2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017–18 season. The 80th annual edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2018, and concluded with the championship game on April 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

2018 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	2017–18
Teams	68
Finals site	Alamodome San Antonio, Texas
Champions	Villanova Wildcats (3rd title, 4th title game, 6th Final Four)
Runner-up	Michigan Wolverines (7th title game, 8th Final Four)
Semifinalists	Kansas Jayhawks* (vacated) (15th* Final Four) Loyola Ramblers (2nd Final Four)
Winning coach	Jay Wright (2nd title)
MOP	Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «2017 2019»

During the first round, UMBC became the first 16-seed to defeat a 1-seed in the men's tournament by defeating Virginia 74–54.^[1][2] For the first time in tournament history, none of the four top seeded teams in a single region (the South) advanced to the Sweet 16. The tournament also featured the first regional final matchup of a 9-seed (Kansas State) and an 11-seed (Loyola-Chicago).

Villanova, Michigan, Kansas, and Loyola Chicago, the "Cinderella team" of the tournament, reached the Final Four. Villanova defeated Michigan in the championship game, 79–62.

Atlantic Sun Conference champion Lipscomb made its NCAA tournament debut.

The 2018 tournament was the first time since 1978 that none of the six Division I college basketball-playing schools based in the Washington, DC metropolitan area – American, Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, Howard, and Maryland – made the NCAA tournament.^[3]

Tournament procedure

Further information: NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament § Current tournament format

A total of 68 teams entered the 2018 tournament. 32 automatic bids were awarded, one to each program that won their conference tournament. The remaining 36 bids were "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.

Eight teams (the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams) played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the main draw of the tournament.^[4]

The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.^[5]

Schedule and venues

 

 

Dayton

 

Pittsburgh

 

Charlotte

 

Wichita

 

Boise

 

Detroit

 

Nashville

 

San Diego

 

Dallas

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2018 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds (green)

 

 

Atlanta

 

Los Angeles

 

Boston

 

Omaha

 

San Antonio

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2018 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2018 tournament:^[6]

First Four

• March 13 and 14
  • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)

First and second rounds

• March 15 and 17
  • PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Host: Duquesne University)
  • Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita, Kansas (Host: Wichita State University)
  • American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)
  • Taco Bell Arena, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University)
• March 16 and 18
  • Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina (Host: University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
  • Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan (Host: University of Detroit Mercy)
  • Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee (Host: Ohio Valley Conference)
  • Viejas Arena, San Diego, California (Host: San Diego State University)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 22 and 24
  • West Regional, Staples Center, Los Angeles, California (Host: Pepperdine University)
  • South Regional, Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology)
• March 23 and 25
  • East Regional, TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts (Host: Boston College)
  • Midwest Regional, CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska (Host: Creighton University)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• March 31 and April 2
  • Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas (Host: University of Texas at San Antonio)

The state of North Carolina was threatened with a 2018-2022 championship venue boycott by the NCAA, due to the HB2 law passed in 2016.^[7] However, the law was repealed (but with provisos) days before the NCAA met to make decisions on venues in April 2017. At that time, the NCAA board of governors "reluctantly voted to allow consideration of championship bids in North Carolina by our committees that are presently meeting".^[8] Therefore, Charlotte was eligible and served as a first weekend venue for the 2018 tournament.

Qualification and selection

Further information: 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament qualifying teams

Four teams, out of 351 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2018 tournament due to failing to meet APR requirements: Alabama A&M, Grambling State, Savannah State, and Southeast Missouri State.^[9] However, the NCAA granted the Savannah State Tigers a waiver which would have allowed the team to participate in the tournament, but the team failed to qualify.

