The road to the NCAA title officially begins this weekend, as the 68 college basketball teams competing in March Madness will be unveiled on Selection Sunday.
Here's everything you need to know about one of the most important days on the NCAA calendar.
What is Selection Sunday?
The 68 teams—64 in the women's tournament—competing in the NCAA tournament are announced on Selection Sunday. Of the 68 teams, 32 gain automatic entry, while the remaining 36—32 for the women's tournament—are chosen by the selection committee.
Additionally, the bracket and seeds for the men's tournament are also released on Selection Sunday.
When is Selection Sunday?
Selection Sunday takes place this Sunday, March 17 at 6 p.m. ET.
How to watch Selection Sunday
Last year marked the first time since 1982 that CBS did not host the show, but Selection Sunday is back on its usual platform this year. The hour-long show will be hosted by Greg Gumbel, alongside analysts Seth Davis and Clark Kellogg.
Selection Committee Chair Bernard Muir will appear on the show to answer questions about the bracket, after it is released at the top of the hour.
We're going back to basics," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus was quoted as saying by Sports Illustrated. "We're going to basically do what we used to."
The event will be broadcast nationwide and across local CBS stations. The selection process will also be live-streamed on the NCAA's official website.
Further analysis and reactions will be available on CBS Sports HQ. A show featuring Andy Katz will be broadcast on CBS's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter feeds from 7 p.m.
Which teams are in?
The likes of Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Florida State and Virginia Tech are all pretty much guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The same applies to Kansas, Texas Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State, as well as Marquette and Villanova, Michigan and Michigan State. Louisiana State University, Auburn, Tennessee and Kentucky are also set to join the party.
What comes next?
Following Selection Sunday, March Madness will then get underway in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 19-20) with the First Four games.
The first round gets underway on March 21 in Hartford, Connecticut, Salt Lake City, Des Moines, Iowa and Jacksonville, Florida. A day later, the remaining first round games begin in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Columbus, Ohio, Columbia, South Carolina and San Jose, California.
The first four cities will host four second round games on March 23, followed by the latter four cities on March 24.
The Sweet Sixteen round is held in Louisville, Kentucky and Anaheim, California on March 28 and Washington D.C. and Kansas City, Missouri on March 29.
The first two cities will host the Elite Eight on March 30, followed by the latter two on March 31.
The Final Four will take place in Minneapolis between April 6 and 8.
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