Your A-Z guide to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

For the next three weeks, let’s forget about all that's wrong with sports, and more specifically collegiate athletics. 

Let's put aside complaints about the exploitation of student athletes, the arbitrary rulings of the NCAA hierarchy and a culture that promotes athletic achievement over scholastic success, and embrace the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for what it is: the most exciting and dramatic multi-game sporting event in the United States.

March Madness is everything spectators should want from sports: upsets, buzzer beaters, foul trouble, swagger and posture. The heart-beating blindness of anticipation. The vicarious elation of triumph. The devastating free fall of defeat. 

And these are just the qualities that we’ve come to expect. Despite being an annual event with a finite number of potential outcomes, every year the tournament brings with it a fantastic share of surprises.

It’s immense, gaudy and altogether compelling. And it all begins on Tuesday (or Thursday, depending on how you look at it). Here, for your edification, is everything you need to know about this year's incarnation of March Madness.

A Is For Admission

Given the importance of admission to the majority of those hoping to attend college, it seems appropriate that the term should also be at the forefront of the biggest tournament in college sports. 

Of the 68 schools to gain admission into this year's tournament, 31 were from automatic bids - 30 of which went to the school that won their conference tournament. 

The single remaining automatic bid went to Harvard, who finished in first place in its conference during the Ivy League’s regular season. The Ivy League is the only major conference that doesn’t hold a championship tournament, presumably due to such practices being beneath them. Ahem.

From there, 37 teams were granted “at-large” bids which were decided by the NCAA Selection Committee. The very same committee also seeded the entire field from 1 to 68, and then used these rankings to create the bracket that everyone's talking about. 

New Mexico, you can send your grievances to them.

Arizona is the only number one seed to receive an at-large bid, an accomplishment made possible by losing to UCLA in the PAC-12 final.

B Is For Basketball

Most amazingly, the NCAA doesn’t require a specific brand of basketball to be used during its regular season. Instead, the home team plays with whatever type it prefers. More often that not, it prefers whatever brand is attached to its equipment contract.

A ball must measure between 29.5 and 30 inches, and bounce between 49 and 54 inches when dropped from a height of 6 feet while weighing between 20 and 22 ounces. 

During the NCAA Tournament, Wilson basketballs will be the only brand used, even though not even a quarter of Division I teams used it during the regular season.

This is the ball that will be used during 2014 NCAA Mens Final Four in Texas:

The more you know: The ball is 29.5 inches in circumference with a moisture absorbing leather that boasts laid in channels to create a 100% composite cover.

C Is For Cinderella

It's becoming an annual tradition, but once again, Virginia Commonwealth is the program most likely to completely ruin your bracket. The reason? Their high tempo play has the potential to run any opposition ragged. In order to make the Final Four like they did in 2011, the Rams may have to go through UCLA, Florida and Kansas or Syracuse.

A lot of people like Oregon as a potential sleeper, with Wisconsin receiving a number two rank in the West Region, potentially offering a not too bumpy route to the Sweet 16.

Of course, the greatest Cinderella story of all-time belongs to the 1985 Villanova team that won a national title as the number eight seed. It took an incredible 79% shooting percentage from the field in the championship game to overcome a Georgetown effort led by Patrick Ewing.

D Is For Dick Vitale

It wouldn't be Selection Sunday without Dick Vitale doing very Dick Vitale like things. If his story about Virginia coach Tony Bennet meeting a similarly named stripper is any indication, it’s going to be a very fun tournament from the NCAA basketball icon.

The only better moment from Sunday's broadcast on ESPN occurred when Vitale was asked about Kentucky earning a #8 seed in the Midwest Region, and Louisville being given a #4 seed in the same group.

No way shape or form you can convince me! Unbelievable! I cannot believe that Louisville, based on an eye test, is a number four seed. Louisville definitely, definitely got a raw deal.

Don't hold back, Dick. Tell us how you really feel.

E Is For Everyone Hates Them

Duke is a lot like Manchester United or the New York Yankees. They're either loved or hated: loved by their supporters, and hated by everyone else. 

The reason is largely due to recent success and the resulting bandwagon fans who can’t help but feel a sense of entitlement after winning 10 of the last 16 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and making the Sweet Sixteen in 13 of the last 16 NCAA tournaments. This is the stuff that enrages neutral observers.

In last year’s tournament, the Blue Devils made it as far as the Elite Eight, before being bounced by the eventual champions from Louisville in an absolute rout. With a potential date against Michigan in the Sweet 16, this year's tourney may be a bit easier. Helping Duke tremendously is that if they advance, they wouldn't have to play Wichita State, Louisville or Kansas until Elite Eight.

