First Four
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The Opening Round game, (formerly known as the Play-In Game) of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is the first game of the tournament, played between the two lowest-seeded teams to qualify for an automatic bid to the tournament. The game is typically played on the Tuesday following the Sunday selection of the other teams for the March tournament and is played at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of the game is awarded the #16 seeded position in one of four regions of the tournament and next plays the #1 seeded team of that region on the following Friday. To date, no winner of this game, nor any #16 seed, has upset the #1 seeded team. However, only two of the top seeds to beat the opening game winner advanced to the national championship game and in both cases (2002 Maryland, 2005 North Carolina) those teams won the national championship. North Carolina is the only #1 seeded team matched against the opening round winner more than once (2005 & 2008).
The game was conceived after the Mountain West Conference, which had been formed in 1999 following the split of the Western Athletic Conference, was given an automatic bid for its conference champion, which made it the 31st conference to receive an automatic berth into the men's tournament. Unlike the women's tournament, which accommodated this change by eliminating an at-large bid to keep their field at 64 teams, the organizers of the men's tournament elected to keep their at-large entries at 34. In order to eliminate one of the teams to have a 64-team bracket, it became necessary for another game to be played between the two lowest-ranked teams among the automatic bid leagues.
Although analysts’[who?] initial reactions to the concept were skeptical, the first game, played on March 13, 2001, was a success, and few complaints have been heard since. One reason for these positive comments is the fact that the game is played on a Tuesday night, during which no other games are played (the first round of the tournament starts the following Thursday). Thus, the opening round game assumes a greater prominence than most first-round games, both to the viewing public and to scouts.[citation needed] Recently, Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim has advocated for an expansion of the tournament from 65 to 76 teams, which would include 4 opening round games for all of the 16th and possibly opening round games for the 15th seeded teams too.[1] The expansion of play in games faces logistical challenges and lukewarm acceptance from deceased NCAA President Myles Brand and the corporate and media partners of the NCAA.[citation needed]
The opening round game has also been criticized[who?] as a handicap for teams among the historically black colleges and universities. In all but one of the games played so far, one of the teams has been an HBCU. However, it should be noted that the two conferences which are made up of HBCUs, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference, are often two of the lowest-rated conferences in the RPI.[2]
ESPN airs the Opening Round game and has done so since 2002. TNN, at the time a corporate sibling of NCAA Tournament carrier CBS, aired the first game in 2001.
Florida A&M (2004 & 2007) and Winthrop (2001 & 2010) are the only teams to appear in the game more than once. The 2003 game is the only one to end in overtime. The winner of the opening round game has never won the following first-round game.
Opening Round or Play-In Game
The reason the game is not officially referred to as a "play-in" is because the two teams are officially in the tournament before the game is played. As recently as 1991, the NCAA has conducted play-in games (usually between champions of what were considered to be the weakest conferences[citation needed]) prior to the announcement of the brackets; the losers were not considered to have been in the tournament. Note that the loser of the current opening round game is still credited with a tournament appearance for purposes of sharing in the NCAA basketball contract revenues, while the winner receives a share for being in the round of 64.[citation needed]
Teams
| Year | Date | Winner | Loser | #1 seed faced | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | March 13 | Northwestern State | 71 | Winthrop | 67 | Illinois |
| 2002 | March 12 | Siena | 81 | Alcorn State | 77 | Maryland |
| 2003 | March 18 | UNC Asheville | 92 | Texas Southern | 84 | Texas |
| 2004 | March 16 | Florida A&M | 72 | Lehigh | 57 | Kentucky |
| 2005 | March 15 | Oakland | 79 | Alabama A&M | 69 | North Carolina |
| 2006 | March 14 | Monmouth | 71 | Hampton | 49 | Villanova |
| 2007 | March 13 | Niagara | 77 | Florida A&M | 69 | Kansas |
| 2008 | March 18 | Mount St. Mary's | 69 | Coppin State | 60 | North Carolina |
| 2009 | March 17 | Morehead State | 58 | Alabama State | 43 | Louisville |
| 2010 | March 16 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 61 | Winthrop | 44 | Duke |
Appearances by conference
| Conference | Appearances | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| SWAC | 5 | 1 |
| MEAC | 4 | 1 |
| Big South | 3 | 1 |
| MAAC | 2 | 2 |
| NEC | 2 | 2 |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 1 |
| Patriot League | 1 | 0 |
| Southland | 1 | 1 |
| Summit League | 1 | 1 |