Automatic qualifiers

The following 32 teams were automatic qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's automatic bid.^[10]

Conference	Team	Record	Appearance	Last bid
America East	UMBC	24–10	2nd	2008
American	Cincinnati	30–4	32nd	2017
Atlantic 10	Davidson	21–11	14th	2015
ACC	Virginia	31–2	22nd	2017
ASUN	Lipscomb	23–9	1st	Never
Big 12	Kansas	27–7	47th	2017
Big East	Villanova	30–4	38th	2017
Big Sky	Montana	26–7	11th	2013
Big South	Radford	22–12	3rd	2009
Big Ten	Michigan	28–7	28th	2017
Big West	Cal State Fullerton	20–11	3rd	2008
CAA	College of Charleston	26–7	5th	1999
Conference USA	Marshall	24–10	6th	1987
Horizon League	Wright State	25–9	3rd	2007
Ivy League	Penn	24–8	24th	2007
MAAC	Iona	20–13	13th	2017
MAC	Buffalo	26–8	3rd	2016
MEAC	North Carolina Central	19–15	3rd	2017
Missouri Valley	Loyola Chicago	28–5	6th	1985
Mountain West	San Diego State	22–10	12th	2015
Northeast	LIU Brooklyn	18–16	7th	2013
Ohio Valley	Murray State	26–5	16th	2012
Pac-12	Arizona	27–7	35th	2017
Patriot League	Bucknell	25–9	8th	2017
SEC	Kentucky	24–10	58th	2017
Southern	UNC Greensboro	27–7	3rd	2001
Southland	Stephen F. Austin	28–6	5th	2016
SWAC	Texas Southern	15–19	8th	2017
Summit League	South Dakota State	28–6	5th	2017
Sun Belt	Georgia State	24–10	4th	2015
West Coast	Gonzaga	30–4	21st	2017
WAC	New Mexico State	28–5	24th	2017

Tournament seeds

The tournament seeds were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process. The seeds and regions were determined as follows:^[11][12]

South Regional, Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Virginia	ACC	31–2	Auto	1
2	Cincinnati	American	30–4	Auto	8
3	Tennessee	SEC	25–8	At-large	10
4	Arizona	Pac-12	27–7	Auto	16
5	Kentucky	SEC	24–10	Auto	17
6	Miami (FL)	ACC	22–9	At-large	22
7	Nevada	Mountain West	27–7	At-large	27
8	Creighton	Big East	21–11	At-large	30
9	Kansas State	Big 12	22–11	At-large	34
10	Texas	Big 12	19–14	At-large	39
11	Loyola Chicago	Missouri Valley	28–5	Auto	46
12	Davidson	Atlantic 10	21–11	Auto	48
13	Buffalo	MAC	26–8	Auto	51
14	Wright State	Horizon	25–9	Auto	57
15	Georgia State	Sun Belt	24–10	Auto	60
16	UMBC	America East	24–10	Auto	63

West Regional, Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Xavier	Big East	28–5	At-large	4
2	North Carolina	ACC	25–10	At-large	5
3	Michigan	Big Ten	28–7	Auto	11
4	Gonzaga	WCC	30–4	Auto	15
5	Ohio State	Big Ten	24–8	At-large	20
6	Houston	American	26–7	At-large	23
7	Texas A&M	SEC	20–12	At-large	25
8	Missouri	SEC	20–12	At-large	32
9	Florida State	ACC	20–11	At-large	38
10	Providence	Big East	21–13	At-large	35
11	San Diego State	Mountain West	22–10	Auto	45
12	South Dakota State	Summit League	28–6	Auto	49
13	UNC Greensboro	Southern	27–7	Auto	52
14	Montana	Big Sky	26–7	Auto	56
15	Lipscomb	Atlantic Sun	23–9	Auto	59
16*	North Carolina Central	MEAC	19–15	Auto	67
	Texas Southern	SWAC	15–19	Auto	68

East Regional, TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Villanova	Big East	30–4	Auto	2
2	Purdue	Big Ten	28–6	At-large	7
3	Texas Tech	Big 12	24–9	At-large	12
4	Wichita State	American	25–7	At-large	14
5	West Virginia	Big 12	24–10	At-large	18
6	Florida	SEC	20–12	At-large	21
7	Arkansas	SEC	23–11	At-large	26
8	Virginia Tech	ACC	21–11	At-large	31
9	Alabama	SEC	19–15	At-large	36
10	Butler	Big East	20–13	At-large	33
11*	St. Bonaventure	Atlantic 10	25–7	At-large	42
	UCLA	Pac-12	21–11	At-large	41
12	Murray State	Ohio Valley	26–5	Auto	50
13	Marshall	Conference USA	24–10	Auto	54
14	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	28–6	Auto	58
15	Cal State Fullerton	Big West	20–11	Auto	61
16*	LIU Brooklyn	NEC	18–16	Auto	66
	Radford	Big South	22–12	Auto	65

