2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2018–19 season. The 81st annual edition of the tournament began on March 19, 2019, and concluded with the championship game on April 8, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Virginia Cavaliers, with Virginia winning 85–77 in overtime.
Two schools made their first appearances in the tournament: Big South champion Gardner–Webb and Southland champion Abilene Christian.
For the first time since 2001 (also hosted in Minneapolis), no #8 seed survived the first round of the tournament. This was also the first time since the First Four was established in 2011 that no team in the First Four advanced past the first round of the tournament. This was the first Final Four since 2012 that did not include at least one team seeded #7 or lower.
This tournament marked the first time that the Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference and the Texas Tech Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference made the Final Four. This also marked the third Final Four appearance for the Virginia Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference, but their first since 1984.
The championship game was the first time since 1979 to see two first-time participants playing in the championship, and the first since 2006 to have a first-time national champion. As a result of a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic that started in late 2019 and subsequently forced the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, this would be the last tournament held until 2021, and this would be also the last tournament held across the United States until 2022.
Carsen Edwards of Purdue was the leading scorer, with 139 points in only 4 games—producing an average of 34.8 points per game. Edwards also set the record for most made three-point shots in a tournament, with 28. The previous record holder, Glen Rice of Michigan in 1989, made 27, but did so in 6 games.
In the previous year's tournament, Virginia had infamously become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed. At the conclusion of this year's title game, CBS announcer Jim Nantz dubbed Virginia's win the "all-time turnaround title."
A total of 68 teams entered the 2019 tournament. Thirty-two automatic bids were awarded to each program that won their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids were "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Eight teams (the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams) played in the First Four (the successor to what had been popularly known as "play-in games" through the 2010 tournament). The winners of these games advanced to the main draw of the tournament.
The Selection Committee seeded the entire field from 1 to 68.
The selections and seedings were completed and revealed on Sunday, March 17.
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 2019 tournament:
First Four
First and second rounds (Subregionals)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)
U.S. Bank Stadium became the 40th venue to host the Final Four. This was the first hosting of the event at the facility, built on the former site of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a two-time host in 1992 and 2001. The tournament returned to Hartford's XL Center for the first time since 1998. For the first time since 1970, the tournament returned to Columbia, South Carolina, with games played at the Colonial Life Arena.
Four teams, out of 353 in Division I, were ineligible to participate in the 2019 tournament; Alabama A&M and Florida A&M failed to meet APR requirements, while California Baptist and North Alabama are amidst reclassification from Division II.
The tournament seeds and regions were determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process.
*See First Four
The First Four games involved eight teams: the four overall lowest-ranked teams, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams.
Per the NCAA, "Upsets are defined as when the winner of the game was seeded five or more places lower than the team it defeated." There were five upsets during the whole tournament, and all of them were in the first round.
CBS Sports and Turner Sports (via TBS, TNT, and truTV) had U.S. television rights to the tournament. As part of a cycle than began in 2016, CBS televised the 2019 Final Four and championship game.
In response to criticism over TBS's handling of the selection show in 2018 (which featured an unconventional two-hour format where all the qualifying teams were first revealed in alphabetical order before the matchups were actually unveiled, and had viewership fall by 52% partly due to it also being aired on cable rather than CBS), it was announced that CBS's selection show would revert to an hour-long format, and prioritize unveiling the bracket. CNN president Jeff Zucker, who had also become head of WarnerMedia's sports properties after a reorganization, explained that "it's a sign of understanding when things don't necessarily go as well as you would hope you change it. So there's no shame in that. At the end of the day, you have to give the fans what they want." The show attracted its highest viewership since 2014 and averaged a 4.0 share on Nielsen overnight ratings.
ESPN International had international rights to the tournament. Coverage uses CBS/Turner play-by-play teams until the Final Four.
Westwood One had exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.
Live video of games was available for streaming through the following means:
In addition, the March Madness app offered Fast Break, whiparound coverage of games similar to NFL RedZone.
Live audio of games was available for streaming through the following means:
#16 seed Gardner–Webb's season and appearance in the tournament became the subject of a documentary titled The Dancin' Bulldogs, released on October 16, 2020.