How many teams are in March Madness? Seeds, regions, more for 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket

Zac Al-Khateeb, USA TODAY NETWORK

March Madness is a competition that, despite its moniker, isn't haphazardly thrown together at the last minute: It's the result of months and years of meticulous planning, down to the very last detail.

That's evident in the sheer scope of the NCAA Tournament, which in 2024 will feature several dozen teams, 14 different host sites and myriad logistical hurdles that college basketball fans will never see on their screens. For as difficult as it is to get the tournament set up, it's downright impossible to predict what will happen once there's nothing left to do but let the games play out.

To date, there has never been a single known perfect March Madness bracket — a testament to the nearly uncountable number of possibilities afforded by the size and scope of the bracket. Which begs the question: How many teams make up March Madness each year?

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Here's everything you need to know about the March Madness bracket, including how many teams make it up and seeding procedures:

How many teams are in the March Madness bracket?

A total of 68 teams will be part of March Madness, but only 64 will play in the first round.

Eight teams — the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and four lowest-seeded at-large bids — must first play in the First Four, with the winners of their respective games advancing to finalize the 64-team bracket as 16 seeds and, most likely, 11 seeds. The four losing teams will have been eliminated.

The tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, then 65 teams in 2001 (a precursor to the First Four) before expanding yet again in 2011 to 68 teams, where it has remained since.

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How do teams qualify for March Madness?

March Madness is made up of two types of teams: automatic qualifiers and at-large bids.

Of the intitial 68-team field, 32 will make it in as an automatic qualifier. Teams earn that status by winning their respective conference tournaments, placing inordinate importance on those competitions compared to the regular season — particularly among smaller, one-bid leagues. Some teams that win their conference tournament will be good enough to make it in as an at-large, but winning the championship is the only guaranteed way to make it in.

In all, the NCAA Tournament selection committee is only responsible for selecting 36 at-large teams from the 68-team field.

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How are teams seeded for March Madness?

The NCAA has an exhaustive list that details how teams are selected and seeded for March Madness.

Generally speaking, the NCAA Tournament selection committee seeds teams 1-68, placing the top four teams as a 1 seed, teams 5-8 as a 2 seed, teams 9-12 as a 3 seed, and so on to fill out the 68-team field. That sequence will be uninterrupted as the committee builds out the 68-team bracket.

However, more goes into where a team is seeded than simply comparing teams' resumes.

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The top overall seed chooses the region in which it will play its first- and second-round games, with the top remaining 1 seeds being seeded in a region where it makes geographical sense for the program and its fans. But geography isn't the only factor that helps determine seeds: regular-season meetings also have an effect.

Per the NCAA:

  • Teams from the same conference shall not meet prior to the regional final (Elite Eight) if they played each other three or more times during the regular season and conference tournament.

  • Teams from the same conference shall not meet prior to the regional semifinals (Sweet 16) if they played each other twice during the regular season and conference tournament.

  • Teams from the same conference may play each other as early as the second round if they played no more than once during the regular season and conference tournament.

Moreover, the committee is allowed by the NCAA to move teams up or down a seed line or, in "extraordinary circumstances," two lines from its true seed in order to ensure all caveats are met.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How many teams are in March Madness? 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket breakdown

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