selection-sunday-2022-everything-you-need-know-about-ncaa-tournament

Selection Sunday 2022: Everything You Need To Know About the NCAA Tournament

As NCAA conference tournaments come to a close this weekend, that means March Madness has officially arrived. Many universities will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament after winning their respective conference tourneys. However, the rest of the field will be chosen by an NCAA committee that will also come together to determine the seeding of the full bracket. Selection Sunday 2022 is only a day away, so let’s go over everything we know so far about who’s in and where and when you can tune in to find out if your favorite college made the “Big Dance.”

NCAA Tournament Automatic Bids and Top-Seeded Teams

Fans will be glad to know that the NCAA Tournament will go back to its usual pre-pandemic schedule. The normal format has returned with game locations spread out across the country. That includes 14 tournament locations that will showcase the 2022 NCAA Tournament, which runs from March 15 to April 4. The madness will then culminate in New Orleans, LA as the Caesars Superdome plays host to the Final Four and Championship game.

68 teams will make the 2022 NCAA Tournament with some earning automatic spots while others are selected. The field will include 32 automatic qualifiers who won their conference tournaments and an additional 36 at-large teams. Conference tournaments began last week, so we already know a handful of the winners who already punched their ticket to the Big Dance. Many more conference tournaments are finishing up this weekend, but here’s a list of schools who have already earned automatic bids so far.

  • Longwood University (26-6) – Big South champion
  • University of Delaware (22-12) – Colonial champion
  • Wright State University (21-13) – Horizon League champion
  • Loyola University Chicago (25-7) – Missouri Valley champion
  • Bryant University (22-9) – Northeast champion
  • Murray State University (30-2) – Ohio Valley champion
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (27-7) – Southern champion
  • South Dakota State University (30-4) – Summit champion
  • Georgia State University (18-10) – Sun Belt champion
  • Gonzaga University (26-3) – West Coast champion

Of course, most of the Top 25 teams in the nation will also make the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Recent losses though from top-ranked teams have shuffled the previously predicted four No. 1 seeds. As of right now, bracketology experts are picking Gonzaga (West), Arizona (South), Baylor (Midwest), and Kentucky (East) as the No. 1 seeds. Additionally, Duke (West), Kansas (South), Auburn (Midwest), and Purdue (East) are predicted to fill the No. 2 seeds in the tournament.

Selection Sunday: When and Where To Watch

As all the major conference tournaments finish up this weekend, we’ll start to have a much clearer picture of the NCAA Tournament. The ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac-12, SEC and more will decide their conference tournament winners today and tomorrow afternoon. Then, the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Committee will deliberate over the at-large universities and the tournament seeding. Coverage of Selection Sunday will begin tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. on CBS. You can also stream the selections on NCAA.com’s March Madness Live page.

2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Selection Show

Following the conclusion of the selection show, all brackets will be set and ready for fans to fill out. However, make sure to get your picks in fast since the First Four games begin only two days later on Tuesday, March 15. So join your office pool or fill out brackets with friends and family. Don’t worry, your brackets will be busted like everyone else’s within the First Round, so just have fun watching March Madness unravel over the next few weeks.

Full 2022 NCAA Tournament Dates

  • Selection Sunday: March 13
  • First Four: March 15-16
  • First Round: March 17-18
  • Second Round: March 19-20 
  • Sweet 16: March 24-25
  • Elite Eight: March 26-27
  • Final Four: April 2 (Caesars Superdome – New Orleans, LA)
  • Championship: April 4 (Caesars Superdome – New Orleans, LA)