The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament officially tips off Tuesday, with 16-seeds Florida Gulf Coast and Fairleigh Dickinson playing each other in a First Four matchup. From then until April 4, single-elimination games will be played until a national champion is crowned. Here’s a rundown of March Madness fun facts:
$9.2 billion
Expected amount to be wagered on the tournament, according to the American Gaming Association. Of that figure, only $262 million will be wagered legally. For comparison, only $4.2 billion was wagered on the Super Bowl this year.
70 million
Number of brackets to be filled out by 40 million Americans. For comparison, 69.5 million ballots were filled out for President Obama 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 one-seed winning its opening game against a 16-seed.
1976
The last year a team completed an undefeated season, when Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 and won the national championship. No one enters the 2016 tournament undefeated. In fact, no one is even close. Kansas and Arkansas Little Rock both have four losses, tied for least in the tournament.
55
The number of times Kentucky has appeared in the tournament, eight more than North Carolina, which has the second-most appearances.
27
Consecutive years since 1990 that Kansas has qualified for the tournament, now tied with North Carolina’s record streak of 27 from 1975-2001.
11
The number of times UCLA has won the tournament, three more than Kentucky, which has the second-most championships.
$289 million
The cost to taxpayers of NRG Stadium in Houston, which will host the Final Four and Championship games. That was more than 60 percent of the stadium’s construction costs.
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.
29
The number of teams with humans as mascots. Ten teams have bird mascots, eight have felines and six have dogs. There are even three schools that have a type of weather as mascot (two hurricanes, one cyclone).
35
Number of years in a row that CBS will have aired the Championship game when it tips off at 9 p.m. on April 4.
28.3 million
Number of viewers for last year’s Championship game, when Duke beat Wisconsin 68-63. That was a huge increase from the previous year, when only 21.3 million watched.
$306
As of Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., 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.
$12,452
As of Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., the price for one seat in the third row, right by half-court for the two Final Four games and the Championship game. Ticket prices are from StubHub.
2,880 miles
How far Hawaii has to travel to Spokane, Wash., for its first and possibly second round games. If Hawaii advances past that, it would play the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Louisville, then the Final Four and Champions games would be in Houston. It’s unclear if the team would travel back to campus in between game weekends. Regardless, Hawaii isn’t expected to advance very far, so it probably won’t be a problem.
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 the “First Four,” a set of four play-in games for 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.
54
Number of years Yale basketball fans have waited for the team to return to the NCAA tournament. This year, the Bulldogs won the Ivy League’s regular season conference championship to clinch an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
.424
The winning percentage of the worst team in the tournament, Holy Cross, which made an upset run through the Patriot League Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid.
7
Number of tournament teams each from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences, more than any other.
2
The number of teams appearing in the tournament for the first time: Stony Brook and Cal State Bakersfield.
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 reportedly the first to cut the nets at the collegiate level.
351
The number of teams which 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
Number of shining moments per tournament. Traditionally, right after the championship game ends, CBS airs a montage of tournament highlights set to the soundtrack of Luther Vandross’ version of “One Shining Moment.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
