7 Dates Casual Fans Should Know To Be Part Of The March Madness
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Let's face it, 70 percent of self-proclaimed sports fans have pretty much ignored college basketball up until this point. But by the end of the month, many of us will be screaming at our television sets hoping some 19-year-old from a university we've barely heard of hits his free throws. How are we going to get there?
For those of you who have been sleeping on hoops, we're not going to try and explain why to pick Kentucky over Duke or even point out that U.C. Davis could be the lone Northern California team to make the field. Instead we'll just offer you some key dates to watch to make sure you don't miss out on any of the fun:
March 10th - That's the date our CBS Bracket Challenge goes live. You can create your login and start talking your co-workers and friends into joining the pool.
March 14th - This the date when many of the conference tournaments wrap up, meaning that longshots have their last chance to win an automatic bid and shake up who is in and who is out.
March 15th - Selection Sunday. Here's where we find out who part of 'the big dance' and who's tournament bubble burst. From here until the tournament starts, pundits will be breaking down every matchup. Will your team have to go on the road to take on a number one? If so, ouch. You're in trouble. It's also when you can start filling out your brackets.
March 19th - The "first round" starts on March 17th and 18th, but those are essentially 4 play-in games for the real bracket. People won't start dropping the ball at work to focus on basketball until Thursday the 19th, when half of the 64 team field jumps into action. It's also your last chance to fill out a bracket. Most pools, including our CBS Bracket Challenge, require picks to be in about an hour before tipoff of this round.
March 26th - The teams that advance to the "Sweet 16" will be whittled down to eight and then four between the 26th and 29th. If you're late to the game and want to catch up, look for the squad with the highest seed that's still remaining. Everyone will be talking about how long Cinderella will keep dancing.
April 4th - The Final 4 is basketballs equivalent of the World Series. March Madness junkies will be sad to see only three games remaining on the schedule, but they'll feature the best of the best, so everyone will be watching. Plus, your office bracket probably weights these games as more valuable than the earlier ones, meaning any bragging rights will be decided right here.
April 6th - The Final. Chances are your bracket will be busted, but everyone should still be watching to see who cuts down the net after winning the NCAA championship.