NCAA basketball refers to college basketball played under the governance of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which oversees the most prominent and competitive level of college basketball in the United States.
The sport is divided into men’s and women’s competitions and is organized into three divisions (I, II, III), with Division I being the highest level in terms of athletic scholarships, competition, and media exposure.
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NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament (“March Madness”)The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, commonly known as March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament held each spring to determine the national champion among Division I men’s teams.
The tournament features 68 teams selected and seeded by a committee of conference commissioners and athletic directors.
The event is famous for its unpredictable upsets and dramatic games, making it one of the most-watched annual sporting events in the U.S..The tournament format has evolved over time, expanding from 8 teams in 1939 to 68 teams since 2011.
UCLA holds the record for most championships (11), followed by Kentucky (8), UConn and North Carolina (6 each), Duke and Indiana (5 each), and Kansas (4).
Structure and ConferencesCollege basketball teams are grouped into conferences, often based on geography, institutional compatibility, and historical rivalries.Most games during the season are played within these conferences, culminating in conference tournaments, the winners of which receive automatic bids to the NCAA tournament.
Teams not winning their conference can still be selected as “at-large” teams for the tournament based on their performance throughout the season.
Other Governing BodiesBesides the NCAA, college basketball is also governed by organizations such as the NAIA, USCAA, NJCAA, and NCCAA, each with its own championships and divisions.
The NAIA has its own national tournament, typically for smaller colleges and universities, featuring a different format and scale than the NCAA tournament.
Recent DevelopmentsAs of June 2025, there is renewed interest in NCAA basketball video games, with EA Sports announcing a new college basketball game after a 16-year hiatus, signaling the sport’s enduring popularity in both real life and digital media.
Distinctive RulesNCAA basketball has specific rules that differ from professional leagues such as the NBA, including the number of personal fouls allowed before disqualification (five in NCAA vs. six in NBA), and unique free-throw penalty situations like the “one-and-one” and “double bonus”.