Notre Dame and Mississippi State face off in a battle of No. 1 seeds in the NCAA women's basketball national championship game on Sunday, April 1, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan and Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale (24) reach for the ball during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame's Jackie Young and Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan (15) tip off the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame's Jessica Shepard, left, and Mississippi State's Blair Schaefer reach for a loose ball during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians (35) and Notre Dame's Kathryn Westbeld (33) reach for a rebound during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Roshunda Johnson (11) is defended by Notre Dame's Marina Mabrey (3) during the first half in the final of the women's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame's Kathryn Westbeld and Kristina Nelson greet fans as they arrive for the final against Mississippi State of the NCAA Final Four women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband, Matt McGraw, arrive for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer arrives for the championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. </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.

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Print your bracket out here: CBS Sports blank bracket </s> 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> (AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State's Victoria Vivians greets fans as the team arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame's Arike Ogunbowale arrives for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer arrives for the championship game against Notre Dame in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

(AP Photo/Ron Schwane). Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband, Matt McGraw, arrive for the team's championship game against Mississippi State in the Final Four of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Columb...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Mississippi State and Notre Dame have arrived in style, walking the red carpet into the arena a few hours before the women's basketball NCAA championship game.

The Bulldogs are looking for their first national championship in school history, while the Irish are trying to win their second - 17 years to the day after Muffet McGraw's team won the program's only title.

Both teams advanced to Sunday's title game with thrilling overtime victories in the Final Four.

The Irish will need to find a way to slow down Mississippi State center Teaira McCowan, who set a national semifinals record with 25 rebounds.

The game has been sold out for a month, and dozens of scalpers were outside looking for tickets hours before tipoff.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> For the 12th year in a row, the Connecticut Huskies are the top seed in the women’s NCAA tournament.

The Huskies are joined on the top line by Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville. The 2017 champion, South Carolina, is a No. 2 seed in UConn’s region.

Oklahoma is the lowest-seeded at-large in the field after sneaking in with a 16–14 record. Other bubble teams to earn selection include Buffalo and Creighton, both No. 11 seeds. Rutgers (20–12), USC (20–11) and West Virginia (21–11) were on the wrong side of the bubble.

Games begin Friday, March 16, at noon. UConn’s first game is Saturday at 11 a.m. against St. Francis (Pa.).

The regional finals will be played in Albany, Spokane, Kansas City and Lexington, Ky. The Final Four is in Columbus, Ohio, with the championship game on April 1. </s> SELECTION Sunday is over, so the seeds are in.

March Madness is here, and there’s no question we’re in for another exciting NCAA Tournament.

Here’s the full field of 68 for the Big Dance.

EIGHT AUSTRALIANS TO TAKE PART IN 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT

Check out the full field here with the Fox Sports US interactive bracket.

LAST FOUR IN: UCLA, St. Bonaventure, Arizona State, Syracuse.

The NCAA Tournament begins on Wednesday (AEDT), with the First Four matchups. </s> The Spartans are in the NCAA Tournament for the 21st consecutive year.

Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo always says he hopes to "win the weekend" in the NCAA Tournament. He hasn't been able to do that the past two years, getting knocked out in first and second rounds.

Izzo clearly knows how to win this time of year, though. He's won 47 NCAA Tournament games, a total that ties John Wooden for seventh on the all-time list.

North Carolina's resume earned the reigning national champion Tar Heels a No. 2 seed and a home-state opener despite having 10 losses.

The Tar Heels (25-10) open Friday in the West Region against 15-seed Lipscomb in Charlotte.

UNC is 33-1 in NCAA Tournament games in its home state, with the only loss in 1979.

The Tar Heels entered Sunday fourth in RPI and had a nation-best 14 Quadrant 1 wins, two more than any other team. That included two wins over Duke, a win at Tennessee, a home win against eventual Big Ten Tournament champ Michigan and a neutral-court win against Ohio State.

UNC won nine of 11 games before falling to top-ranked Virginia in Saturday's ACC title game.

The Midwest looks like the bracket of death with No. 1 seed Kansas opening up in Wichita. The No. 2 seed is Duke, with Michigan State at No. 3. Those three have combined for 39 Final Four appearances.

Oh, and Auburn is the No. 4 seed after earning the top seed in the SEC Tournament.

The first four teams out of the field were Baylor, Saint Mary's, USC and Notre Dame, while the Fighting Irish and Bonzie Colson were left out when Davidson won its conference tournament and forced Rhode Island into taking an at-large bid.

Syracuse was the last team into the field.

The No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament are Virginia, Villanova, Kansas and Xavier with the top-ranked Cavaliers getting preferential seeding in the South Region.