Midwest Regional, CenturyLink Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska

Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type	Overall rank
1	Kansas	Big 12	27–7	Auto	3
2	Duke	ACC	26–7	At-large	6
3	Michigan State	Big Ten	29–4	At-large	9
4	Auburn	SEC	25–7	At-large	13
5	Clemson	ACC	23–9	At-large	19
6	TCU	Big 12	21–11	At-large	24
7	Rhode Island	Atlantic 10	25–7	At-large	28
8	Seton Hall	Big East	21–11	At-large	29
9	NC State	ACC	21–11	At-large	37
10	Oklahoma	Big 12	18–13	At-large	40
11*	Arizona State	Pac-12	20–11	At-large	43
	Syracuse	ACC	20–13	At-large	44
12	New Mexico State	WAC	28–5	Auto	47
13	College of Charleston	CAA	26–7	Auto	53
14	Bucknell	Patriot	25–9	Auto	55
15	Iona	MAAC	20–13	Auto	62
16	Penn	Ivy League	24–8	Auto	64

*See First Four

Regional brackets

All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
* – Denotes overtime period

First Four – Dayton, Ohio

The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.

	March 13 – East Region
	16	LIU Brooklyn	61
	16	Radford	71

	March 13 – East Region
	11	St. Bonaventure	65
	11	UCLA	58

	March 14 – West Region
	16	Texas Southern	64
	16	North Carolina Central	46

	March 14 – Midwest Region
	11	Syracuse	60
	11	Arizona State	56

South Regional – Atlanta, Georgia

	First round Round of 64 March 15–16					Second round Round of 32 March 17–18					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 22					Regional final Elite 8 March 24
	1	Virginia	54
	16	UMBC	74
						16	UMBC	43
	Charlotte – Fri/Sun
						9	Kansas State	50
	8	Creighton	59
	9	Kansas State	69
											9	Kansas State	61
											5	Kentucky	58
	5	Kentucky	78
	12	Davidson	73
						5	Kentucky	95
	Boise – Thu/Sat
						13	Buffalo	75
	4	Arizona	68
	13	Buffalo	89
																9	Kansas State	62
																11	Loyola Chicago	78
	6	Miami (FL)	62
	11	Loyola Chicago	64
						11	Loyola Chicago	63
	Dallas – Thu/Sat
						3	Tennessee	62
	3	Tennessee	73
	14	Wright State	47
											11	Loyola Chicago	69
											7	Nevada	68
	7	Nevada	87*
	10	Texas	83
						7	Nevada	75
	Nashville – Fri/Sun
						2	Cincinnati	73
	2	Cincinnati	68
	15	Georgia State	53

South Regional Final

TBS

March 24 6:09 pm EDT

Box score

#11 Loyola Chicago Ramblers 78, #9 Kansas State Wildcats 62
Scoring by half: 36–24, 42–38
Pts: B. Richardson – 23 Rebs: D. Ingram – 8 Asts: C. Custer – 5		Pts: X. Sneed – 16 Rebs: X. Sneed – 6 Asts: K. Stokes – 4

Philips Arena – Atlanta, GA Attendance: 15,477 Referees: Gerry Pollard, Terry Wymer, Bert Smith

South Regional all tournament team

• Ben Richardson (Sr, Loyola Chicago) – South Regional most outstanding player^[13]
• Clayton Custer (Jr, Loyola Chicago)^[13]
• Donte Ingram (Sr, Loyola Chicago)^[13]
• Xavier Sneed (So, Kansas State)^[13]
• Barry Brown Jr. (Jr, Kansas State)^[13]

