New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association as a member club of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division; the team plays their home games in the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002–03 season when then-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, relocated the franchise to New Orleans. Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the franchise temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City, where they spent two seasons known as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets; the team returned to New Orleans full-time for the 2007–08 season. On January 24, 2013, the franchise announced it would rename itself the Pelicans, effective after the conclusion of the 2012–13 season; the Charlotte Hornets' name and records from 1988 to 2002 were returned to its original city to be used by the then–Charlotte Bobcats franchise, which subsequently became the Charlotte Hornets, starting May 20, 2014.
In 16 seasons of play since the original franchise relocated from North Carolina, the Louisiana franchise has achieved an overall regular season record of 610–686, has qualified for the playoffs seven times. Their achievements include one division title. While the Charlotte Hornets put a competitive team on the court throughout the 1990s, the team's attendance began falling dramatically. Many attributed this lapse in popularity to the team's owner, George Shinn, becoming despised by the people of the city. In 1997, a Charlotte woman claimed that Shinn had raped her, the resulting trial tarnished his reputation in the city; the consensus was that while Charlotte was as basketball-crazy as fans took out their anger at Shinn on the team. Shinn had become discontented with the Charlotte Coliseum, although considered state-of-the-art when it opened in 1988, had by been considered obsolete due to a limited number of luxury boxes. On March 26, 2001, both the Hornets and the Vancouver Grizzlies applied for relocation to Memphis, won by the Grizzlies.
Shinn issued an ultimatum: unless the city built a new arena at no cost to him, the Hornets would leave town. The city refused, leading Shinn to consider moving the team to either Norfolk, Louisville, or St. Louis. Of the cities in the running, only St. Louis had an NBA-ready arena in place and was a larger media market than Charlotte at the time. A new arena in Uptown, which would become the Charlotte Bobcats Arena, was included in a non-binding referendum for a larger arts-related package, Shinn withdrew his application to move the team. Polls showed the referendum on its way to passage. However, just days before the referendum, Mayor Pat McCrory vetoed a living wage ordinance; the veto prompted many of the city's black ministers to oppose the referendum. After the referendum failed, city leaders devised a plan to build a new arena in a way that did not require voter support, but made it known that they would not consider building it unless Shinn sold the team. While the NBA acknowledged that Shinn had alienated fans, league officials felt such a demand would anger other owners.
The city council refused to remove the statement, leading the Hornets to request a move to New Orleans – a move which would return the NBA to that city since the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City in 1979. Before the Hornets were eliminated from the playoffs, the NBA approved the move; as part of a deal, the NBA promised that Charlotte would get a new team, which took the court two years as the Charlotte Bobcats. In a 2008 interview with the Charlotte Observer, who has not returned to Charlotte since the Hornets moved, admitted that the "bad judgment I made in my life" played a role in the Hornets' departure, he said that if he had it to do all over again, he would not have withdrawn from the public after the sexual assault trial. Shinn emphasized how he was making amends by committing to New Orleans saying, "I've made enough mistakes in my life. I'm not going to make one here; this city needs us here. We're going to make this thing work." The Hornets opened their inaugural season in New Orleans on October 30, 2002, against New Orleans' original NBA franchise, the now-Utah Jazz.
In the first regular season NBA game played in New Orleans in over 17 years, the Hornets defeated the Jazz 100–75, posthumously retired #7 of "Pistol" Pete Maravich during halftime. The Hornets finished the season with a 47–35 record but were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers in the First Round of the 2003 playoffs. Following the season, the team unexpectedly fired head coach Paul Silas and replaced him with Tim Floyd; the Hornets began the 2003–04 season strong with a 17–7 start but sputtered at the end and finished 41–41. They lost to the Miami Heat in the First Round of the 2004 playoffs. After the season, Floyd was fired and the team hired Byron Scott as its new head coach. During the first two seasons in New Orleans the Hornets competed in the NBA's Eastern Conference; the 2004–05 season saw the team move to the Western Conference's Southwest Division to the number of teams in each conference after the Charlotte Bobcats started play in their inaugural season of that same year. In a season marred by injury to the team's three all-stars, the team finished the year with a
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division; the franchise was established in 1989 as an expansion franchise, such notable NBA stars as Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Patrick Ewing, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis, Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, Dominique Wilkins, Hedo Türkoğlu have played for the club throughout its young history. As of 2017, the franchise has played in the NBA playoffs for half of its existence, twice went to the NBA Finals, in 1995 and 2009. Orlando has been the second most successful of the four expansion teams brought into the league in 1988 and 1989 in terms of winning percentage, only after the Miami Heat. In September 1985, Orlando businessman Jim L. Hewitt approached Philadelphia 76ers general manager Pat Williams as they met in Texas on his idea of bringing an NBA team to Orlando.
