Tournament time in college basketball is one of those special times during the year when excitement and suspense are at their peak. From the opening-round upsets all the way to the national championship game, March Madness takes hold of an entire country and doesn't let go.

The first stop on the road to this year's Final Four – for the men, it's in Phoenix; for the women, it's in Cleveland – begins with Selection Sunday, when the field of 68 teams is announced.

The NCAA Selection Committees will take all the conference champions who qualify automatically and then extend the necessary number of at-large bids to the remaining schools to fill out the full field. The teams will then be divided into four regions and seeded from 1 to 16, with eight teams competing in play-in games for the last four spots.

When is March Madness Selection Sunday for men?

The men's field for the NCAA tournament will be revealed on Sunday, March 17 and will be broadcast live on CBS, beginning around 6 p.m. ET.

When is March Madness Selection Sunday for women?

The women's field for the NCAA tournament will be revealed on Sunday, March 17 and will be broadcast live on ESPN, beginning around 8 p.m. ET.

When does March Madness start?

Men's tournament

• First Four: Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20
• First round: Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22
• Second round: Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24
• Sweet 16: Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29
• Elite Eight: Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31
• Final Four: Saturday, April 6
• National championship: Monday, April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona

Women's tournament

• First Four: Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21
• First round: Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23
• Second round: Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25
• Sweet 16: Thursday, March 29 and Friday, March 30
• Elite Eight: Sunday, March 31 and Monday, April 1
• Final Four: Friday, April 5
• National championship: Sunday, April 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio

March Madness 2024 bracket

The full NCAA tournament brackets will be revealed on Selection Sunday, so hoops fans will need to wait until then to find out all the seeds and the matchups.

For our latest projections on who our experts think will make up the field, check out this week's edition of Bracketology.

Is Selection Sunday a week later than usual?

It does feel that way. But the NCAA Final Four is always held during the first weekend in April, and this year that pushes things to their latest possible dates on the calendar.

Working backwards, with the tournament running over the course of three weekends, Selection Sunday falls on St. Patrick's Day, March 17 – which many basketball fans associate with the tourney's first weekend.

Who won March Madness tournaments last year?

Men: The Connecticut Huskies defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 76-59 at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Women: The LSU Tigers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.