Get To Know The New March Madness Format
This year's NCAA Tournament will be the biggest in its 72-year history. And as a result, there are a few changes to the format that all fans should be aware of.
Watch CBS News
This year's NCAA Tournament will be the biggest in its 72-year history. And as a result, there are a few changes to the format that all fans should be aware of.
Right now the NCAA's focus is squarely on making sure the 68-team tournament goes off without a hitch, but that doesn't they're not considering expanding the tournament once again.
It's official – March Madness is here and kicks into high gear this week as conference tournaments begin. Some sports fans say this is the best time of the year and I don't argue with that.
Pat Kennedy has 488 career wins as a Division I men's basketball coach and has taken eight teams to the NCAA Tournament and five NITs. After 40 years of coaching Kennedy knows it's not something you can easily walk away from.
For the members of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the 15th floor of The Westin hotel in Indianapolis will become their world from Wednesday through Sunday night as the deliberate the field of 68.
The Fighting Illini got revenge for an earlier defeat at the hands of the Hoosiers and improved their chances for an NCAA tournament bid on Saturday by dominating Indiana 72-48 in Champaign.
When the Fighting Illini seniors look back on their four years of college basketball, some of their fondest memories will be of their hoarse-throated coach Bruce Weber and his temper.
The next seven days are the toughest of the year for the DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball team.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, BYU's starting center Brandon Davies was suspended from the team for the rest of the season for violating the school's honor code prevision that relates to premarital sex.
University of Kansas basketball player Tyshawn Taylor was suspended indefinitely from the school's basketball team on February 21st for violating team rules.
No. 7 Notre Dame had another impressive win on Monday, lambasting nineteenth-ranked Villanova 93-72 in South Bend. With a 24-5 record, this is the best Fighting Irish team in years. So how far can this team go in the tournament?
It was another court-storming weekend for college basketball. The top ranked team went down for the third week in a row.
College basketball's regular season is quickly approaching its end. And with teams across the country looking to add the finishing touches to their tournament resumes, each poll becomes more and more important.
That 'it' is the toughness, leadership and fight that has been absent all season for the Fighting Illini. Tuesday night's 89-70 loss to Ohio State was another example of 'it' not being there.
It has been said that February is one of the dead spots in the sports calendar.
The Fighting Illini still haven't secured a spot in the field of 68, and time is starting to become their enemy. A win over the No. 3 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes would definitely give them a boost they desperately need.
The greatest two days in sports are quickly approaching. And over the course of the first two days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, fans could be seeing a lot of the Big East.
This Saturday's prime time matchup between Michigan State and Illinois will go a long way in determining the rankings in the Big Ten and the Big Ten Tournament seeding, but regardless of who wins both teams should still make Big Dance.
There are eight Big Ten teams ranked in the top 68 teams in the country based on RPI. But not all eight of those teams will be able to extend their season into the NCAA Tournament.
As the days of February begin to fall by the wayside by the NCAA men's basketball tournament inches closer.
Across the country college basketball teams are getting ready for the final portion of the season. Some teams have already guaranteed a place in the NCAA Tournament, others will need every game to get there.
Well, tonight is it for Illinois basketball. At least, if you ask Mike Tisdale.
The Northwestern University men's basketball team has never made the NCAA Tournament in the previous 71 years of the tournament's existence. The Wildcats are a long shot this year, but their first bid could come soon.
Well, B1G Ten fans, we are quickly approaching the meat and potatoes of the basketball season. Can you believe it?
Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg will be joined by Steve Kerr for the Final Four and national championship broadcasts.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
The city of Aurora is kicking off Black History Month by honoring a living legend, one of the last remaining Negro Leagues baseball players.
The footage is included in a video that promotes false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Mr. Trump.
The FBI has arrested "one of the key participants" behind the attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012 that killed four Americans.
A new push to pass a GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act is underway in Congress, but Democrats warn the proposal could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.
As immigration sweeps expand nationwide, the work of justifying detentions is overwhelming federal prosecutors, who are being forced to sideline a range of other cases in order to keep pace.
Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in October, plans to attend President Trump's State of the Union address to Congress later this month, according to her attorney.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
The members of Ratboys were teenagers when they met by chance, and now in their 30s, the Chicago band formed by two college friends almost two decades ago appears to be on the brink of something big.
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
Meteorologist David Yeomans has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
A Chicago bus driver is out of a job after he was caught on camera with his hands off the wheel and his eyes glued to his cell phone.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
Police in Chicago's south and southwest suburbs are teaming up to target thieves targeting video gambling machines, which have become an increasingly popular target for burglary crews.
An eagle-eyed drone pilot helped spot a missing foster puppy who had been out in the cold for more than two weeks in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
A source close to the investigation said the woman worked for the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
A federal judge in Chicago has ruled key evidence in the Marimar Martinez shooting, including bodycam video and text messages, can be released.
Chicago helped shape the nation in so many ways, including the pioneering of skyscrapers – the big, beautiful buildings the city of big shoulders introduced to the world.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
Two west suburban high schools have something extra to celebrate Sunday, when alumni from their schools make their Super Bowl debuts.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics are underway after the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons and the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremony.
Caleb Williams certainly had plenty of big throws to celebrate in 2025, but it wasn't hard to pick his most memorable one after he launched a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore to beat the Packers in overtime in Week 16.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, Immanuel Quickley had 24 and the Toronto Raptors beat the new-look Chicago Bulls 123-107.
Chicago Bears guard Joe Thuney was named the NFL's top offensive lineman of 2025 on Thursday, winning the inaugural Protector of the Year Award.
A South Side community came together on Friday, hoping for justice after a woman was shot and killed while her baby was in the back seat of their car earlier this week.
A Chicago city employee was found shot to death Friday morning inside an apartment in the West Ridge neighborhood.
Actor Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, officials said Friday.
A burglary crew smashed into a restaurant in Chicago's southwest suburbs, leaving the owner cleaning up a big and frustrating mess.
Six months after a well-known charter boat captain was found dead at DuSable Harbor in downtown Chicago, a man has been charged with his murder.
