Are you ready for some B-Ball?

Are you ready for some B-Ball?

2010 NCAA March Madness begins with the highly anticipated Selection Sunday official picks on March 14 when college basketball team match-ups are finally announced — followed by the opening round games on March 16.

The national championship is then determined during a month-long battle of skill, determination, and dazzling performances by top competing college teams leading up to the final four games played April 3 - 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

2010 March Madness Tickets & Venues

NCAA March Madness tickets are already on sale for top venues nationwide:

March Madness!

2010 Printable Men's
Division I Bracket

2010 Viewable Men's
Division I Bracket

2009 Printable Men's
Division I Bracket

2009 Viewable Men's
Division I Bracket

Opening Round: March 16
UD Arena, Dayton, OH

First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 18 and 20
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, RI
HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA
Spokane Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA

First and Second Rounds: Friday and Sunday, March 19 and 21
HSBC Arena, Buffalo
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
Ford Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Regionals: Thursday and Saturday, March 25 and 27
East: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
West: Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

Regionals: Friday and Sunday, March 26 and 28
Midwest: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO
South: Reliant Stadium, Houston TX

Final Four: Saturday and Monday, April 3 and 5
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

Those without tickets can keep it here for complete TV schedules - on CBS and ESPN - as 2010 March Madness draws near...

March Madness Trivia & Fun Facts

The phrase “March Madness” was coined by Henry V. Porter in 1939 to describe an Illinois high school basketball tourney. Brent Musburger first used it during NCAA coverage in 1982 causing a legal battle almost as insane as the playoffs. But everyone finally worked things out and the madness was official. There isn't a good record of who first called the playoffs "The Big Dance", but it does describe the action.

The 6 schools who have the winningest history in NCAA Division I Men's basketball are:

• UCLA with 11 championships;
• Kentucky who won the March Madness games 7 times;
• Indiana with 5 Big Dance victories;
• North Carolina outlasted all the other teams 4 times, including their championship win in 2005, and
• Duke and Kansas with 3 titles each.
• There are 8 teams that won twice and others who are trying to reach that goal this year...

Although past history is no guarantee in this Cinderella laced NCAA tournament, number one seeds have won every time in the first round for the past 16 years and number two seeds have only lost three first round games... a 95% win average.

What makes the brackets exciting are the number 13 and 14 seeds who came out winners in the first round 20 times since 1992... a sweet 16% that leads to dreams of glory. Watch for them in your brackets. Look for teams from smaller conferences or those who had a bad start to the season, but got their game on during the last weeks to pull off an invitation. A power player on a slump or injury roster who recovers can mean a lower seed for a solid team. Check out the Boston Sports Hub analysis for more stats all the way through the Final Four...

More about March Madness around the Web:

NCAA Men's Basketball - The official site for ticket information, the latest updates, scores, ranking and related pictures and feature stories, interviews and more.

NCAA Basketball - CBS Sportsline - The official network TV station with headline reports & predictions, opinion and news, plus the latest scores at a glance and key dates for major games.

Rivals.com Yahoo! NCAA Basketball - This site has all the stats, brackets, news and analysis with a few extras that may help with your bracket selections... or help you understand why your teams did - or didn't - come through for you. Experts, blogs and videos for in depth looks at the teams, coaches and players...

ESPN Mens' Basketball - Cable TV network coverage featuring picture galleries, video clips, updated blogs, along with the latest college basketball headline news & scores.

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - Wikipedia's excellent overview of March Madness with tons of stats, facts and incredible depth of trivia answers.

CollegeHoops.net - NCAA Basketball Tournament - One-stop browsing for daily news & updates, odds & predictions, how to's on winning that office pool, plus tons more on March Madness history, stats & trivia.

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History of March Madness

If you are a basket ball fanatic, you would be familiar with "March Madness" as it is popularly called. In a nutshell, it refers to basket ball competitions between scores of teams that usually takes place during the month of March. It is also sometimes known as Big Dance.

When these competitions get underway, basket ball fever grips players and sports lovers alike. This championship is conducted by NCAA or the National Collegiate Athletic Association. In fact, the phrase is a registered trademark by NCAA. The tournament is based on single elimination principle and is normally help each spring and is characterized by the thump of basket balls and the roaring of the crowds. Millions of fans watch avidly with bated breaths as this event unfolds.

March Madness traces its origins to Illinois from 1908 when it was a small affair sponsored by Illinois High School Association through invitations. Various high school boys' basket ball teams participated in this annual tournament. From those humble origins, the event grew to a statewide institution engulfing 900 schools in the competition in the late 1930s. In fact, there were several teams known as "sweet sixteen" that became popular attracting sellout crowds.

Interestingly, all this transpired before professional teams gained a foot hold in the nation. Even more surprising is the fact, this was all before television and still gripped the average fan. Obviously, the basket ball fever had transformed itself into epidemic proportions!

When did the term first appear on paper? Way back in 1939, Henry V. Porter, impressed by this sports fever wrote an essay "March Madness" which appeared in Illinois Interscholastic, an IHSA magazine. Henry Porter was an Assistant Executive Secretary of the Illinois High School Association at that time. Newspapermen caught onto it immediately and used it often in their newspapers. This finally crystallized as a popular event name during the Golden Era of 1940s and 1950s.

In 1973, the IHSA began to use the term officially through its programs and merchandising. Around 1977, an official history of the boys basket ball championship was written by Jim Enright and appeared as "March Madness: The Story of High School Basketball in Illinois". Another publication "March Madness: The Official Video History of the IHSA Basketball Tournament" followed suit in 1989. Both book and video were marketed and sold across the nation. Shortly thereafter, the IHSA trademarked the phrase as "America's Original March Madness."

At present, both NCAA and the IHSA jointly own the registered trademark of March Madness. The term is now often connected with the NCAA popularized largely by Brent Musburger during annual broadcasts of the tournament. Interestingly, in the 1960s, Intersport Inc., had actually trademarked the term before IHSA and NCAA. However, both of them bought it back.

"March Madness" is no longer confined to boys basket ball tournament and has been extended to girl's basket ball championships too by NCAA. The tournaments are regarded now as part of the national psyche that send millions of Americans into a frenzy every year.

Grab the latest March Madness Picks and College Basketball Picks. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darren_W_Chow

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2010 NCAA Tournament: March Madness Site, Venue and Ticket Information

The NCAA Tournament is the year's greatest event for couch potatoes -- there's just nothing like wall-to-wall basketball from noon to midnight.

But even if you've got one of those HDTVs the size of a stadium jumbotron, it just isn't the same as being there.

Plan your trip now and experience the 2010 NCAA Tournament in person. Ticketing information -- and the ticket lottery for Final Four ducats -- will be available in early 2009.
Opening Round: Tuesday, March 16
UD Arena, Dayton, OH Host: University of Dayton

First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 18 and 20
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA Host: Tulane University
Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, RI Host: Big East Conference/Providence College
HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA Host: San Jose State University
Spokane Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA Host: Washington State University

First and Second Rounds: Friday and Sunday, March 19 and 21
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY Host: MAAC/Canisius/Niagara
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL Host: Jacksonville University
Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI Host: Marquette
Ford Center, Oklahoma City, OK Host: Big 12 Conference

Regionals: Thursday and Saturday, March 25 and 27
East: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY Host: Syracuse University
West: Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT Host: University of Utah

Regionals: Friday and Sunday, March 26 and 28
Midwest: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO Host: Missouri Valley Conference
South: Reliant Stadium, Houston TX Host: University of Houston

Final Four: Saturday and Monday, April 3 and 5
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN Host: Butler University/Horizon League
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