Intrigued by the project, Williams signed on as the front man of the investment group one year as he left the 76ers. On June 19, 1986, the two held a news conference to announce their intention of seeking an NBA franchise. At the same time Hewitt and Williams decided to hold a contest in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper to get names for their new franchise. Out of a total of 4,296 submitted entries, the names were subsequently narrowed to four, "Heat", "Tropics", "Juice", "Magic"; the last one, submitted by 11 people, was picked after Williams brought his 7-year-old daughter Karyn to visit in Orlando. On July 27, 1986, it was announced that the committee chose the Magic to be the new name of the Orlando franchise in the NBA; the name "Magic" alludes to the area's biggest tourist attraction and economic engine Walt Disney World, along with its Magic Kingdom. Hewitt added that "You look at all the aspects of Central Florida, you find it is an exciting place, a magical place."Many, including Williams himself at first, thought that Miami or Tampa were better locations in Florida for a franchise, given Orlando was a small town lacking a major airport and a suitable arena.
Hewitt brought investors such as real estate developer William DuPont, Orlando Renegades owner Don Dizney, Southern Fruit Citrus owners Jim and Steve Caruso, talked the Orlando city officials into approving an arena project. Meanwhile, Williams gave presentations to NBA commissioner David Stern and the owners of the other teams of the league that the town was viable; the Magic were one of the four new expansion franchises awarded by the NBA in 1987 along with the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves. The NBA was planning to expand by three teams, with one franchise going to Florida; the Magic became the first major-league professional sports franchise in the Orlando area, following an expansion fee of $32.5 million. The Magic hired Matt Guokas as the team's first coach, who helped the Magic select 12 players in the NBA Expansion Draft on June 15, 1989. On June 27, 1989, the Magic chose Nick Anderson with the 11th pick in the first round, who became the first draft pick of the franchise.
The first game played was an exhibition game on October 13, 1989 against the reigning champions Detroit Pistons, which the Magic won. Anderson was quoted as saying the atmosphere and the people watching the game was "like Game 7 of the NBA Finals". On November 4, 1989, the Magic played their first season game at the Orlando Arena against the visiting New Jersey Nets, who won 111–106 in a hard-fought game; the Magic's first victory came two days as the Magic defeated the New York Knicks 118–110. The inaugural team compiled a record of 18–64 with players including Reggie Theus, Scott Skiles, Terry Catledge, Sam Vincent, Otis Smith, Jerry Reynolds. In the 1990 NBA draft, the Orlando Magic selected Dennis Scott with the fourth overall pick. On December 30, 1990, Scott Skiles racked up 30 assists in the 155–116 victory over the Denver Nuggets, breaking Kevin Porter's NBA single-game assists record. Skiles was named the NBA's Most Improved Player at the end of the season, as the Magic heralded the NBA's most improved record that season.
Forward Dennis Scott set a team mark with 125 three-point field goals for the season, the best long-distance production by a rookie in NBA history. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Despite a 31–51 record, there were 40 sellouts out of 41 home games. On September 19, 1991, the DeVos family, founders of Amway, purchased the franchise for $85 million. Family patriarch Richard DeVos became the owner of the franchise; the 1991–92 season was disappointing for the Magic as various players missed games with injuries. Dennis Scott played only 18 games, Nick Anderson missed 22 games, Stanley Roberts, Jerry Reynolds, Brian Williams, Sam Vincent and Otis Smith all missed at least 27 games each. With a shortage of healthy players the team struggled through a 17-game losing streak and finished with a 21–61 record; the Magic still managed to have all 41 home games sold out. The Magic history was changed on May 17, 1992, when the franchise won the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft Lottery; the Magic selected big-man Shaquille O'Neal from Louisiana State University, the biggest prize in the draft since the Knicks won Patrick Ewing.
O'Neal, a 7' 1" center, made an immediate impact on the Magic. The Magic again became the NBA's most improved franchise. O'Neal was the first rookie to be voted an All-Star starter since
United States men's national basketball team
The USA Basketball Men's National Team known as the United States Men's National Basketball Team, is the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all eighteen Olympic tournaments it has entered, coming away with fifteen golds. In the professional era, the team won the Olympic gold medal in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016. Two of its gold medal-winning teams were inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2010 – the 1960 team, which featured six Hall of Famers, the 1992 "Dream Team", featuring 14 Hall of Famers; the team is ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings. Traditionally composed of amateur players, the U. S. dominated the first decades of international basketball, winning a record seven consecutive Olympic gold medals. However, by the end of the 1980s, American amateurs were no longer competitive against seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In 1989, FIBA modified its rules and allowed USA Basketball to field teams with National Basketball Association players.
