The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament officially tips off Tuesday, with 16-seeds Manhattan and Hampton playing each other in a First Four matchup. From then until April 6, single-elimination games will be played until a national champion is crowned. Here’s a rundown of March Madness fun facts:
(Ap Photo)
$9 billion
Expected amount to be wagered on the tournament, according to the American Gaming Association. $7 billion of those wagers will be illegal. Only $3.9 billion was wagered on the Super Bowl this year.
70 million
Number of brackets to be filled out by 40 million Americans. For comparison, President Obama received 69.5 million votes nationwide in the 2008 election.
1 in 9.2 quintillion
The odds of predicting a perfect bracket using random guesses to determine the winner of each game.
1 in 128 billion
The rough odds of predicting a perfect bracket, assuming one uses fairly basic prediction methods, such as every 1-seed winning their opening game against a 16-seed.
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1976
The last year a team completed an undefeated season, when Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 and won the national championship. Kentucky enters the tournament with a 34-0 record, needing six more wins to complete an undefeated season.
54
The number of times Kentucky has appeared in the tournament, eight more than North Carolina, who has the second-most appearances.
26
Consecutive years since 1990 that Kansas has qualified for the tournament, bested only by North Carolina’s streak of 27 from 1975-2001.
11
The number of times UCLA has won the tournament, three more than Kentucky, who has the second-most championships.
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$620 million
The cost to taxpayers of Lucas Oil Stadium, which will host the Final Four and Championship games. The Indianapolis Colts, who call the stadium home, contributed $100 million on top of that.
9
The number of times the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., has hosted the Final Four, more than any other city or venue. The venue has not hosted a tournament game since 1964 and its capacity is under 10,000 people.
10
The number of teams with feline mascots in the tournament, four of which are wildcats. Canine mascots are close behind, with eight. Humans have the most mascots, with 25 various types of humans represented.
34
Number of years in a row CBS will have aired the Championship game when it tips off at 9 p.m. on April 6.
21.2 million
Number of viewers for last year’s Championship game, when Connecticut beat Kentucky 60-54.
$340
As of Monday morning, the cheapest price for one ticket to watch the two Final Four games and the Championship game. Expect prices to rise once the Final Four teams are determined.
$9,500
As of Monday morning, the price for one seat in Row C right by half-court for the two Final Four games and the Championship game. Ticket prices are from the official Final Four ticket exchange.
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9,089.6 miles
How far Boise State would have to travel to reach the Final Four. They would have to travel from Boise to Dayton to Columbus to Boise, followed by Boise to Syracuse and back, followed by Boise to Indianapolis.
10-15
The number of charter planes the NCAA uses to move men’s and women’s basketball teams around the country for the tournament. Recent FAA regulations on pilots have limited charter availability for the NCAA. Rules prohibit teams from using flights paid for by donors. If a team plays within 350 miles of a tournament site, they must take a bus there.
68
The number of teams in the tournament. That means it will take 67 single-elimination games to determine a champion. Only eight teams play in what is technically the “first round” of the tournament.
32
The number of conferences in Division I college basketball, with each conference getting one automatic bid to the tournament. Quality teams are not evenly distributed across the conferences, which is why the tournament field isn’t necessarily the 68 best teams in the country. The Ivy League is the only conference that doesn’t host a conference tournament to determine its automatic qualifier, although Harvard beat Yale on Saturday in a tie-breaking de facto conference championship game.
.485
The winning percentage of the worst team in the tournament, Hampton, who made an upset run through the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid.
7
Number of tournament teams each from the Big 12 and Big Ten conferences, more than any other.
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3
The number of teams appearing in the tournament for the first time: Buffalo, UC Irvine and North Florida.
1947
The year N.C. State coach Everett Case began the tradition of cutting down the nets in college basketball. N.C. State won the Southern Conference championship and Case simply wanted the net as a souvenir. The tradition originally started in Indiana high school basketball, but Case was allegedly the first to cut the nets at the collegiate level.
351
The number of teams who compete in Division I basketball. That’s almost three times more than the 128 teams that compete at the highest level of college football.
10
The number of people on the tournament selection committee that decides which teams make the tournament and determines seeding. The members are mainly athletic directors from various Division I universities.
1
The number of times President Obama has correctly predicted the winner of the tournament since taking office. In 2009, he correctly picked North Carolina to win it all.
0
In that same timeframe, the number of times I have correctly picked the winner. A begrudging congratulations to the president.
