Sixty-eight teams qualified for this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, as the NCAA released the tournament bracket on Sunday evening.

The tournament gets underway Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio with the First Four. Those four games will narrow the field to 64, with first round games being played on Thursday and Friday. The 64 slots were divvied into four, 16-team regionals. The four regional winners will meet on March 31 in San Antonio for the Final Four.

The 15-team ACC led all leagues with nine bids into the tournament, including No. 1 seed Virginia.

Leading the field are No. 1 seeds Xavier, Kansas, Virginia and Villanova.

Here are where the top 16 teams in the tournament are seeded:

UCLA, St. Bonaventure, Arizona State and Syracuse were the last four teams in the tournament. Notre Dame was considered the best team not picked for the NCAA Tournament, the committee chair Bruce Rasmussen said. Rasmussen said that Syracuse was the last team to make the field of 68.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL BRACKET </s> Villanova took the overall top seed on Selection Sunday, with Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga joining the defending national champions on the No. 1 line for the NCAA Tournament.

Not many surprises there, though Duke — left at No. 2 despite a four-win-in-four-night performance in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament — and Syracuse and Illinois State, who got left out altogether, may have been searching for answers.

Northwestern was plenty happy: Though it was no surprise, the Wildcats were jumping up and down, taking selfies and celebrating after being officially invited into March Madness for the first time in the program’s history. The Wildcats were seeded eighth in the West, and will open against Vanderbilt on Thursday.

With the brackets set, the action begins Tuesday and Wednesday with opening-round games that will include matchups between the last at-large teams invited into the draw: No. 11 seeds Providence vs. Southern California and Kansas State vs. Wake Forest.

The Final Four is April 1 and 3 in Phoenix. Villanova, which won the title last year on a buzzer-beating jump shot by Kris Jenkins, will open its quest for back-to-back titles against the winner of an opening-round game between New Orleans and Mount Saint Mary’s.

— Wichita State, ranked 20th in the nation in the latest Associated Press poll, was given a No. 10 seed.

— Syracuse, a controversial bubble team that made it to the Final Four last year, was left out this time — its 84 ranking in the RPI and lack of solid road wins dooming its hopes.

— North Carolina got top seeding over Duke despite losing two of three to the Blue Devils, including in the ACC Tournament.

— Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Conference was left out, as the selection committee again mainly shunned the little guys, giving all four of the final bubble spots to teams from the six biggest conferences.

Early candidate for toughest region: The South, with North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA and Butler the top four seeds. </s> For the first time in the history of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, a 16-seed team has defeated a top seed. No. 16 seed UMBC dominated No. 1 seed Virginia 74-54 on Friday.

Friday's upset marks the first time in 136 games that a No. 1 seed lost in the first round. Not only was Virginia considered one of four No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers were considered the top overall seed after a 31-2 season.

The average 1 seed wins their first-round matchup by 25 points.

Virginia's basketball program is no stranger to being part of major upsets. In 1982, No. 1-ranked Virginia lost to Chaminade, then a member of the NAIA. The upset spurred the annual Thanksgiving-week Maui Invitational tournament, hosted by Chaminade. </s> March 12 (The Sports Xchange) - Defending champion Villanova was the overall top seed and one of four number one seeds in the NCAA basketball tournament field announced on Sunday.

The Wildcats (31-3), who beat Creighton in the Big East tournament championship game on Saturday, will play in the East Regional.

The other number one seeds were Kansas (28-4) in the Midwest, Gonzaga (32-1) in the West and North Carolina (27-7) in the South.

The 68-team NCAA men's tournament, nicknamed March Madness, begins on Tuesday with the championship game on April 3.

Kansas won the Big 12 regular-season championship before being upset by TCU in the conference tournament.

Gonzaga, the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament champion, lost only to Brigham Young this year.

North Carolina won the Atlantic Coast regular-season title before losing to Duke in the ACC tournament semi-finals.

