First Four games will feature the last four at-large teams on the committee's final seed list playing one another. USA Today. April 8, Retrieved May 20, Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved March 19, Tournament, but Not Fully In". The New York Times. ISSN Retrieved March 17, The News-Messenger.

Fremont, Ohio. How does the first four work March 16, Retrieved February 7, — via newspapers. Springfield News-Sun. Springfield, Ohio. Times Recorder. Zanesville, Ohio. Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Lancaster, Ohio. Retrieved August 1, Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 23, Retrieved March 29, Retrieved March 31, Selection process Venues No. List of champions Most Outstanding Player.

Selection process No. Appearances Upsets Final Four appearances by coach. Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from February Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Use mdy dates from February All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from March All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February Toggle limited content width.

Northwestern State. R64 54—96 Illinois 1. Alcorn State. UNC Asheville. Texas Southern. R64 61—82 Texas 1. R64 76—96 Kentucky 1. R64 45—58 Villanova 1. R64 67— Kansas 1. Mount St. Coppin State. R64 74— North Carolina 1. Morehead State. Alabama State. R64 54—74 Louisville 1. Arkansas—Pine Bluff. R64 74—56 Georgetown 6. R32 94—76 Purdue 3. S16 72—71 OT Florida State E8 71—61 Kansas 1.

F4 62—70 Butler 8. R64 76—85 West Virginia 5. Arkansas—Little Rock. R64 51—74 Pittsburgh 1. R64 46—75 Ohio State 1. South Florida. R64 58—44 Temple 5. R32 56—62 Ohio R64 68—88 Marquette 3. Kolie allen R64 58—77 North Carolina 1. Western Kentucky. Mississippi Valley State. Saint Mary's. Middle Tennessee. R64 52—54 Memphis 6. La Salle. Boise State. R64 63—61 Kansas State 4.

R32 76—74 Ole Miss S16 58—72 Wichita State 9. James Madison. R64 62—83 Indiana 1. R64 86—67 Massachusetts 6. R32 83—63 Mercer S16 71—73 Michigan 2. NC State. R64 80—83 OT Saint Louis 5. R64 55—67 Florida 1. Cal Poly. R64 37—64 Wichita State 1. R64 66—54 Providence 6. R32 66—72 Oklahoma 3. How does the first four work Ole Miss. R64 57—76 Xavier 6.

R64 56—79 Kentucky 1. Robert Morris. North Florida. R64 63—70 Notre Dame 6. Wichita State. R64 65—55 Arizona 6. R32 57—65 Miami FL 3. Florida Gulf Coast. Fairleigh Dickinson. R64 67—83 North Carolina 1. Holy Cross. R64 52—91 Oregon 1. Kansas State. By adding three more games, they decided to play two No.

Bringing four ''name'' teams into the fold led to a dramatic boost in TV ratings. We're talking about a lot of money, for all involved. Since , several huge college basketball names have been a part of the "First Four. These games count in the record books as NCAA Tournament games, so there are bragging rights that come along with a victory.

The first year or two, they considered this the first round and renamed that traditional game Thursday and Friday to open the tournament as the second round. That was far too confusing, which is why they came up with the "First Four'' name, playing off the Final Four. The money matters, too.

Schools get a nice chunk of cash for every game they play in this tournament, and especially for those No. Sure, all these teams have to play an extra game, but it is indeed still a part of the NCAA tournament. Because the folks at Dayton do a great job with it every year. This is a big-time basketball town and the locals do a good job of buying tickets to support the event.

It's also very well run by people who do it over and over every year. There are plenty of people who argue that, mostly because of travel. There has been some discussion of playing them at the regional sites so teams don't have an extra road trip, but it's never gotten off the ground. After plus years of hosting — outside of last year, when everything was in Indiana — it's become tradition to tip off the tournament here in Dayton every year.

No, and here's why. When they expanded to field to 68, they didn't think it was fair to do this with all of the 16 seeds. There was some cautious backlash with the 16s, because those games often include schools from historically blacks colleges HBCUs. They didn't want a bad perception, intended or otherwise. It made sense financially to have the four lowest at-large seeds play their way in, too.

That's why one 11 seed game features the top two remaining at-large teams, and the seed game features the last two teams to get invites. Not really, when you consider the alternative. If the field had remained at 64, they wouldn't be in the field at all. It gives four teams the chance to prove it on the court that they belong instead of a selection committee determining their fate.

They beat No. The Hoosiers will fly straight to Portland, Ore. ET on Thursday night. Tuesday's night's "First Four'' game should start around p.