The first four games in Dayton, Ohio, will be LIU-Brooklyn against Radford and St. Bonaventure against UCLA on Tuesday night, and North Carolina Central against Texas Southern and Arizona State against Syracuse on Wednesday night.

Among the intriguing early matchups is No. 8 seed Creighton and its star, Marcus Foster, against ninth-seeded Kansas State. Foster began his career with the Wildcats.

Bubble bursts. Here's who is out of the 68-team field:

Notre Dame had a seven-game losing streak while preseason All-American Bonzie Colson was out injured and couldn't do enough by the time he returned.

Louisville had a chaotic season mired by the firings of coach Rick Pitino and AD Tom Jurich amid the FBI case.

Saint Mary's lacked high-quality victories, but it's tough on a West Coast Conference team to get those opportunities.

Nebraska won 22 games and went 13-5 in Big Ten, but was 1-6 against quadrant-1 teams.

Oklahoma State beat Kansas twice and had victories against Texas Tech and West Virginia. The Cowboys also lost an assistant coach in the FBI scandal.

Baylor lost four of five down the stretch to play itself out.

Middle Tennessee made its first Top 25 appearance and dominated the Conference USA regular season, but came up short in the conference tournament.

USC was seeded second in the Pac-12 Tournament and lost the conference final.

The Atlantic Coast Conference leads the way with nine teams in the field.

There will be a couple of major differences for the NCAA Tournament selection show.

First, it will be broadcast by TBS, not CBS, the longtime network home of the tournament. CBS and Turner Sports have partnered on the tournament since 2011, but this is the first time the selection show will be on the cable-only network. It still starts at 6 p.m. EDT.

Second, the show will begin with all 68 teams revealed before they bracket is filled and matchups unveiled. TBS and CBS officials have said that will happen in the first 10 minutes of the show.

That means bubble teams such as Louisville, Arizona State, Syracuse and Saint Mary's won't have quite as long to find out whether they are in or out of the field of 68.

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament is here and teams sweating out the wait until the brackets are revealed got bad news from the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Davidson beat Rhode Island in the A-10 tournament championship game Sunday to steal an at-large bid. Top-seeded and No. 25 Rhode Island looked like a lock to get into the field of 68 no matter what happened Sunday. But Davidson's only hope was to win the conference tournament — and Stephen Curry's alma mater did just that. For bubble teams such as Arizona State, Louisville, Syracuse, Baylor, Marquette and St. Mary's, that's a problem.

Penn won the Ivy League to earn an automatic bid Sunday, and so did Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

By The Associated Press </s> ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The University of Alaska Anchorage says the 40th Great Alaska Shootout will be the last edition of the long-running college basketball tournament.

Chancellor Sam Gingerich said Thursday that the university can no longer sustain funding for the annual Thanksgiving week tournament.

The shootout began in 1978 and is the longest-running regular-season college basketball tournament.

The event brought the highest level of basketball competition to Alaska, with appearances in the men's bracket by Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA and other perennial national contenders.

In recent years, as early-season tournaments multiplied, top teams chose warmer venues.

The 2017 GCI Great Alaska Shootout begins Nov. 21 with the four-team women's tournament. The field includes Binghamton, Tulsa, Maryland Eastern Shore and host Alaska-Anchorage.