The first such team, known as the "Dream Team", won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, being superior in all matches. With the introduction of NBA players, the team was able to spark a second run of dominance in the 1990s. Facing increased competition, the U. S. failed finishing sixth. The 2004 Olympic team, being depleted by a number of withdrawals, lost three games on its way to a bronze medal, a record that represented more losses in a single year than the country's Olympic teams had suffered in all previous Olympiads combined. Determined to put an end to these failures, USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better, more cohesive teams; the U. S. won its first seven games at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan before losing against Greece in the semi-finals. The team won gold two years – at the 2008 Summer Olympics – in a dominant fashion; this success was followed up at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where despite fielding a roster featuring no players from the 2008 Olympic team, the U.
S. did not lose a single game en route to defeating host Turkey for the gold medal. The Americans continued this streak of dominance in the 2010s by going undefeated and capturing gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2014 FIBA World Cup. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, the team, led by Mike Krzyzewski for a record third time, won its fifteenth gold medal, making him the most decorated coach in USA Basketball history; the US men were dominant from the first Olympic tournament to hold basketball, held in Berlin in 1936, going 5–0 to win the gold, joined by continental neighbors Canada and Mexico on the medal platform. Through the next six tournaments, the United States went undefeated, collecting gold while not losing a single contest in the games held in London, Melbourne, Rome and Mexico City. Participation in these tournaments were limited to amateurs, but the US teams during this period featured players who would go on to become superstars in professional basketball, including all-time greats Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas.
S. roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team. Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, both NBA stars, made the 1948 squad as Kentucky Wildcats, with 3-time Oklahoma State All-American and 6-time AAU All-American, Hall of Famer Bob Kurland leading the way; the 1952 team included big man Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star. Kurland once again led the team to victory; the 1956 team was led by San Francisco Dons Bill Russell and K. C. Jones; the 1960 team included nine future NBA players, including not just Robertson and West, but Bob Boozer, Adrian Smith, Jay Arnette, Terry Dischinger, Rookie of the Year in 1963, another Hall of Famer in Walt Bellamy. The 1972 Olympic men's basketball gold medal game, marking the first loss for the USA in Olympic play, is arguably the most controversial in Olympic history; the United States rode their seven consecutive gold medals and 63–0 Olympic record to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The team won its first eight games in convincing fashion, setting up a final against the Soviet Union, holding a 6–0 advantage over the Soviets in Olympic play.
With three seconds left in the gold medal game, American forward Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the Americans up 50–49. Following Collins' free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. Soviet coaches claimed; the referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds and the game's final seconds replayed. The horn sounded as a length-of-the-court Soviet pass was being released from the inbounding player, the pass missed its mark, the American players began celebrating. Final three seconds were replayed for a third time; this time, the Soviets' Alexander Belov and the USA's Kevin Joyce and Jim Forbes went up for the pass, Belov caught the long pass from Ivan Edeshko near the American basket. Belov laid the ball in for the winning points as the buzzer sounded; the US players voted unanimously to refuse their silver medals, at least one team member, Kenny Davis, has directed in his will that his heirs are never to accept the medals posthumously. It was revealed that game officials might have been bribed by the Communist party.
After the controversial loss in Munich, 1976 saw Dean Smith coach the USA to a 7–0 record and its eighth Olympic gold medal in Montreal. The success at this tou
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league's original eight teams, the team play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins; the Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history. The Celtics have a notable rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers, have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the NBA Finals, of which the Celtics have won nine. Four Celtics players have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards. Both the nickname "Celtics" and their mascot "Lucky the Leprechaun" are a nod to Boston's large Irish population. After winning 16 championships throughout the 20th century, the Celtics, after struggling through the 1990s, rose again to win a championship in 2008 with the help of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen in what was known as the new "Big Three" era, following the original "Big Three" era that featured Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, which combined to win the 1981, 1984, 1986 championships.
