This article describes the process by which the NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Committee selects, seeds, and organizes the 68 teams in the NCAA tournament bracket each season.
The details are drawn from the 2024-25 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Principles and Procedures for Bracket Creation.
The selection process consists of three main steps:
- Select the 37 best at-large teams;
- Seed the 68 participating teams;
- Assign teams to the championship bracket.
Guiding Principles for Selection, Seeding, and Bracketing
The process follows specific principles including:
- Choosing the top 37 teams not already qualifying automatically from their conferences, with no cap on the number from any one conference;
- Maintaining a fair competitive balance across each regional bracket;
- Members with conflicts of interest (e.g., representing a specific team) cannot participate in discussions or votes regarding those teams;
- Voting will be conducted privately.
The principles are part of a yearly review of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, with revisions made and approved by the Men’s Basketball Committee in Summer 2024, effective for the 2025 championship.
Evaluating and Selecting At-Large Teams
During the initial ballot prior to selection meetings, committee members will list eligible Division I teams, identifying up to 24 potential at-large selections and any teams deserving consideration without a limit. A team that receives all but three votes can secure an at-large spot.
The “under consideration” board will track teams that received significant support but may not yet qualify as at-large selections. Throughout the committee’s discussions, verbal nominations are encouraged, and teams can be added or removed from this board depending on the voting outcomes.
Seeding and Bracket Assembly
Committee members will create a “seed list” ranking all involved teams, which will remain fixed once established. The committee’s aim is to ensure balanced competition across regions while considering pre-existing conference matchups and team locations to minimize travel burdens.
Finally, teams will be placed into the bracket according to their seed rankings, while taking care to avoid rematches of recent games and ensuring teams do not meet before the later stages of the tournament if they have faced each other multiple times within the season.