In the East bracket, the other top four seeds after Villanova were number two Duke (27-8), number three Baylor (25-7) and number four Florida (24-8).

In the West, seeded behind Gonzaga were Arizona (30-4), Florida State (25-8) and West Virginia (26-8).

The South top four seeds included number two Kentucky (29-5), number three UCLA (29-4) and number four Butler (23-8).

In the Midwest, the second through fourth seeds were Louisville (24-8), Oregon (29-5) and Purdue (25-7).

Northwestern (23-11) made the NCAA field for the first time in school history. The Wildcats were the number eight seed in the West Regional. </s> For pure drama, best wait 'til the shots start flying.

Though it was no surprise when that school's name popped into the NCAA Tournament bracket, it was a reminder that, yes, this is March Madness — that time of year where anything can happen. The Wildcats, longtime losers in the Big Ten, were officially invited to the tournament for the first time in school history, and the group-hugging, selfie-taking reaction from the players (and others) when their name came up showed how much the accomplishment really meant.

"When I came here four years ago, it was a belief in a day like today," said coach Chris Collins, whose team won 23 games on its way to the tournament.

Another set of Wildcats — the ones from Villanova — were given the tournament's top overall seed. The defending champions were joined by Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga on the "1'' line — a quartet that produced very little in the way of head scratching.

With the brackets set, the action begins Tuesday and Wednesday with opening-round games that will include matchups between the last at-large teams invited into the draw: No. 11 seeds Providence vs. Southern California and Kansas State vs. Wake Forest.

The tournament gets into full swing Thursday, with the Final Four set for April 1 and 3 in Phoenix. Villanova, which won the title last year on a buzzer-beating jump shot by Kris Jenkins, will open its quest for back-to-back titles against the winner of an opening-round game between New Orleans and Mount Saint Mary's.

"I want the guys to enjoy it tonight, and then tomorrow, we're just one of 68 teams," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.

Though Kansas was the overall second seed, it opened as the favorite in Las Vegas, at 8-1. North Carolina and Villanova were next at 9-1, followed by Gonzaga, Duke and Kentucky at 10-1.

Overall, the bracket produced more small quibbles than true blockbusters.

If there was any debate about the top, it was about whether Duke (27-8) really belonged as a No. 1 instead of a No. 2, which is where it ended up. The Blue Devils won four games in four nights at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, and have beaten the rival Tar Heels (27-7) twice. But Mark Hollis, the chair of the selection committee, beat back that debate quickly, telling the commentators on CBS (who dragged out the bracket reveal for more than a half hour) that Duke entered the week as a No. 4 seed. </s> The Wildcats are headed to the March Madness final! Villanova and Kentucky faced off in the Final Four, and after an intense game, it was Villanova who took home the win!

This might have been the most anticipated game in the entire 2018 NCAA Men’s Division I basketball tournament. It was a clash between the last remaining No. 1 seeds. On one side of the court stood the Villanova Wildcats, the 2016 March Madness champions. On the other side were the Kansas Jayhawks a squad looking to return to the finale for the first time since 2012. In the end, Villenova come out on top, winning 95-79!

From the beginning it looked like trouble for the Jayhawks. Villanova went on a 9-0 run in the first half, which ended when Kansas called a time out. And frankly it’s been a while since a NCAA team has put away as many 3-point shots as the Wildcats on Saturday, March 31. They sunk 13 of 26 attempts in the first half alone. Ultimately they connected 18 triples, setting a new Final Four record. Although Kansas continued to pivot while attempting to keep up, Villanova simply dominated on the court — with a lead that went as high as 22.