The bad news is that Duke might go on an extended run. The good news is that you’ll have a team to root against long after your favorite is eliminated.

F Is For Final Four

This year’s Final Four will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The South Champion will play the East Champion, and the West Champion will face the Midwest Champion on Saturday, April 5th, with the winners competing against one another for the National Championship on Monday, April 7th.

According to Nate Silver, these are the percentage chances of the favorites of each region advancing to the Final Four:

South Region

East Region

West Region

Midwest Region

G Is For Gators

The Florida Gators are the #1 seed, not only in the South Region, but also overall as the first ranked team in the tournament. 

Florida went 18–0 record in conference play, becoming the first SEC team to ever accomplish the feat. The perfect record granted them their seventh SEC regular season championship, and their third in four seasons. The Gators went on to beat Kentucky 61–60 to claim the SEC Tournament championship.

• Record: 32–2 (18–0 SEC)
• Head Coach: Billy Donovan
• Key Player: Senior Guard/Forward Casey Prather

H Is For History

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, spearheaded by Ohio State University coach Harold Olsen’s efforts in 1938. The very first event was held in March of 1939, and involved eight schools playing in single-elimination games to determine the National Champion. Oregon eventually won the tournament with a 46-33 victory over Ohio State.

I Is For Is It Or Isn’t It A Conference?

Here are the names of fifteen different conference names. Some of them are real NCAA Division I conferences and have a representative in the tournament. Some of them are fictional, and unsurprisingly, don’t have a representative in the tournament.

1. Atlantic Sun.
2. Big North.
3. Big South.
4. Big West.
5. East River.
6. Horizon.
7. Metro Atlantic Athletic.
8. Mid-Eastern Athletic.
9. North-American Athletic.
10. Pacific North.
11. Patriot.
12. Peak.
13. Southland.
14. Summit.
15. Wind.

Answers are at the bottom of the guide.

J Is For Jim Nantz

What can you say about Jim Nantz, the lead NCAA basketball play-by-play sportscaster for CBS since 1990?

He’s pretty good at calling The Masters. He’s not half bad at calling a football game. And he also does college basketball.

Once again, Nantz will be calling the NCAA Tournament for CBS, and while his style is probably best described as cloying, his many years behind the microphone are beginning to lend a familiarity to his voice that – through no skill of his own – has resulted in an association of his play-by-play with the tournament itself. 

That's likely what every sports announcer/commentator wants, but in this instance, the association hasn't been earned as much as it's been beaten into us.

Nothing describes Nantz's way with words quite like his commentary for Connecticut's 1999 National Championship victory over Duke.

Just when people say you can't, you can, and UConn has won the National Championship!

Have mercy on us all.

K Is For Krazy Kanucks

It seems that every tournament, a contingent of Canadians take advantage of the spotlight that March Madness offers to make a name for themselves. It's unlikely that this year will be any exception.

The top four Canadians to watch in the tournament:

• Andrew Wiggins, Kansas: The freshman forward from Vaughan won the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, all while enduring the hype attached to being a potential first overall NBA draft choice.
• Tyler Ennis, Syracuse: Perhaps no freshman improved his Draft stock more than the Brampton native did this season, as the Orange guard was named one of 10 finalists for Naismith Player of the Year honors.
• Melvin Ejim, Iowa State: The senior small forward from Toronto won AP Big 12 Player of the Year.
• Nik Stauskas, Michigan: The sophomore guard/forward from Etobicoke was named the Big 10 Player of the Year.

L Is For Laying Odds

Despite being completely illegal in most jurisdictions in the United States, Americans will wager an estimated $3 billion on the NCAA tournament, with only three percent of that figure actually being bet through legal channels like sports books in Nevada.

Because so many of us will be participating in an office pool that typically costs anywhere between $5 and $100 to enter, more people actually bet on March Madness than on the Super Bowl. However, the average wager for the NFL Championship dwarfs the average wager on the NCAA tournament by as much as 500%.

According to Vegasinsider.com, Florida is the current favorite to win the tournament, with 5/1 odds. Michigan State is close behind at 11/2, followed by Arizona and Louisville at 8/1. Kansas is listed at 10/1, and Virginia has the highest odds out of all the number one seeds, currently sitting at 18/1.

If underdogs are more of your thing: Harvard and North Dakota State are both 1000-1 long shots.