West Regional – Los Angeles, California

	First round Round of 64 March 15–16					Second round Round of 32 March 17–18					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 22					Regional final Elite 8 March 24
	1	Xavier	102
	16	Texas Southern	83
						1	Xavier	70
	Nashville – Fri/Sun
						9	Florida State	75
	8	Missouri	54
	9	Florida State	67
											9	Florida State	75
											4	Gonzaga	60
	5	Ohio State	81
	12	South Dakota State	73
						5	Ohio State	84
	Boise – Thu/Sat
						4	Gonzaga	90
	4	Gonzaga	68
	13	UNC Greensboro	64
																9	Florida State	54
																3	Michigan	58
	6	Houston	67
	11	San Diego State	65
						6	Houston	63
	Wichita – Thu/Sat
						3	Michigan	64
	3	Michigan	61
	14	Montana	47
											3	Michigan	99
											7	Texas A&M	72
	7	Texas A&M	73
	10	Providence	69
						7	Texas A&M	86
	Charlotte – Fri/Sun
						2	North Carolina	65
	2	North Carolina	84
	15	Lipscomb	66

West Regional Final

TBS

March 24 5:49 pm PDT

Box score

#9 Florida State Seminoles 54, #3 Michigan Wolverines 58
Scoring by half: 26–27, 28–31
Pts: P. Cofer - 16 Rebs: P. Cofer - 11 Asts: B. Angola, T. Mann, T. Forrest - 2		Pts: C. Matthews – 17 Rebs: C. Matthews – 8 Asts: Z. Simpson – 5

Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA Attendance: 19,665 Referees: Randy McCall, Keith Kimble, John Gaffney

West Regional all tournament team

• Charles Matthews (So, Michigan) – West Regional most outstanding player^[14]
• Moritz Wagner (Jr, Michigan)^[14]
• Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (Sr, Michigan)^[14]
• Phil Cofer (Sr, Florida State)^[14]
• Terance Mann (Jr, Florida State)^[14]

East Regional – Boston, Massachusetts

	First round Round of 64 March 15–16					Second round Round of 32 March 17–18					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 23					Regional final Elite 8 March 25
	1	Villanova	87
	16	Radford	61
						1	Villanova	81
	Pittsburgh – Thu/Sat
						9	Alabama	58
	8	Virginia Tech	83
	9	Alabama	86
											1	Villanova	90
											5	West Virginia	78
	5	West Virginia	85
	12	Murray State	68
						5	West Virginia	94
	San Diego – Fri/Sun
						13	Marshall	71
	4	Wichita State	75
	13	Marshall	81
																1	Villanova	71
																3	Texas Tech	59
	6	Florida	77
	11	St. Bonaventure	62
						6	Florida	66
	Dallas – Thu/Sat
						3	Texas Tech	69
	3	Texas Tech	70
	14	Stephen F. Austin	60
											3	Texas Tech	78
											2	Purdue	65
	7	Arkansas	62
	10	Butler	79
						10	Butler	73
	Detroit – Fri/Sun
						2	Purdue	76
	2	Purdue	74
	15	Cal State Fullerton	48

East Regional Final

CBS

March 25 2:20 pm EDT

Box score

#3 Texas Tech Red Raiders 59, #1 Villanova Wildcats 71
Scoring by half: 23–36, 36–35
Pts: K. Evans – 12 Rebs: J. Gray – 9 Asts: K. Evans - 4		Pts: J. Brunson – 15 Rebs: E. Paschall – 14 Asts: J. Brunson – 4

TD Garden – Boston, MA Attendance: 19,169 Referees: Terry Oglesby, Mike Reed, Michael Stephens

East Regional all tournament team

• Jalen Brunson (Jr, Villanova) – East Regional most outstanding player^[15]
• Omari Spellman (Fr, Villanova)^[15]
• Eric Paschall (Jr, Villanova)^[15]
• Carsen Edwards (So, Purdue)^[15]
• Keenan Evans (Sr, Texas Tech)^[15]