Following the win in 2008, general manager Danny Ainge began a rebuilding process with the help of head coach Brad Stevens, who led the Celtics to a return to the playoffs from 2015. During the following season, the Celtics clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but were eliminated in the Conference Finals; this prompted an aggressive rebuild in 2017, where the team acquired All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. However, the pair struggled with injuries throughout the 2017–18 season, the team was again defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals; the Boston Celtics were formed on June 6, 1946, by Boston Garden-Arena Corporation president Walter A. Brown as a team in the Basketball Association of America, became part of the National Basketball Association after the absorption of the National Basketball League by the BAA in the fall of 1949. In 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper; the Celtics struggled until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach. In the franchise's early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all the scouting—both of opposing teams and college draft prospects—and scheduled all road trips.
One of the first great players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, whom Auerbach refused to draft out of nearby Holy Cross because he was "too flashy." Cousy's contract became the property of the Chicago Stags, but when that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy went to the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955–56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade, sending perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan for the second overall pick in the draft. After negotiating with the Rochester Royals—a negotiation that included a promise that the Celtics owner would send the sought-after Ice Capades to Rochester if the Royals would let Russell slide to #2—Auerbach used the pick to select University of San Francisco center Bill Russell. Auerbach acquired Holy Cross standout, 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Tommy Heinsohn. Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the champion Celtics for more than a decade.
With Bill Russell, the Celtics advanced to the 1957 NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, the first of a record 17 championships. Russell went on making him the most decorated player in NBA history. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to this time losing to the Hawks in 6 games. However, with the acquisition of K. C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty. In 1959, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers, the first of their record eight consecutive championships. During that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals five times, starting an intense and bitter rivalry that has spanned generations. In 1964, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all African-American starting lineup. On December 26, 1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tommy Heinsohn, joining Tom'Satch' Sanders, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, Bill Russell in the starting lineup; the Celtics defeated St. Louis 97–84. Boston won its next 11 games with Naulls starting in place of Heinsohn.
The Celtics of the late 1950s–1960s are considered as one of the most dominant teams of all time. Auerbach retired as coach after the 1965–66 season and Russell took over as player-coach, Auerbach's ploy to keep Russell interested. With his appointment Russell became the first African-American coach in any U. S. pro sport. Auerbach would remain a position he would hold well into the 1980s. However, the Celtics' string of NBA titles ended when they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1966 Eastern Conference Finals; the aging team managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers each time. Russell retired after the 1969 season ending a Celtics dynasty that had garnered an unrivaled 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons; the team's run of 8 consecutive is the longest championship streak in U. S. professional sports history. The 1970 season was a rebuilding year, as the Celtics had their first losing record since the 1949–50 season
John Lucas III
John Harding Lucas III is an American retired professional basketball player who serves as a player development coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Oklahoma State. Born in Washington, D. C. to former NBA player and coach John Lucas II and his wife DeEdgra, Lucas lived in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania for a time as a youth. Lucas was the starting point guard on the Bellaire High School basketball team and played alongside fellow future NBA players Emeka Okafor and Lawrence Roberts. Lucas has Jai, he played collegiately at Baylor University, but transferred from there to Oklahoma State University in the wake of the 2003 Baylor basketball scandal. Lucas is noted for his winning shot against the Saint Joseph's University team that sent the 2004 Oklahoma State Cowboys to the NCAA Final Four. After going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft, Lucas joined the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2005 NBA Summer League; the Timberwolves signed him to their training camp roster.
During the 2005–06 NBA season, Lucas was called up by the Houston Rockets from the Tulsa 66ers in December 2005. He played 13 games for the Rockets between February. Lucas's call-up made him the first Tulsa 66ers player to be called up from the NBA Development League, he averaged 16.6 points in 33.2 mins per game with the 66ers. On May 10, 2006, Lucas signed with Snaidero Udine of the Italian League, to fill the gap left by Jerome Allen, out for the season due to injury. On July 28, 2006, Lucas signed with the Rockets to a three-year contract. In the 2006–07 season and the Rockets made it to the playoffs, where they lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round, in 7 games. On October 30, 2007, Lucas was one of four players cut from the Rockets' roster, prior to the commencement of the 2007–08 season, he subsequently returned to Italian basketball, joining Benetton Treviso in January 2008. He was later released by Treviso in March. Lucas was signed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in September 2008 but was released by them in November before playing in any NBA games for them.
In February 2009, he signed with the Colorado 14ers and helped them go on to win the 2008–09 D-League championship. On April 27, 2009, Lucas signed with TAU Cerámica of the Spanish ACB League for the remainder of the season. On September 2, 2009, Lucas was drafted by the Maine Red Claws in the NBA Development League expansion draft. Lucas played in the 2009 NBA preseason for the Miami Heat, he averaged 7.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game. On October 23, 2009, Lucas was waived by the Heat. Lucas spent the 2009–10 season with the Shanghai Sharks of the CBA. Lucas spent the 2010 NBA preseason with the Chicago Bulls but was waived on October 21; the Bulls re-signed him on November 26. In his debut for the Bulls, Lucas missed two critical free throws in the final seconds of a 98–97 loss to the Denver Nuggets, he was waived on January 4, 2011, signed with the Shanghai Sharks in China. After his 2-month China stint, he returned to America and re-signed with the Bulls on March 20, 2011.