M Is For Making The Most Of It

There is no stage as big as the NCAA Men's Tournament for an individual player to show the entire basketball world what they can do. We imagine that these are team games, with selfless athletes working hard toward one goal, but in reality, every prospective NBA player on the court is playing for their own future.

Here are a number of players expected to be chosen in the coming NBA draft, whose efforts in the tournament could go a long way to influencing where they're selected.

• Joel Embiid, Kansas: Despite being plagued by a bad back for much of the season - including a stress fracture that may keep him out of the opening weekend, the freshman center was named as one of the 30 finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year.
• Aaron Gordon, Arizona: The freshman forward won a slew of awards this season including Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and being named as a Third Team All-American.
• Gary Harris, Michigan State: Another finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year, the sophomore shooting guard failed to improve upon a standout freshman season, but he still ranks as a player NBA scouts will be watching like hawks. 
• Doug McDermott, Creighton: The senior small forward was named the Big East Player of the Year, and looks to wrap up a college career in which he scored the fifth-most points in Division I history.
• Jabari Parker, Duke: A first team All-American and National Freshman of the year, the small forward dazzled and delighted fans this season with his inside/outside scoring while setting multiple scoring records at Duke.
• Adreian Payne, Michigan State: The senior power forward won Big Ten Player of the Week twice over a season in which he battled an ankle injury. Nonetheless, it didn't stop him from being named to the Second Team All-Big Ten.
• Julius Randle, Kentucky: One of ten semi-finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year, the freshman power forward looks like a man playing among boys with his 6'9" frame and 250 lbs of muscle.
• Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State: Another of the 30 finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year, the sophomore guard made waves this season when he shoved a booster after hearing a racial slur directed toward him. Despite the negative attention, Smart went on to be named to the first team All-Big-12.
• Andrew Wiggins, Kansas: The freshman forward won the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-American second team, all while enduring the hype attached to being a potential first overall NBA draft choice.

N Is For Names

From Parfait Bitee to God Shammgod, the NCAA tournament boasts a wonderful tradition of bringing the greatest names in America into the spotlight. This year, the competition for best name was over before it even began. Wofford has a player named Indiana Faithfull, which is the greatest appellation in human history.

If Faithfull doesn't float your boat, you'll also have Oklahoma's Je'lon Hornbeak, St. Joseph's Papa Ndao, and of course, Dayton's Scoochie Smith to cheer.

O Is For Only Appearance

Big West champion Cal Poly and MEAC champion North Carolina Central will be making their very first appearance in the NCAA tournament. 

I’m sure it will be fun while it lasts. Go Mustangs!

P Is For Play-In Games

All of the play-in games, which the lesser among us might refer to as the First Four, will be played at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Tuesday, March 18th:

• Game One: Albany vs. Mount St. Mary's at 6:40 PM ET.
• Game Two: North Carolina State vs. Xavier at 9:10 PM ET.

Wednesday, March 19th:

• Game Three: Cal Poly vs. Texas Southern  at 6:40 PM ET.
• Game Four: Iowa vs. Tennessee  at 9:10 PM ET.

The eight teams involved are comprised of the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded “at-large” selections. The winners of these single-elimination games advance to the main draw of the tournament. 

The winner of Game One will play Florida (1) in the South Regional; the winner of Game Two will play St. Louis (5), the winner of Game Three will play Wichita State (1) and the winner of Game Four will play UMass (6) all in the Midwest Regional.

Q Is For Quality Competition

Last year, Big South champion Liberty University became only the second 20-loss team in history to earn a place in the NCAA tournament. This year, the previously mentioned Cal Poly slouches into the tournament with the worst record among tournament invitees with their 19 losses.

After losing ten of their first 14 games this season, the Mustangs finished sixth out of nine teams in the Big West Conference. Then, in the conference tournament, Cal Poly won three games in a row for only the second time all year, finishing the season with a record of 13-19, en route to being crowned conference champs.

Their record on the year: 15 wins and 20 losses.