Midwest Regional – Omaha, Nebraska

	First round Round of 64 March 15–16					Second round Round of 32 March 17–18					Regional semifinals Sweet 16 March 23					Regional final Elite 8 March 25
	1	Kansas	76
	16	Penn	60
						1	Kansas	83
	Wichita – Thu/Sat
						8	Seton Hall	79
	8	Seton Hall	94
	9	NC State	83
											1	Kansas	80
											5	Clemson	76
	5	Clemson	79
	12	New Mexico State	68
						5	Clemson	84
	San Diego – Fri/Sun
						4	Auburn	53
	4	Auburn	62
	13	College of Charleston	58
																1	Kansas	85*
																2	Duke	81
	6	TCU	52
	11	Syracuse	57
						11	Syracuse	55
	Detroit – Fri/Sun
						3	Michigan State	53
	3	Michigan State	82
	14	Bucknell	78
											11	Syracuse	65
											2	Duke	69
	7	Rhode Island	83*
	10	Oklahoma	78
						7	Rhode Island	62
	Pittsburgh – Thu/Sat
						2	Duke	87
	2	Duke	89
	15	Iona	67

Midwest Regional Final

CBS

March 25 4:05 pm CDT

Box score

#2 Duke Blue Devils 81, #1 Kansas Jayhawks 85 (OT)
Scoring by half: 36–33, 36–39 Overtime: 9–13
Pts: T. Duval – 20 Rebs: M. Bagley III – 10 Asts: T. Duval – 6		Pts: M. Newman – 32 Rebs: S. Mykhailiuk, S. De Sousa – 10 Asts: D. Graham - 6

CenturyLink Center Omaha – Omaha, NE Attendance: 17,579 Referees: Roger Ayers, Doug Sirmons, Jeffrey Anderson

Midwest Regional all tournament team

• Malik Newman (So, Kansas) – Midwest Regional most outstanding player^[16]
• Trevon Duval (Fr, Duke)^[16]
• Gabe DeVoe (Sr, Clemson)^[16]
• Marvin Bagley III (Fr, Duke)^[16]
• Devonte' Graham (Sr, Kansas)^[16]
• Gary Trent Jr. (Fr, Duke)^[16]

Final Four

During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (Virginia's South Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (Xavier's West Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (Villanova's East Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Kansas' Midwest Region).

Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas

	National semifinals March 31					National championship game April 2
	S11	Loyola Chicago	57
	W3	Michigan	69
						W3	Michigan	62
						E1	Villanova	79
	E1	Villanova	95
	MW1	Kansas	79

National semifinals

TBS

March 31 5:09 pm CDT

Box score

#11 Loyola Chicago Ramblers 57, #3 Michigan Wolverines 69
Scoring by half: 29–22, 28–47
Pts: C. Krutwig – 17 Rebs: D. Ingram – 9 Asts: D. Ingram – 2		Pts: M. Wagner – 24 Rebs: M. Wagner – 15 Asts: Z. Simpson – 3

Alamodome – San Antonio Attendance: 68,257 Referees: Roger Ayers, Mike Roberts, Terry Oglesby

TBS

March 31 7:49 pm CDT

Box score

#1 Kansas Jayhawks 79, #1 Villanova Wildcats 95
Scoring by half: 32–47, 47–48
Pts: D. Graham – 23 Rebs: M. Newman – 8 Asts: D. Graham, S. Mykhailiuk – 3		Pts: E. Paschall – 24 Rebs: O. Spellman – 13 Asts: P. Booth, J. Brunson – 6

Alamodome – San Antonio Attendance: 68,257 Referees: Randy McCall, Michael Stephens, Kipp Kissinger

National Championship

Main article: 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship game

TBS

April 2 8:20 pm CDT

Box score

#3 Michigan Wolverines 62, #1 Villanova Wildcats 79
Scoring by half: 28–37, 34–42
Pts: M. Abdur-Rahkman – 23 Rebs: M. Wagner – 7 Asts: Z. Simpson – 2		Pts: D. DiVincenzo – 31 Rebs: O. Spellman – 11 Asts: D. DiVincenzo – 3

