HOUSTON — March Madness is here and that means brackets around the country are being filled out.
In the NCAA Tournament, teams are seeded 1 through 16 in four different regions, with the winners of each region meeting in the Final Four. Those four teams battle it out to determine the NCAA basketball champion. This year, the Final Four will be in Houston and on KHOU 11.
The University of Houston Cougars are expected to be a top seed as they finished the regular season No. 1 in the AP poll.
The top-seed teams are considered the strongest in their region, but that’s no guarantee they’ll make it to the Final Four. In fact, according to NCAA.com, there’s been only one time – in 2008 -- that all four No. 1 seeds have made it there since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
There is a decent chance, though. In the 64-team era, there have been four years that three No. 1 teams made it to the Final Four. The Final Four has had two No. 1 seeds in 14 years and a Final Four with a single No. 1 seed has happened 16 times.
Only twice since 1985 has there been a Final Four without any No. 1 seeds.
Want more stats? From the math above, there have been 60 No. 1 seeds in the Final Four since 1985. When you're talking No. 2s, it drops down significantly to 32. It goes down even further with three seeds at 17 and four seeds at 13.
But don’t fall asleep on the teams below that! According to NCAA.com, in eight of the last nine years, at least one team that’s No. 7 or lower has made it to the Final Four.
And as far as winning it all? Of the 37 national champs since the field expanded to 64 teams, a region's No. 1 seed has won it 23 times.
There also has been one instance of the No. 1 seed falling to the No. 16 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That happened in 2018 when top-seeded Virginia fell to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. But then Virginia came back the next year to win it all.
Let the madness begin!
Fill out your brackets!
As soon as the teams are announced, the real madness is the rush to fill out your brackets! And this year, those picks could land you a big screen TV and new mattress in our Brackets Challenge! Here's how to enter!
March Madness Music Festival
There's plenty happening around the Final Four in Houston that you'll want to know about, including the FREE March Madness Music Festival. If you're looking for big names, look no further! Here are the acts that'll take the stage at Discovery Green while the Final Four is in tow.
Friday, March 31
4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Megan Thee Stallion
Saturday, April 1
3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Maggie Rogers
- Lil Nas X
Sunday, April 2
2:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Tim McGraw
- Keith Urban
- Little Big Town
- Mickey Guyton
The concerts are free with registration. Fans can register for free passes to the AT&T Block Party beginning today at 1 p.m. ET at ncaa.com/marchmadness/musicfest. You can also stream Sunday's live performances on the NCAA or Bleacher Report websites.
If you heading to Discovery Green for the concerts, here's a guide of what you can and can't bring.
The concerts are part of the NCAA men's Final Four, the battle for the college basketball national championship crown. It'll be played in Houston starting March 31 through April 3.
It's the fourth time the Bayou City has hosted the finale of March Madness.
Final Four Fan Fest
Join the fun with an interactive gaming experience at Fan Fest. Knock it out of the park at Home Run Derby, participate in one of the free cheer clinics over the weekend or snap a selfie with the championship trophy. All this and a lot more fun is going down at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Tickets are on sale now. Kids 12 and younger are free. Pre-sale tickets for children 13 and older are $8 or $10 at the door.
Capital One Cardholders and Men's Final Four ticketholders also get in free.
The event hours are:
Friday, March 31: Noon - 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 1: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 2: Noon - 8 p.m.
Monday, April 3: Noon - 6 p.m.
Tip-Off Tailgate
Semifinal and National Championship game ticket holders can stop by the Men's Final Four Tip-off Tailgate before the games at NRG Stadium.
Fans can enjoy free team pep rallies, musical performances, basketball-themed games, plus food and beverages. Tip-Off Tailgate opens Friday, March 31.