Ladies and gentleman, we are less than 2 weeks away from the most enthralling annual spectacle in college sports: March Madness.

What Is March Madness?

The single-elimination tournament allows for some pretty nifty scenarios, as one upset can send a tournament favorite home and a rather large underdog into the next round. The team selection is simple: there are 68 teams competing in 63 total games (67 if you include the four play-in games) within the tournament from March 19th to April 8th.

The 32 colleges that won their respective conference are the top seeds. The remaining 36 teams are voted in by a committee. They committee looks at strength of schedule, record, seed, among other things during the voting process. The teams play each other based off of seed like any other tournament. There are six rounds. Below, we will inform you of who are the favorites in this tournament, where it will take place, and when the selections take place. The tournament goes by West, Midwest, East and South.

Who Are The Favorites?

What teams won their conference, and who got voted in? That is still all up in the air. We are in the final weekend of the regular season, so all of it will be wrapped up shortly. We do know, however, who the favorites to win the entire thing are. At +225 favorites, Duke University sits in prime position with star Zion Williamson (pictured) preparing to be the likely first overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. It is important to note that Zion is dealing with an injury. He isn’t playing currently, but should be ready to play before the tournament.

It’ll be interesting to see how this affects him, and ultimately effects Duke’s chances at the glory. The next heavy favorite to win are Gonzaga at +600 betting odds. Virginia follows (+700) with Tennessee (+1000) and Kentucky (+1200) rounding out the top 5. Kansas State, Purdue, Texas Tech, North Carolina, Michigan and Michigan State also have to be considered March Madness favorites out of the 68 teams that end up involved in the madness. 

When and How Do I Watch March Madness?

The first four (March 19th and 20th) will be covered on TruTV.
The first (21st and 22nd) and second (23rd and 24th) rounds will also be covered by TruTV, but additionally be covered on TNT, TBS and CBS.
CBS and TBS will be the only stations covering Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8. (Regional Semi-finals and Semi-finals; March 28th-31st).
CBS will be the only station covering the Final Four and the Championship Game. These will be hosted by The University of Minnesota on April 6th and April 8th.

You can also, however, stream digitally because it’s 2019 and that’s a thing. March Madness Live will be carrying every game with the exception of CBS broadcasts. For all the games, you can use the streaming service of the channel they air on.

Why Is March Madness So Popular?

March Madness is popular because it’s the culmination of a long season and you see the best teams throughout the 353 Division I schools compete head to head; and matches you didn’t see throughout the season. Due to March Madness being single elimination, an injury or a player having an off night can have a top seed be upset in the first round, and it changes the whole complexion of the tournament on the first night. That also happens throughout the tournament.

It’s a big social event that includes every market in the States. Every college fan has a big school they can root for, and March Madness is hosting games everywhere from Jacksonville to Salt Lake City.

It’s also fun to predict, and is one of the biggest betting games every year. A perfect bracket is one of, if not, the most, most difficult bets in sports. Everybody is eager to get their predictions in before the games commence. If you make it far, it adds extra pressure on each game you view. It truly is a unique experience for those who choose to do it.

Selection Sunday Information

Selection Sunday, the day we all anticipate as college basketball fans. It’s the third Sunday of the month (March 17th) and will give us all the information we yearn for but currently lack.

The broadcast will be on CBS (nationally) from 6 P.M. to 7 P.M. EST. It will also live stream on March Madness Live.

Pro Sports Extra will have in-depth March Madness coverage throughout the tournament, so make sure to check back in throughout the month.

Follow me on Twitter: @TheJameus
Follow us on Twitter: @ProSportsExtra

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