Alamodome – San Antonio Attendance: 67,831 Referees: Doug Sirmons, Terry Wymer, Jeffrey Anderson

Final Four all-tournament team

• Donte DiVincenzo (So, Villanova) – Final Four Most Outstanding Player^[17]
• Mikal Bridges (Jr, Villanova)^[17]
• Jalen Brunson (Jr, Villanova)^[17]
• Eric Paschall (Jr, Villanova)^[17]
• Moritz Wagner (Jr, Michigan)^[17]

Game summaries and tournament notes

Upsets

Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." The 2018 tournament saw a total of 11 upsets; 5 of them were in the first round, 5 of them were in the second round, and one of them was in the Sweet Sixteen.

Round	South	West	East	Midwest
First round	No. 16 UMBC defeated No. 1 Virginia, 74–54 No. 13 Buffalo defeated No. 4 Arizona, 89–68 No. 11 Loyola Chicago defeated No. 6 Miami (FL), 64–62	None	No. 13 Marshall defeated No. 4 Wichita State, 81–75	No. 11 Syracuse defeated No. 6 TCU, 57–52
Second Round	No. 11 Loyola Chicago defeated No. 3 Tennessee, 63–62 No. 7 Nevada defeated No. 2 Cincinnati, 75–73	No. 9 Florida State defeated No. 1 Xavier, 75–70 No. 7 Texas A&M defeated No. 2 North Carolina, 86–65	None	No. 11 Syracuse defeated No. 3 Michigan State, 55–53
Sweet 16	None	No. 9 Florida State defeated No. 4 Gonzaga, 75–60	None	None
Elite 8	None	None	None	None

Record by conference

Conference	Bids	Record	Win %	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	CG	NC
Big East	6	9–5	.643	6	4	1	1	1	1	1
Big Ten	4	9–4	.692	4	4	2	1	1	1	–
Big 12	7	12–7	.632	7	4	4	3	1	–	–
Missouri Valley	1	4–1	.800	1	1	1	1	1	–	–
ACC	9	12–9	.571	9	5	4	2	–	–	–
WCC	1	2–1	.667	1	1	1	–	–	–	–
SEC	8	8–8	.500	8	6	2	–	–	–	–
Mountain West	2	2–2	.500	2	1	1	–	–	–	–
American	3	2–3	.400	3	2	–	–	–	–	–
Atlantic 10	3	2–3	.400	3	1	–	–	–	–	–
America East	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
C-USA	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
MAC	1	1–1	.500	1	1	–	–	–	–	–
Big South	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
SWAC	1	1–1	.500	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
Pac-12	3	0–3	.000	1	–	–	–	–	–	–

• The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
• The "Record" column includes wins in the First Four for the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big South, and SWAC conferences and two losses in the First Four for the Pac-12 conference.
• The MEAC and NEC conferences each had one representative, eliminated in the First Four with a record of 0–1.
• The Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big West, CAA, Horizon, Ivy League, MAAC, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt and WAC conferences each had one representative, eliminated in the first round with a record of 0–1.

The Pac-12 lost all of its teams after the first day of the main tournament draw, marking the first time since the Big 12 began play in 1996 that one of the six major conferences—defined as the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC, and both versions of the Big East—failed to have a team advance to the tournament's round of 32.^[18]

Media coverage

Television

CBS Sports and Turner Sports had U.S. television rights to the Tournament under the NCAA March Madness brand. As part of a cycle beginning in 2016, TBS held the rights to the Final Four and to the championship game.^[19]

For the first time, TBS held the rights to the Selection Show, which expanded into a two-hour format, was presented in front of a studio audience, and promoted that the entire field of the tournament would be unveiled within the first ten minutes of the broadcast.^[20] However, this entailed the 68-team field (beginning with automatic qualifiers, followed by at-large teams) being revealed in alphabetical order, and not by bracket matchups (which was done later in the show). The new format was criticized for lacking suspense, and the show also faced criticism for technical issues, as well as a segment containing product placement for Pizza Hut.^[21][22][23]

