2008 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
| File:2008FinalFour.png 2008 Final Four logo | |||||
| Season | 2007–08 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 65 | ||||
| Finals site | Alamodome San Antonio, Texas | ||||
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The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament will involve 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It is scheduled to begin on March 18, 2008, and will conclude with the championship game on April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. [1] The host institution will be the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Tournament procedure
A total of 65 teams will enter the tournament. Thirty of the teams will earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments. The automatic bid of the Ivy League, which does not conduct a postseason tournament, will go to its regular-season champion, Cornell. The remaining 34 teams will be granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Two teams will play an opening-round game, popularly called the "play-in game"; the winner of that game will advance to the main draw of the tournament and plays a top seed in one of the regionals. This game has been played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio since its inception in 2001, and will pit Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's on March 18.
All 64 teams will be seeded 1 to 16 within their regionals; the winner of the play-in game automatically receives a 16 seed. The Selection Committee will seed the entire field from 1 to 65.
The first and second round games will be played at the following sites: [1]
- March 20 and March 22
- Honda Center, Anaheim, California (Host: Big West Conference)
- Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado (Hosts: Colorado State University and Mountain West Conference)
- Qwest Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska (Hosts: Creighton University and Missouri Valley Conference)
- Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (Host: Georgetown University)
- March 21 and March 23
- BJCC Arena, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)
- Alltel Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas (Host: University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
- RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina (Host: North Carolina State University)
- St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida (Host: University of South Florida)
The four regionals are officially named after their areas, a practice which resumed in 2007. Between 2004 and 2006, the regionals were named for their host cities. The following are the sites for the 2008 regionals: [1]
- March 27 and March 29
- East Regional, Charlotte Bobcats Arena, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
- West Regional, US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University)
- March 28 and March 30
- Midwest Regional, Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan (Host: University of Detroit Mercy)
- South Regional, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas (Hosts: University of Houston and Rice University)
Each regional winner will advance to the Final Four.
Qualifying Teams
A total of 31 teams received automatic bids for winning their conference tournament championship. Since the Ivy League does not hold a tournament, its regular season champion received the automatic bid. This left 34 at-large bids to be decided from the rest of the field by the NCAA Selection Committee. The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, was announced on Sunday, March 16.[2] Coppin St. was the first team to make the tournament with 20 losses.[3] UMBC received its first bid in the school's history.[4]
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Brackets
Opening Round Game – Dayton, Ohio
Winner advances to 16th seed in East Regional vs. (1) North Carolina.
| Opening Round Game March 18 | ||||
| 16a | Mt. St. Mary's | |||
| 16b | Coppin St. | |||
East Regional – Charlotte, North Carolina
| First round March 20-21 | Second round March 22-23 | Regional semifinals March 27 or 28 | Regional finals March 29 or 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Mt. St. Mary's/Coppin St. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Arkansas | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Notre Dame | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | George Mason | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Washington State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Winthrop | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Saint Joseph's | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Louisville | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Boise State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Butler | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | South Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | American | ||||||||||||||||||
South Regional – Houston, Texas
| First round March 20-21 | Second round March 22-23 | Regional semifinals March 27 or 28 | Regional finals March 29 or 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Memphis | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Texas Arlington | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Oregon | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Michigan State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Temple | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Pittsburgh | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Oral Roberts | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Marquette | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Stanford | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Cornell | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Miami (FL) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Saint Mary's | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Austin Peay | ||||||||||||||||||
Midwest Regional – Detroit, Michigan
| First round March 20-21 | Second round March 22-23 | Regional semifinals March 27 or 28 | Regional finals March 29 or 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Kansas | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Portland State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | UNLV | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Kent State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Clemson | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Villanova | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Vanderbilt | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | Siena | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Southern California | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Kansas State | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Wisconsin | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Cal State Fullerton | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Gonzaga | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Davidson | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Georgetown | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | UMBC | ||||||||||||||||||
West Regional – Phoenix, Arizona
| First round March 20-21 | Second round March 22-23 | Regional semifinals March 27 or 28 | Regional finals March 29 or 30 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | Miss. Valley St. | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | BYU | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Texas A&M | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Drake | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Western Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Connecticut | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | San Diego | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Purdue | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Baylor | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Xavier | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | West Virginia | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Duke | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | Belmont | ||||||||||||||||||
Final Four – Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
| National Semifinals April 5 | National Championship April 7 | ||||||||
| East Regional Champion | |||||||||
| Midwest Regional Champion | |||||||||
| South Regional Champion | |||||||||
| West Regional Champion | |||||||||
Record by Conference
| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship Game | Champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big East | 8 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Big 12 | 6 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pac-10 | 6 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| SEC | 6 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| ACC | 4 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Big Ten | 4 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Atlantic 10 | 3 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| WCC | 3 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mountain West | 2 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Sun Belt | 2 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| America East | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Big Sky | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Big South | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Big West | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| CAA | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C-USA | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Horizon | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ivy | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| MAAC | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| MEAC | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mid-American | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Northeast | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Patriot | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Southern | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Southland | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mid-Continent | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| SWAC | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| WAC | 1 | 0-0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Television and radio
 |
For the 27th consecutive year, CBS Sports will telecast the tournament, and for the 18th consecutive year, broadcast every game in the main bracket from the first round to the championship, with Jim Nantz and Billy Packer calling the Final Four. ESPN will carry the 64th-seed play-in game, as it has every year since 2002.
The complete list of announcing teams are as follows:
- Jim Nantz and Billy Packer - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Gus Johnson and Len Elmore - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Tim Brando and Mike Gminski - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
- Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel - 1st/2nd rounds at Site TBD
Greg Gumbel once again will serve as the studio host, joined by analysts Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. The pairings will be announced on Selection Sunday (March 16, 2008) at 6PM ET.
Radio broadcasts will be handled again by CBS subsidiary Westwood One. It is expected that Kevin Harlan and Bill Raferty will again call the Final Four. More information will be coming when the pairings are set.
References
- ^ a b c d "NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Information". Retrieved 2006-07-28.
- ^ http://www.ticketsolutions.com/ncaa-selection.asp
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3296941&categoryId=2459792
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3297006&n8pe6c=1&categoryId=2459792
External links
- National Collegiate Athletic Association (2008-03-14). "Official blank 2008 tournament bracket" (PDF). ncaa.com. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
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