March Madness is scheduled to begin on March 16, 2025, with Selection Sunday. March Madness is a tournament that crowns the college basketball national champions in the final game. The initial structure was eight teams divided into two geographic areas, growing to 16 teams in 1951. The tournament was known as the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) until the NCAA changed the rules in 1971. Later in 1975, they permitted multiple teams from each conference. The sport grew to 32 teams in 1975, 40 teams in 1979, and 48 in 1980, with seeding introduced in 1978. In 1985, the March Madness tournament expanded to 64 teams, eliminating byes and introducing a six-game championship series.
The Final Four games have been played in football stadiums since 1996. The tournament was expanded to 65 teams in 2001 and then to 68 in 2011, adding the First Four play-in games. The seeding changed in 2004, favoring the top-ranked teams to achieve competitive balance. The March Madness has featured a single-elimination structure, with several upsets. ‘Final Four’ became an official name in the 1980s, followed by Selection Sunday, which was first televised in 1982. The tournament gained more attention when CBS/Turner undertook the media coverage in 2011.
Highest score in March Madness history
The all-time highest-scoring NCAA tournament game happened in 1990, when Loyola Marymount (LMU) defeated Michigan by 149-115, with a total of 264 combined points. Leading the scoreline was Jeff Fryer, scoring 41 points and making 11 three-pointers, to which Bo Kimble added another 37 points. Michigan, the reigning champions, had six future NBA players in their lineup, but could not get past the line (via ESPN). As of March 2025, this game is the highest-scoring game in March Madness history. Here is a table featuring the top five highest-scoring games in tournament history, as per the NCAA:
| Rank | Total | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Score | Year | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 264 | No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount | 149 | No. 3 seed Michigan | 115 | 1990 | Second round |
| 2 | 234 | No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount | 119 | No. 7 seed Wyoming | 115 | 1988 | First round |
| 3 | 232 | No. 1 seed UNLV | 131 | No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount | 101 | 1990 | Elite Eight |
| 4 | 221 | No. 5 seed Arkansas | 120 | No. 12 seed Loyola Marymount | 101 | 1989 | First round |
| 5 | 220 | No. 2 seed UNC | 123 | No. 10 seed Loyola Marymount | 97 | 1988 | Second round |
| 6 | 216 | No. 7 seed West Virginia | 111 | No. 2 seed Wake Forest | 105 | 2005 | Second round |
| 7 | 214 | No. 12 seed Tulsa | 112 | No. 5 seed UCLA | 102 | 1994 | First round |
| T8 | 207 | No. 1 seed Duke | 104 | No. 2 seed Kentucky | 103 | 1992 | Elite Eight |
| T8 | 207 | No. 5 seed Tennessee | 121 | No. 12 seed Long Beach State | 86 | 2007 | First round |
| T10 | 206 | No. 1 seed UNC | 109 | No. 9 seed Michigan | 97 | 1987 | Second round |
| T10 | 206 | No. 1 seed Oklahoma | 108 | No. 5 seed Louisville | 98 | 1988 | Sweet 16 |
| T10 | 206 | No. 8 seed UCLA | 105 | No. 1 seed Cincinnati | 101 | 2002 | Second round |
| T13 | 205 | No. 1 seed Oklahoma | 124 | No. 9 seed Louisiana Tech | 81 | 1989 | Second round |
| T13 | 205 | No. 1 seed Missouri | 109 | No. 9 seed Wisconsin | 96 | 1994 | Second round |
| T13 | 205 | No. 4 seed Alabama | 109 | No. 13 seed Charleston | 96 | 2024 | First round |
| 15 | 204 | No. 2 seed Kentucky | 106 | No. 10 seed Iowa State | 98 | 1992 | Second round |
| 16 | 203 | No. 11 seed Loyola Marymount | 111 | No. 10 seed Iowa State | 98 | 1990 | First round |
| T17 | 202 | No. 9 seed UAB | 102 | No. 8 seed Washington | 100 | 2004 | First round |
| T17 | 202 | No. 10 seed Colorado | 102 | No. 7 seed Florida | 100 | 2024 | First round |
| T18 | 200 | No. 5 seed Iowa | 102 | No. 12 seed Florida State | 98 | 1988 | First round |
| T18 | 200 | No. 12 seed Western Kentucky | 101 | No. 5 seed Drake | 99 | 2008 | First round |
FAQs on March Madness
A. It is the semifinal round of the March Madness tournament.
A. Selection Sunday is the day when teams and matchups are announced.
A. Yes, the 2020 March Madness tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
A. The March Madness Tournament is known for upsets, brackets, and intense games.