R Is For Representation (By Conference)

There are eight conferences with at least three teams in the 2014 tournament. Here they are in order of most to least:

• Big 12: 7 – Kansas (7), Iowa State (12), Oklahoma (20), Baylor (24), Texas (25), Kansas State (33) and Oklahoma State (35).
• Pac-12: 6 – Arizona (2), UCLA (15), Oregon (27), Colorado (32), Stanford (37) and Arizona State (40).
• ACC: 6 – Virginia (4), Duke (9), Syracuse (10), North Carolina (21), Pittsburgh (36) and North Carolina State (47).
• Big Ten: 6 – Michigan (6), Wisconsin (8), Michigan State (14), Ohio State (22), Nebraska (42), Iowa (45).
• Atlantic 10: 6 – St. Louis (18), VCU (19), Massachusetts (23), George Washington (34), St. Joseph's (38) and Dayton (41).
• Big East: 4 – Villanova (5), Creighton (11), Providence (43) and Xavier (46).
• American: 4 – Louisville (13), Cincinnati (17), Connecticut (26) and Memphis (31).
• SEC: 3 – Florida (1), Kentucky (29) and Tennessee (44).

S Is For Shockers

Wichita State became the first Division I team ever to finish the regular season 31–0, the first team to finish 18–0 in conference play in the Missouri Valley Conference since 1996, and the first to finish the regular season undefeated since 2004. They continued their winning run by taking their first MVC tournament championship since 1987. The Shockers are the #1 seed in the Midwest Region.

• Record: 34-0 (18-0 MVC)
• Head Coach: Gregg Marshall
• Key Player: Sophomore Guard Fred VanVleet

T Is For Television

In the United States, Turner Sports will televise 46 games across its three television networks TBS, TNT and truTV, while CBS will broadcast 21 games including the National Championship game. 

In Canada, TSN and TSN2 will begin their coverage on Thursday afternoon and continue every day of the tournament with coverage featuring pre-game and post-game analysis of the day’s action, plus live coverage of a selection of games each day.

Here are your broadcast booth teams:

• Jim Nantz/Greg Anthony/Tracy Wolfson. 
• Marv Albert/Steve Kerr/Craig Sager.
• Verne Lundquist/Bill Rafter/Allie LaForce.
• Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Len Elmore/Rachel Nichols.
• Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Lewis Johnson.
• Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner/Kristine Leahy.
• Spero Dedes/Doug Gottlieb/Jaime Maggio.
• Andrew Catalon/Mike Gminski/Otis Livingston.

For the Final Four and title games:

• Jim Nantz/Greg Anthony/Steve Kerr.

U Is For Upsets

There have been 17 #14 seeds that have beaten #3 seeds in the first round:

There have been seven #15 seeds to defeat #2 seeds in the first round of the tournament.

However, there has never been a 16th seed that upset a number one seed. Will this finally be the year?

The number one seed matchups this year: Florida plays the winner of Albany/Mount St. Mary's, Arizona plays Weber State, Wichita State plays the winner of Cal Poly/Texas Southern and Virginia plays Coastal Carolina.

V Is For Virgina

Virginia not only won only their second ACC regular season title (outright), but also took their second ACC Tournament title with a surprising win over Duke in the finals. They also notched the third-most wins in school history, as well as their highest final national ranking in 30 years. They're the #1 seed in the East Region.

• Record: 28-6 (16-2 ACC)
• Head Coach: Tony Bennett
• Key Player: Senior Guard Joe Harris

W Is For Wild Cats

The Arizona Wildcats started their 2013/2014 season with 21 straight wins - including victories over Duke and Michigan - before finally losing in conference play to California by a single point. Arizona was slowed down a bit by the loss of power forward Brandon Ashley to injury, but the Wildcats recouped in time to make the finals of the PAC-12, where they lost a close game to UCLA. They are the #1 seed in the West Region.

• Record: 30-4 (15-3 PAC-12)
• Head Coach: Sean Miller
• Key Player: Freshman Forward Aaron Gordon

X Is For Xavier

After not even making last year's tournament, Xavier will have to win a First Four game against North Carolina State to make the Round of 64. Despite the faint likelihood the Musketeers will come close to approaching their Elite Eight finishes in 2004 and 2008, the name of their school does begin with the letter “X,” making them invaluable for the purposes of this A-Z guide.

Y Is For Yesteryear

UCLA holds the record for the most NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships with 11. In the 2014 tournament, they hold the fourth seed in the South Region after winning the PAC-12 tournament. In second place all-time is the University of Kentucky with eight national championships. The Wildcats have the eighth seed in the very competitive Midwest Region.

North Carolina and Indiana have both won five national titles, while Duke rounds out the top five with four. Indiana is the only school with more than three championships not competing in this year's tourney.

Z Is For Zee Final Prediction

Louisville will come out of the battle royal that is the Midwest Region to offer Florida the only serious threat the Gators will receive all tournament. Unfortunately, it's won't be enough and Florida will win their third National Championship.

Even Courtney Love thinks so:

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