The men's tournament begins Nov. 22 with Cal Poly, Central Michigan, College of Charleston, CSU Bakersfield, Idaho, Sam Houston State, Santa Clara and host Alaska-Anchorage. </s> It took 13 minutes of TBS's annoying "Price Is Right"-style selection show to "unveil" the 68-team NCAA tournament field Sunday night, during which several messages became clear. First, mid-majors need not bother playing difficult schedules early in the season because if you are from a so-called one-bid conference, a tough schedule and a first-place regular-season finish will get you nothing more than a home game in the NIT unless you win your conference tournament. Second, even though the West Coast Conference produced a team that played for the national title last season, the selection committee still considers it a one-bid league - unless Gonzaga fails to win the conference tournament. St. Mary's won 28 games and won at Gonzaga - and is headed to the NIT. Third, if there is any way at all to get Syracuse into the tournament, the committee will find it. Few fan bases travel better. Orange fans will even go to Dayton, Ohio. And fourth, the notion that losing a star player for a large chunk of the season but getting him back is taken into account is a myth. Ask Notre Dame, Mike Brey and Bonzie Colson. Then, finally, they got to the brackets. There will be plenty of enjoyable games here, but the last snip of net will end up in Tony Bennett's hands. This is Virginia's year — finally — to go back to the Final Four for the first time since 1984, the year after Ralph Sampson graduated. The Cavaliers teased a lot of teams during the regular season because their style will allow a good team to stay close. But you have to play a full 40 minutes; not even 39:59 will do, as Louisville can tell you in detail as it prepares for the NIT. The Cavaliers will open Friday in Charlotte against UMBC, one of the best stories in the tournament. The Retrievers are coached by Ryan Odom, who spent much of his boyhood in Charlottesville where his dad, Dave, was a Virginia assistant during the Sampson era. Odom took over at UMBC before last season, after the Retrievers had won 41 games in seven seasons combined. They have now won 45 in the past two, including Saturday's stunning upset of Vermont in the America East final. Jairus Lyles can score from anywhere, and 5-foot-6 point guard K.J. Maura is an absolute pest. If the Retrievers can make three-pointers, they can hang with the Cavaliers — just not for 40 minutes. The Cavaliers will get the Creighton-Kansas State winner, and that game won't be close. Sorry, Bluejays. At least you'll win a round. The matchups in Boise, Idaho, are fascinating. Kentucky may blow out Davidson or, if Peyton Aldridge and mates can somehow control the pace, they could make John Calipari's future NBA draft picks nervous. The winner almost certainly gets Arizona, although Buffalo's Nate Oats is a terrific coach. The selection committee was in wildcat mode when it put four in the same region: Kentucky, Davidson, Arizona, Kansas State. Cincinnati opens against Georgia State in Nashville and no doubt will pull for Nevada to beat Texas there. A Shaka Smart team in March can be very dangerous. Ask Kansas circa 2011. If there's one team Virginia might not want to play coming from the bottom of the bracket, it is Tennessee. The Volunteers are as athletic as Kentucky, and Rick Barnes has been an underrated coach for most of 30 years. It's sheer coincidence that the Vols are in the same region with Texas, where Barnes coached for 17 years. Miami against Loyola is a terrific first-round matchup and will be a popular upset pick. The Ramblers are in the tournament for the first time in 33 years, but it's tough to pick against Jim Larranaga facing a lower-seeded team with several days to prepare. Either team is capable of upsetting Tennessee after the Vols take care of Wright State. Who goes to Atlanta? Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas. Kentucky's speed and size against Virginia's discipline will be fascinating to watch - so would Arizona vs. Virginia if those Wildcats advance - and the winner of that game will go to San Antonio. The committee did Virginia no favors with this bracket but this is their time. I think.

One of the first questions asked on Selection Sunday is always this: Which of the No. 1 seeds is most vulnerable to an early upset? Usually everyone gets it wrong. This year's pick is Xavier, which probably bodes well for the Musketeers, who play with fire on an almost nightly basis. The final score is all that matters and Xavier was 28-5. But the Musketeers do appear beatable, no matter how good Trevon Bluiett may be. Plus, North Carolina may be the toughest No. 2 seed in the field. Carolina is 11-1 in the past two tournaments and is loaded with experience and a three-time national championship coach. Chicago Tribune writers make their predictions for the 2018 NCAA tournament. Xavier gets the North Carolina Central-Texas Southern winner in its opener in Nashville. The selection committee broke precedent by sending both champions from the conferences comprised of Historically Black Colleges and Universities to Dayton. Typically, it has been one or the other. Now, they have to face each other. Xavier should handle the winner. Xavier will face the Florida State-Missouri winner in the second round. The Seminoles have been less-than-sterling outside of Tallahassee this winter, but Missouri is the tournament's mystery team because no one knows how Michael Porter will play in his second, and perhaps last, college game. He has had quite a career so far. North Carolina will open against Lipscomb, which is in the tournament for the first time. The Tar Heels should handle either Texas A&M or Providence in the second round, although if you let the Friars hang around they can make your life miserable. The hottest team in this region is Michigan, which again won four games to win the Big Ten tournament and closed on a hot streak even before then. The Wolverines should handle Montana and Houston, a good team that ought to beat surprise Mountain West winner San Diego State. Michigan-North Carolina in the sweet 16 would be a rematch of a long ago sweet 16 game in which the Wolverines took out the Tar Heels. The year was 1989. Michigan went on to win the national title. It hasn't happened since. Xavier should make it to Los Angeles, if only because of a favorable draw. Waiting there will be Gonzaga or Ohio State. The Buckeyes were the surprise team in the Big Ten this season and probably were delighted when Penn State didn't make the field, because the Nittany Lions were responsible for three of their eight losses. The Buckeyes likely will have to get past Gonzaga — if the Zags can beat UNC-Greensboro (coached by Carolina alum Wes Miller). Mark Few lost two underclassmen to the NBA and two seniors from last year's national finalist and is stil 30-4. Man can coach. Either one of those teams will be tough for Xavier in the round of 16, but it says here the winner will come out of the Michigan-Carolina matchup. That skeptical prediction should make Chris Mack sleep much better this week. Villanova deservedly got the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament and a trip to Pittsburgh on the way to Boston as the top seed the East. Once they get through the Radford-LIU Brooklyn winner Thursday, the Wildcats will face the winner of Virginia Tech-Alabama. The Hokies beat Duke late in the season but almost no one else down the stretch, which is why they dropped to a No. 8 seed. Alabama didn't deserve to be in the field until it beat Auburn in the SEC tournament. The Crimson Tide's Collin Sexton is a star, but Virginia Tech's the better team. Wichita State, which never got much respect from the committee while in the Missouri Valley Conference, got a lot more coming out of the American Athletic Conference, getting the No. 4 seed. It should get past Marshall and then have a donnybrook against No. 5 seed West Virginia, which has one of the most underrated players in the country in Jevon Carter. He can guard almost anyone. Dallas also will be a fun place to be because whoever wins the UCLA-St. Bonaventure game in Dayton, Ohio — The Bonnies are in Dayton, but not Oklahoma? Seriously? — will make for an entertaining game against No. 6 seed Florida, a hot-and-cold team with the kind of guards a team needs to win in March. No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin is another school with tournament chops, and it will bring plenty of fans to Dallas to see it play No. 3 seed Texas Tech. Arkansas and Butler meet in Detroit to play No. 2 seed Purdue, which will handle Cal State Fullerton and should reach the round of 16 if only because Isaac Haas may be the world's largest human and he can play.

