History of March Madness

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The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is one of the most exciting events in all of sport. You might refer to it as March Madness or the Big Dance as so many others do. While you look forward to this tournament each year, because it is one of the busiest times for sports bettors and sports fans alike, with so many games going off during a three-week stretch, you may have never stopped to smell the roses. This article takes a step back and looks at the history of March Madness to show you how it has evolved into the Big Dance it is today.

Since the first NCAA Tournament in 1939, we have seen the field expand to 65 teams, dazzling dogs make Cinderalla leaps, and dynasties formed. And no other event has conjured up more friendly wagering in the form of office pools.

From 1939-1950 the NCAA tournament consisted of just eight teams. The next two years the field was doubled. Then, in a length stretch from 1953-1974, the field consisted of 22-25 teams. In became more standardized in 1975 when the number was cemented at 32. That only lasted 3 seasons before it was increased to 40 teams in 1979. Just one year later, the field expanded again to 48 teams. Many people think the play-in game is a new thing, but the tournament actually held four play-in games in 1983 and five in 1984 with fields of 52 and 53 teams respectively. In 1985, the NCAA formed the 64 team format that we were mostly satisfied with until 2001 when we added a play-in game. With conference tournament champs automatically invited to the Big Dance, the committee only selects 39 at-large teams to fill the remainder of the field.

The term March Madness is widely said to have originated from sports commentator Brent Musburger who used it in the 1982 NCAA tourney. The Final Four term is said to have come from sportswriter Ed Chay in 1975.

As I mentioned before, there have been several dazzling dogs that have likely broken the bankrolls of sports bettors throughout the history of the Dance. In 1986, #14 seed Cleveland State advanced to the Sweet 16. In 1997, Chattanooga made a Sweet 16 run as a #14 seed as well. In 2002, Mizzou made as incredible run to the Elite 8 as the most famous of all #12 seeds. LSU advanced to the Final Four in 1986 as a #11 seed and George Mason followed suit 20 years later. Two #8 seeds have advanced to the title game, UCLA in 1980 and Villanova in 1985. UCLA was not victorious, but Villanova was to become the greatest underdog in the history of the tournament. No #16 seed has ever defeated a #1 seed since the field was expanded to 64 teams.

There have also been some incredible college basketball dynasties formed by NCAA tournament success. UCLA has won 11 national titles and Kentucky has won 7. UCLA won 10 titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 in a row during one stretch. They went undefeated a record 4 times during this run.

While the Super Bowl gets more action than any other game of the year for casinos and sportsbooks alike, the three-week March Madness stretch is the most lucrative time for sportsbooks with so many novices blindly betting. Let Jimmy Boyd help you beat your bookie this March with his award winning NCAA basketball picks.