And so ends the March Madness dreams for another Number 1 seed team. The 2018 tournament kicked off with one of the favorites to win, the University of Virginia, falling to the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. UMBC bounced the Cavaliers, breaking what had to be a billion brackets. Xavier made it through the first round, but fell to Florida State in the second. Kansas had no trouble eliminating Penn State in the opening round. Things were a bit closer when the Jayhawks faced Seton Hall in the second, but they got past, 83-79. The results were similar when Kansas sent Clemson packing, bouncing the Tigers back to South Carolina. The Jayhawks barely got by Duke, surviving a nail-biting quarterfinal match that went into overtime.

On the opposite end, Villanova pretty much cruised to this spot. They blew past Radford, Alabama, West Virginia and Texas Tech, winning all games by double digits. The closest challenge they had was a 90-78 victory over West Virginia, indicating how many suddenly though the title was Villanova’s to lose.

Going into this semi, many saw these two teams as being evenly matched. “They both have older players, no one-and-dones,” Penn state coach Steve Donahue said in a phone interview with the Philly Inquirer. “Whoever shoots the ball well from three will probably win the game because they both really can shoot it They are very similar teams, great coaching, good defensively but not great. They are really good offensive teams.” Villanova was leading the nation in scoring ahead of this game, averaging 86.6 points per game, while Kansas was 29th with 81.4 ppg. Now, basketball fans will have to wait until April 2, when March Madness comes to a close. </s> The stage is set, and so are the brackets. The Road to the Final Four starts Tuesday with the First Four playing in Dayton, Ohio.

The top seed in the tournament is the University of Virginia Cavaliers. Villanova, Xavier and Kansas are top seeded in the East, West and Midwest brackets.

Virginia Tech garners a No. 8 seed and will face the No. 9 seeded Alabama Thursday at 9:20 p.m. This is the second year in a row the Hokies have made the tournament.

The Virginia Cavaliers will face the UMBC Retrievers Friday at 9:20 p.m.

The Duke Blue Devils will enter the tournament as a 2 seed and will play Iona Thursday at 2:45 p.m.

The UNC Tarheels picked up a 2 seed and will play Lipscomb on Friday at 2:45 p.m.

The NC State Wolkpack will play as a 9 seed in this year’s tournament, which will mark its first time back to the NCAA tourney since the 2014-15 season. They will play Seton Hall Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Fill out a bracket here with News 3 for a chance to win money: Hoops Pickem

Fill out brackets with CBS Sports here: CBS Sports Bracket challenges

Print your bracket out here: CBS Sports blank bracket </s> For pure drama, best wait until the shots start flying.

Though it was no surprise when that school's name popped into the NCAA Tournament bracket, it was a reminder that, yes, this is March Madness -- that time of year where anything can happen. The Wildcats, longtime losers in the Big Ten, were officially invited to the tournament for the first time in school history, and the group-hugging, selfie-taking reaction from the players (and others) when their name came up showed how much the accomplishment really meant.

"When I came here four years ago, it was a belief in a day like today," said Coach Chris Collins, whose team won 23 games on its way to the tournament.

Another set of Wildcats -- the ones from Villanova -- were given the tournament's top overall seed. The defending champions were joined by Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga on the "1" line -- a quartet that produced very little in the way of head scratching.

With the brackets set, the action begins Tuesday and Wednesday with opening-round games that will include matchups between the last at-large teams invited into the draw: No. 11 seeds Providence vs. Southern California and Kansas State vs. Wake Forest.

The tournament gets into full swing Thursday, with the Final Four set for April 1 and 3 in Phoenix. Villanova, which won the title last year on a buzzer-beating jump shot by Kris Jenkins, will open its quest for back-to-back titles against the winner of an opening-round game between New Orleans and Mount Saint Mary's.

"I want the guys to enjoy it tonight, and then tomorrow, we're just one of 68 teams," Villanova Coach Jay Wright said.

Though Kansas was the overall second seed, it opened as the favorite in Las Vegas, at 8-1. North Carolina and Villanova were next at 9-1, followed by Gonzaga, Duke and Kentucky at 10-1.

Overall, the bracket produced more small quibbles than true blockbusters.

