More College Basketball News
$2M Worth Mark Sears Shatters 21st Century Alabama Milestone That No Other Crimson Tide Player Has Ever Achieved
Mark Sears leads Alabama to an overtime victory over Houston, setting a historic program milestone with 24 points.
Troubling Cooper Flagg Helped 6’7 Kansas Star to Earn the “Elite” Status in Coach Bill Self’s Eyes
Kansas' senior forward showed elite skills vs. Duke, proving versatility beyond scoring to secure a vital win for Bill Self's team.
Hunter Dickinson’s Ejection Approved by Kansas Coach as Bill Self Finds One Positive Out of 7ft Star’s Ejection
Kansas star Hunter Dickinson's ejection for a Flagrant 2 foul caused issues but Kansas Head coach is still looking for positivity.
Cooper Flagg Erases 2-Point Half After Leaving Skip Bayless & NCAA World Stunned During Duke vs Kansas
Cooper Flagg's jaw-dropping dunk against Kansas has solidified his status as one of NCAA’s top talents of the season.
“Ridiculously Unacceptable”: Hunter Dickinson Gets Thrashed by Fans for Kicking Maliq Brown as Bill Self Drops F-Bombs to Officials
A heated Duke-Kansas showdown at the Vegas Showdown sparked fan reactions and sharp criticism from coach Bill Self.
Iowa Star’s NSFW Post Draws a Witty Warning from Caitlin Clark; Earns an Apology
Caitlin Clark’s playful social media interactions with her former Iowa teammates highlight their enduring bond and shared history.
Despite $375 Million Cost, Jon Scheyer & Bill Self Face Bizarre Crisis During Duke vs Kansas Game
Duke vs. Kansas face an unexpected crisis, leaving coaches Jon Scheyer and Bill Self in the dark. What is it?
“He Showed His Inexperience”: Dan Hurley Gets Blunt About 4-Star UConn Prospect After Back-to-Back Defeats in Maui
UConn Huskies faces heartbreaking back-to-back losses in Maui, as Dan Hurley critiques freshman Ahmad Nowell.
Apart From Temper & the Game, Dan Hurley Also Loses Grip in UConn’s Major Trait: “Just So Dreadful”
Dan Hurley expresses frustration with both officiating and UConn's shortcomings after their second consecutive loss.
Challenges Mount for JuJu Watkins As Major Setback Follows USC’s Notre Dame Upset
The latest AP rankings have turned USC around and JuJu Watkins, despite her off court successes, looks to be struggling on court.
Odds Stack Against Cooper Flagg’s Duke As Bill Self Holds the Edge in Lead-Up to Pivotal NCAA Showdown
The Duke Blue Devils might take a backseat when they face the Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday as per an NCAA analyst.
“(Dan Hurley) Crossed the Line”: Critics Pounce on UConn HC’s Sideline Explosion Amid Maui Invitational Fiasco
Dan Hurley has yet again made headlines for his display on the sidelines and even some supporters have turned into critics.
About College Basketball
College Basketball (NCAA): Latest News, Rumors, Schedule, Scores & More
College basketball is the primary path to the NBA for several talented athletes. Upon completing high school, budding basketball players join a university in hopes of shaping their careers professionally.
College basketball is currently governed by a list of collegiate athletic bodies that include National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and a few other organizations.
What does NCAA stand for?
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is one of the primary organizations that govern college athletics for over 1,200 institutions across the United States and Canada.
NCAA stands as an organizer of college tournaments, which helps various students register their talent on a grand stage. Due to the overwhelming number of institutions emerging with respect to basketball and other major sports, the NCAA adopted the three-division structure in 1973.
Thus, there are Divisions I, II, and III that subdivide NCAA College Basketball teams. Moreover, the most enthralling tournament when it comes to college basketball is the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament
The NCAA’s Division I Men’s Basketball tournament was founded in 1939 by Ohio State coach Harold Olsen. The tournament is often played during March and hence, it has been branded “March Madness,” a yearly tournament that decides the national college champion!
The single-elimination tournament features 68 of the best college basketball teams from the 32 conferences that comprise NCAA’s Division I. Winners from each conference receive an automatic bid for the tournament, while the other 36 teams are awarded “at-large berths.”
The venues are pre-determined and the competing teams are seeded and split into four regions and organized into a single-elimination bracket. The University of North Carolina has the honor of receiving the most #1 seeds in the tournament with 17 to date.
As the games commence, teams get filtered, which is then followed by “Sweet Sixteen,” “Elite Eight,” and the coveted “Final Four.”
It is a well-structured tournament, as the Final Four teams will each represent one region (East, South, Midwest, and West) to determine the national champion.
Likewise, there is a similar tournament held for women with almost the same structure: 64 teams participate and a special committee will decide the participants for each edition.
Who has the most NCAA Division I titles?
Winning the national title is a daunting task. 64 teams enter the tournament with the same goal in mind, but only one can be crowned champion towards the end. With that said, the UCLA Bruins Men’s Basketball Team has won 11 national titles to date, the most by any school.
UCLA’s most recent victory came in 1995 when the Bruins beat Arkansas Razorbacks. Furthermore, here is a list of the Top 5 teams with the most NCAA Division I championships in history:
School | Titles | Years |
UCLA | 11 | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998, 2012 |
North Carolina | 6 | 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, 2017 |
| Duke | 5 | 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015 |
Indiana | 5 | 1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987 |
When does the 2020-21 men’s college basketball season start?
The initial dates for the season had to be pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are several tournaments that are scheduled to begin in the coming weeks, tentatively. The Division I men’s basketball tournament is scheduled to begin on November 25.
The conferences that comprise the governing bodies organize various tournaments, and the schedules are dropping in with regard to the restrictions that are in place. More information can be found on the NCAA website.
The organization has released the schedule for the highly anticipated “March Madness,” that is set to take place in 2021.
ROUND | DATES |
Selection Sunday | March 14 |
| First Four | March 16-17 |
First Round | March 18-19 |
| Second Round | March 20-21 |
Sweet 16 | March 25-26 |
| Elite Eight | March 27-28 |
Final Four | April 3 |
| National Championship | April 5 |
How college basketball stands out from the NBA
A lot of the aspects remain the same when comparing college basketball and the NBA. However, minor differences set these two leagues apart, which might affect the flow when watching an NBA game versus an NCAA game.
The first difference is that NBA games are played under four quarters of 12 minutes each. But college basketball is just two halves, and each half is 20 minutes long. This reduces the game time by a small margin, but athletes have to endure a longer half.
Moreover, there is also a major difference in the shot clock. The modern shot clock in the NBA is 24 seconds, while the NCAA allows 30 seconds for men’s basketball.
The distance from the three-point line to the backboard differs in the NBA and college basketball as well. The NBA’s three-point line traditionally measures 23 feet 9 inches at the top of the circle and 22 feet in the corners. However, this is not the case when it comes to the NCAA.
Starting from the 2019/20 season, NCAA adopted FIBA’s three-point line measurements which stand at 22 feet, 1¾ inches at the top of the circle, and 21 feet 8 inches at the corners. Besides these, there is a list of rules that differ between the NBA and NCAA. Click here to learn more.
