Albany, led by fan favorite Peter Hooley, will be among the potential Cinderellas in the NCAA tournament. (Getty)
It’s time for office pools, bracket busters and Cinderella stories. The NCAA tournament released the NCAA tournament field Sunday, and you can download a printable bracket right here.
Just click the “download” button in the bottom-left corner of the frame and print the bracket.
Here’s a rundown of the full March Madness schedule:
Tuesday, March 17 – Wednesday, March 18 – First Four at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio
The First Four started in 2011 and refers to the number of games played.
The games are between the lowest four at-large bid teams versus the lowest four automatic bid teams. And just because they’re the lowest eight in the tournament doesn’t mean that was the case during the season.
The four victors will advance to the Round of 64.
Thursday, March 19 – Friday, March 20 – Second Round at various locations
The second round, also known as the Round of 64, is arguably the best two sports days of the year. Why? It’s when the underdogs create upsets and bracketology skills are put to the test.
It’s 32 games in 48 hours where the No. 1 teams plays the 16-ranked team, No. 2 competes against No. 15, and so on.
Saturday, March 21 – Sunday, March 22 – Third Round at various locations
The third round is the called the Round of 32. It puts the second round winners to the test because they have less than two days from their first game to prepare for their next one. Thursday’s winners play again on Saturday and Friday’s victors follow suit on Sunday.
Thursday, March 26 – Friday, March 27 – Sweet 16 at various locations
The second week of March Madness kicks off with the Sweet 16 – or regional semifinals. These are similar to the second round with four games on Thursday and four on Friday.
Saturday, March 28 – Sunday, March 29 – Elite Eight at various locations
And for the eight winners, it’s another quick turnaround. The Elite Eight games put Thursday’s winners back into action and the winners from Friday hit the hardwood again on Sunday. The four teams coming out of the Elite Eight round are considered regional champs.
Saturday, April 4 – Sunday, April 5 – Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana
The Final Four marks the last week of March Madness. Two games are played on Saturday between the regional champions, which are determined by the overall rankings of the four No. 1 seeds in the original bracket.
Monday, April 6 – National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana
The journey to the tourney comes to an end. Yes, it’s such a bittersweet night because basketball season comes to a close, but a National Champion is crowned. It all goes down on Monday, just two days after the semifinals. Two teams, one winner, and it all goes down on April 6.