Television channels

• First Four – TruTV
• First and second rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV
• Regional semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) – CBS and TBS
• National semifinals (Final Four) and championship – TBS

Studio hosts

• Greg Gumbel (New York City and San Antonio) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Ernie Johnson Jr. (New York City, Atlanta, and San Antonio) – first round, second round, regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
• Casey Stern (Atlanta) – First Four, first round and second round
• Adam Zucker (New York) – first round and second round (game breaks)

Studio analysts

• Charles Barkley (New York City and San Antonio) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Seth Davis (Atlanta and San Antonio) – First Four, first round, second round, regional semi-finals, Final Four and national championship game
• Brendan Haywood (Atlanta and San Antonio) – First Four, first round, second round, regional semi-finals and Final Four
• Clark Kellogg (New York City and San Antonio) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Gregg Marshall (Atlanta) – regional semi-finals
• Frank Martin (Atlanta) – second round
• Candace Parker (Atlanta and San Antonio) – First Four, first round, second round, regional semi-finals and Final Four
• Kenny Smith (New York City and San Antonio) – first round, second round, regionals, Final Four and national championship game
• Wally Szczerbiak (New York City) – second round
• Brad Underwood (Atlanta) – first round
• Christian Laettner (San Antonio) – Final Four
• Danny Manning (San Antonio) – Final Four
• Kris Jenkins (San Antonio) – Final Four

Commentary teams

• Jim Nantz/Bill Raftery/Grant Hill/Tracy Wolfson – first and second rounds at Charlotte, North Carolina; Midwest Regional at Omaha, Nebraska; Final Four and National Championship at San Antonio, Texas
• Brian Anderson/Chris Webber/Lisa Byington – first and second rounds at Boise, Idaho; South Regional at Atlanta, Georgia
• Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel/Allie LaForce – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Wednesday); first and second rounds at Detroit, Michigan; East Regional at Boston, Massachusetts
• Kevin Harlan/Reggie Miller/Dan Bonner/Dana Jacobson – first and second rounds at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; West Regional at Los Angeles, California
• Brad Nessler/Steve Lavin/Evan Washburn – first and second rounds at Wichita, Kansas
• Spero Dedes/Steve Smith/Len Elmore/Rosalyn Gold-Onwude – First Four at Dayton, Ohio (Tuesday); first and second rounds at Dallas, Texas
• Andrew Catalon/Steve Lappas/Jamie Erdahl – first and second rounds at Nashville, Tennessee
• Carter Blackburn/Debbie Antonelli/John Schriffen – first and second rounds at San Diego, California

Team Stream broadcasts

Final Four

• Matt Park/Jay Feely/Dr. Sanjay Gupta – Michigan Team Stream on TNT
• Jeff Hagedorn/Jerry Harkness/Shams Charania – Loyola–Chicago Team Stream on truTV
• Dave Armstrong/Scot Pollard/Rob Riggle– Kansas Team Stream on TNT
• Scott Graham/Randy Foye/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV

National championship game

• Matt Park/Jay Feely/Dr. Sanjay Gupta – Michigan Team Stream on TNT
• Scott Graham/Randy Foye/Kacie McDonnell – Villanova Team Stream on truTV

Radio

Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.

First Four Ted Emrich and Austin Croshere – at Dayton, Ohio First and second rounds Scott Graham and Kelly Tripucka – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Brandon Gaudin and Donny Marshall – Wichita, Kansas Ryan Radtke and Jim Jackson – Dallas, Texas Jason Benetti and Dan Dickau – Boise, Idaho Kevin Kugler and Eric Montross/John Thompson – Charlotte, North Carolina (Montross – Friday night; Thompson – Friday Afternoon & Sunday) Chris Carrino and P. J. Carlesimo – Detroit, Michigan Ted Emrich – Friday Afternoon/Craig Way – Friday Night & Sunday and Will Perdue – Nashville, Tennessee John Sadak and Mike Montgomery – San Diego, California