Villanova has to be the favorite in Boston — the Wildcats reached Jay Wright's first Final Four coming out of there in 2009 — but a game against West Virginia in the round of 16 would be memorable. Florida is the sleeper. It reached a regional final a year ago and has those guards and a good young coach in Mike White. The Gators are either very good or very bad. Purdue is just the opposite: solid and consistent. No doubt many would love to see Kansas and Duke meet in the Midwest Region final: Two blue-blood programs, two Hall of Fame coaches and, of course, college basketball's favorite villain, Grayson Allen. It's not going to happen. Kansas will play its first two games in Wichita, which isn't Allen Fieldhouse, but may feel like it to Penn on Thursday. The Quakers will run on the court, look around and say, "Toto, we're not in the Palestra anymore." Instead, they'll be in Kansas — playing Kansas. Not good. But having not played in the tournament since 2007, Penn will be very happy to be there — even if it will be for just a couple of hours. Kansas also should get past the winner of North Carolina State-Seton Hall in the second round. The Wolfpack is more dangerous but is also more apt to no-show against the Pirates. Duke gets to go to Pittsburgh to play Iona and, believe me, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski is happy to be somewhere other than Charlotte, where North Carolina fans show up to root against the Blue Devils. The selection committee apparently mixed up their Hurleys because the second-round matchup potentially will feature Rhode Island's Danny instead of Arizona State's Bobby, who helped Krzyzewski win two national titles a quarter-century ago. Rhode Island gets Trae Young in the first round. He will bring the rest of his Oklahoma teammates with him to Pittsburgh, though that hardly seems necessary. The Sooners are in the tournament for one reason: Young, who led the country in scoring and assists. The TV types can't lose in Pittsburgh's second round: It will either get Young vs. Duke's Marvin Bagley or Krzyzewski vs. Bobby Hurley's younger brother. Bobby Hurley himself, whose team faded badly after a soaring start, goes to Dayton to play Syracuse with the winner likely to beat TCU. Michigan State gets to go to Detroit but one wonders what Tom Izzo did to the committee. The Spartans were 29-4 and won the Big Ten regular season title. They should have been in play for a No. 1 seed but instead got dropped to a No. 3 and a first-round match against a veteran, well-coached Bucknell team. That game is not a walkover. If MSU reaches Omaha, it may run into Duke. Krzyzewki is 8-1 against his good friend Izzo. Still, this just doesn't feel like a Duke team that's going deep. There's the zone; there's the inconsistency; there's all that swirls around Allen, fairly or unfairly. Auburn has the talent to challenge Kansas if it gets past Clemson or New Mexico State in the second round. The Tigers are back in the tournament for the first time in seven years but were done no favors with a first-round game against the 28-win Aggies. Dark horse in the region? Rhode Island, which could take out Duke out in the second round. This feels like a Kansas-Michigan State final. Says here the Spartans are under-valued. The three best bets to win the 2018 NCAA tournament » Breaking down each region in the NCAA tournament: Teams, players and games to watch »
The 2018 NCAA tournament begins, with the First Four starting in Dayton, Ohio.