If there was any debate about the top, it was about whether Duke (27-8) really belonged as a No. 1 instead of a No. 2, which is where it ended up. The Blue Devils won four games in four nights at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, and have beaten the rival Tar Heels (27-7) twice. But Mark Hollis, the chair of the selection committee, beat back that debate quickly, telling the commentators on CBS that Duke entered the week as a No. 4 seed.

And though the Blue Devils kept winning over the weekend, "they got stopped on the way by teams that won both their regular-season and conference tournaments [Kentucky and Arizona] and they were never compared to teams on the No. 1 line," Hollis said.

Teams that didn't make it off the bubble included Syracuse and Illinois State.

Syracuse was vulnerable because of its 84th ranking in the RPI and 2-11 record on the road. Still, the Orange ouster was notable because of the outcry when Jim Boeheim's team made the field with a similarly mediocre resume last year -- then made it all the way to the Final Four.

"Last year, we had the same number of losses [14] and the committee chose to go with teams that had wins," said Boeheim, whose team's losses this season included blowouts against lower-division St. Johns and Boston College. "This year, it was virtually the same committee but they were emphasizing the losses you had."

Illinois State's chances took a blow when it lost to Wichita State by 20 in the final of the Missouri Valley Conference. Also, it turns out Wichita State wasn't as highly regarded as many suspected -- the 20th-ranked team in the latest Associated Press poll only got a No. 10 seed.

Kentucky Coach John Calipari, whose Wildcats could face Wichita State in the second round, re-emphasized a point he made last year.

"When you mis-seed somebody, it hurts the seeds above them," he said. "You put a team at '8' that shouldn't be there, and the '1' looks at it like, 'Why are we playing this team?'"

With never-ending realignment turning more mid-major programs into true majors, the number of so-called little guys making the tournament continues to decline -- even if you do count Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference as one of those.

Led by the ACC with nine teams, then the Big East and Big Ten with seven each, the six biggest conferences took 32 of the 36 at-large spots this year. </s> The 2017 NCAA tournament field is set. The bracket was released Sunday evening. Villanova is the top overall seed, followed by Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga on the top line. Here is the entire bracket:

[Fill out your NCAA tournament bracket here | Printable version]

Villanova will be the 1-seed in the East regional after capping off a 31-3 season with Big East regular-season and tournament titles. The Wildcats are the defending national champion, and with five key players back from last year’s squad, Jay Wright’s team looks like a prime contender to repeat.

Kansas will head to the Midwest regional as the second 1-seed. The Jayhawks won a 13th straight Big 12 regular season title, topping the conference standings by a whopping four games. If they advance to the Sweet 16, they’ll be accompanied by a large contingent of their own fans in Kansas City.

North Carolina claimed the third 1-seed despite an ACC semifinal loss to Duke. The Tar Heels, however, won the regular season crown by two games, and went 27-7 overall against an extremely tough schedule. Wins over Duke, Louisville, Virginia, Notre Dame, Florida State and Wisconsin kept UNC on the top line over other contenders.

The fourth No. 1 went to Gonzaga despite competition from Duke and Arizona. The Bulldogs very nearly completed an unbeaten regular season, but lost their final game to BYU. They rebounded to bulldoze their way through the West Coast Conference tournament, though, and the committee felt their body of work merited a second 1-seed in five years.

Duke’s late charge failed to earn it a No. 1-seed. The Blue Devils won four games in four days at the ACC tournament in Brooklyn, beating Louisville, North Carolina and Notre Dame along the way. They stayed on the 2-seed line, however, and will head to the East region where they could match up with Villanova in the Elite Eight.

Below are all the matchups. The East champion will meet the West champion in the Final Four, while the South champion will meet the winner of the Midwest.

Here is the full 1-through-68 seed list. Kansas State and USC were the last two teams in:
The field for the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament is announced. The top overall seed is Virginia, with Villanova, Kansas, and Xavier as the other #1 seeds.