Regionals Gary Cohen and P. J. Carlesimo – East Regional at Boston, Massachusetts Kevin Kugler and Donny Marshall – Midwest Regional at Omaha, Nebraska Brandon Gaudin and John Thompson – South Regional at Atlanta, Georgia Tom McCarthy and Jim Jackson – West Regional at Los Angeles, California Final Four Kevin Kugler, John Thompson, Clark Kellogg, and Jim Gray – San Antonio, Texas

Internet

Video

Live video of games was available for streaming through the following means:^[24]

• NCAA March Madness Live (website and app, no CBS games on digital media players; access to games on Turner channels requires TV Everywhere authentication through provider; 3 hour preview for Turner games is provided before authentication is required)
• CBS All Access (only CBS games, service subscription required)
• CBS Sports website and app (only CBS games)
• Bleacher Report website and Team Stream app (only Turner games, access requires subscription)
• Watch TBS website and app (only TBS games, requires TV Everywhere authentication)
• Watch TNT website and app (only TNT games, requires TV Everywhere authentication)
• Watch truTV website and app (only truTV games, requires TV Everywhere authentication)
• Websites and apps of cable, satellite, and OTT providers of CBS & Turner (access requires subscription)

Audio

Live audio of games was available for streaming through the following means:

• NCAA March Madness Live (website and app)
• Westwood One Sports website
• TuneIn (website and app)
• Websites and apps of Westwood One Sports affiliates

See also

• 2018 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 2018 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 2018 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 2018 U Sports Men's Basketball Championship
• 2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game

References

1. Wilco, Daniel (March 17, 2018). "Last perfect bracket busts after UMBC pulls off biggest upset in NCAA tournament history". NCAA.com. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved March 17, 2018. UMBC (The University of Maryland Baltimore County) scored the biggest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament, beating top overall seed Virginia 74-54 Friday night, and becoming the first 16 seed to win a game in 136 tries.
2. Bushnell, Henry (March 17, 2018). "UMBC shocks Virginia, first 16-seed ever to beat a 1". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
3. "DC colleges will have a season without March Madness for the first time since 1978". Washington Post. March 10, 2018.
4. Moriarty, Morgan (March 14, 2018). "Syracuse, Texas Southern win in First Four games Wednesday night". SBNation.com. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
5. Moriarty, Morgan (March 11, 2018). "Full seed list for the NCAA tournament, 1-68". SBNation.com. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
6. . NCAA. November 14, 2014. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
7. "NCAA gives North Carolina a deadline to repeal HB2 or lose events until 2022". newsobserver. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
8. "N.C. gets NCAA tourney sites after HB2 repeal". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
9. "Division I teams face penalties, lose postseason". NCAA. May 10, 2017.
10. "NCAA conference tournament schedule: Tracking March Madness automatic bids". NCAA. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
11. Kay, Alex. "Selection Sunday 2018 Schedule: Official NCAA Tournament Bracket And More After March Madness Show". Forbes.
12. "March Madness 2018: Official NCAA Tournament bracket seeding 1-68". CBSSports.com.
13. @marchmadness (March 25, 2018). "South Region All-Tournament Team" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. @marchmadness (March 25, 2018). "West Region All-Tournament Team" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. @marchmadness (March 25, 2018). "East Region All-Tournament Team" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. @marchmadness (March 25, 2018). "Midwest Region All-Tournament Team" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
17. . villanova.com. April 3, 2018. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
18. Medcalf, Myron (March 16, 2018). "The fast and unprecedented fall of the Pac-12". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
19. "2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship commentator teams announced". NCAA. February 7, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
20. Russo, Ralph D. (March 6, 2018). . Washington Post. Associated Press. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
21. "TBS really made a mess of the NCAA selection show". Boston.com. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
22. "6 ways the NCAA bracket selection show was pretty odd". SBNation.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
23. Caesar, Dan. "Media Views: NCAA tourney 'Selection Show' loses suspense, adds immediacy". stltoday.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
24. Maiman, Beth (March 8, 2017). "March Madness TV schedule: How to watch and live stream every game in the NCAA men's basketball tournament". NCAA. Retrieved March 9, 2017.