2018 March Madness Betting Predictions, Dates & Locations

2018 March Madness Betting Predictions, Dates & Locations

Written by on February 20, 2018

It’s..about…to…go…down! That’s right college basketball betting buffs. We’re less than a month away from the start of March Madness. Selection Sunday will take place on March 11 this year, when the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee reveals just which 68 teams have made the field for the 2018 March Madness Betting action. In mid-February, which is right about now, the selection committee heads to Indianapolis a month before the real selection to go through a selection orientation process. This includes a ‘miniature’ selection and seeding process, as well as a bracketing exercise, which helps new committee members get a feel for what will happen in March. This season marks the second year for the March Madness Bracket Preview show. This preview will reveal the committee’s picks for top 16 seeds while identifying the top-four teams in each region prior to the selection.

 2018 March Madness Betting Predictions, Dates & Locations

Selection Process

The committee arrives in New York City on the Tuesday before Selection Sunday to start the beginning of the selection process. For the next five days, the 10 committee members will cast hundreds of ballots and engage in a debate over dozens of teams until the final bracket of 68 is released on Selection Sunday. Each member of the committee evaluates a vast amount of information during the selection process. Their opinions, which are developed through various means such as observations, discussions with coaches, directors of athletics and commissioners, ultimately determines the selections, seeding, and bracketing. There are three phases to the process to determine the 68 teams for the tournament:
  • I. Select the 36 best at-large teams
  • II. Seed the field of 68 teams
  • III. Place the teams into the championship bracket
The 2018 NCAA March Madness Selection Show, featuring the exclusive live first-time announcement of the pairings for the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, will be televised on TBS – Sunday, March 11, at 6 PM ET ET. TBS will also televise this year’s NCAA Final Four National Semifinals on Saturday, March 31, along with the National Championship on Monday, April 2.

TV & Live Stream

For the eighth consecutive year, CBS Sports and Turner Sports will provide live coverage of all 67 games from the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – and via NCAA March Madness Live. CBS will broadcast the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals, National Championship, and Selection Show in 2019, with the events alternating between Turner and CBS each year throughout the partnership. Trae Young and Oklahoma will be among the 2018 March Madness Betting favorites. Ahead of the Selection Show, Turner Sports and CBS Sports will present NCAA March Madness Bracket Preview on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 12:30 PM ET on CBS, with the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Committee offering an in-season look at the NCAA Tournament brackets. NCAA Men’s Committee Chair and Creighton Athletic Director Bruce D. Rasmussen will be in-studio for the reveal of the top 16 seeds, including the four teams in each region, as they stand as of Feb. 11.

Dates & Sites

Here is a look at the dates and sites for each round of March Madness matchups.

First Four

  • Daytona, March 13-14

First/Second Round

  • Wichita, March 15 & 17
  • Dallas, March 15 & 17
  • Boise, March 15 & 17
  • Charlotte, March 16 & 18
  • Detroit, March 16 & 18
  • Nashville, March 16 & 18
  • San Diego, March 16 & 18

Midwest Regional

  • Omaha, March 23 & 25

West Regional

  • Los Angeles, March 22 & 24

South Regional

  • Atlanta, March 22 & 24

East Regional

  • Boston March 23 & 25

Final Four

  • San Antonio, March 31-April 2

Last 10 NCAA Basketball Champions

  • 2017: North Carolina
  • 2016: Villanova
  • 2015: Duke
  • 2014: Connecticut
  • 2013: Louisville
  • 2012: Kentucky
  • 2011: Connecticut
  • 2010: Duke
  • 2009: North Carolina
  • 2008: Kansas