On January 11, 2012, Lucas received his first-ever NBA start and achieved a career-high of 25 points, leading the Bulls in a 78–64 win over the Washington Wizards. He played 45 minutes, made 11 of 28 field goal attempts, had 8 assists and 8 rebounds. On March 14, 2012, the Bulls hosted the Miami Heat; the Bulls were missing Derrick Rose, out due to a groin injury. Lucas led the Chicago Bulls to a 106 -- 102 victory over the Miami Heat. On March 21, 2012, Lucas led the Bulls to a comeback victory over the Toronto Raptors, scoring all of his 13 points in the 4th quarter. On July 27, 2012, Lucas signed with the Toronto Raptors. On July 22, 2013, Lucas signed with the Utah Jazz. On July 22, 2014, Lucas was traded, along with Erik Murphy and Malcolm Thomas, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Carrick Felix, a 2015 second round draft pick and cash considerations. On September 25, 2014, he was traded, along with Erik Murphy, Dwight Powell, Malcolm Thomas and the Cavaliers' 2016 and 2017 second-round picks, to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Keith Bogans and two future second-round picks.
Four days he was waived by the Celtics. On October 21, 2014, Lucas signed with the Washington Wizards. Four days he was waived by the Wizards. On November 21, 2014, he signed with the Fujian Sturgeons for the rest of the 2014–15 CBA season, his final game for Fujian came on January 30, 2015 and left China having averaged 26.3 points, 7.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds over 28 games. On February 2, he signed a 10-day contract with the Detroit Pistons. On February 12, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Pistons. On February 25, he signed with the Pistons for the rest of the season. On September 28, 2015, Lucas signed with the Miami Heat. However, he was waived by the Heat on October 24 after appearing in one preseason game. On January 14, 2016, Lucas was acquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. One day he made his debut in a 109–104 loss to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, recording 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and three steals in 32 minutes of action. On March 6, he was waived by the Mad Ants after averaging 17.7 points per game in 18 games.
On March 17, he signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of the Puerto Rican League. On September 26, 2016, Lucas signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. On January 7, 2017, he was waived by the Timberwolves after appearing in five games. On September 21, 2017, the Minnesota Timberwolves announced additions to their coaching staff for the 2017-18 season while Lucas was named as Player Development Coach. Career statistics and player information fro
NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament known and branded as NCAA March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States featuring 68 college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the national championship. The tournament was created in 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, was the idea of Ohio State coach Harold Olsen. Played during March, it has become one of the most famous annual sporting events in the United States; the tournament teams include champions from 32 Division I conferences, 36 teams which are awarded at-large berths. These "at-large" teams are chosen by an NCAA selection committee announced in a nationally televised event on the Sunday preceding the "First Four" play-in games held in Dayton and dubbed Selection Sunday; the 68 teams are divided into four regions and organized into a single-elimination "bracket", which pre-determines, when a team wins a game, which team it will face next.
Each team is "seeded", or ranked, within its region from 1 to 16. After the First Four, the tournament occurs during the course of three weekends, at pre-selected neutral sites across the United States. Teams, seeded by rank, proceed through a single-game elimination bracket beginning with a "first four" consisting of 8 low-seeded teams playing in 4 games for a position in the first round the Tuesday and Wednesday before the first round begins, a first round consisting of 64 teams playing in 32 games over the course of a week, the "Sweet Sixteen" and "Elite Eight" rounds the next week and weekend and – for the last weekend of the tournament – the "Final Four" round; the Final Four is played during the first weekend of April. These four teams, one from each region, compete in a preselected location for the national championship; the tournament has been at least televised since 1969. The games are broadcast by CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV under the trade-name NCAA March Madness. Since 2011, all games are available for viewing nationwide and internationally.
As television coverage has grown, so too has the tournament's popularity. Millions of Americans fill out a bracket, attempting to predict the outcome of 63 games of the tournament. With 11 national titles, UCLA has the record for the most NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships; the University of Kentucky is second, with eight national titles. The University of North Carolina is third, with six national titles, Duke University and Indiana University are tied for fourth with five national titles; the University of Connecticut is sixth with four national titles. The University of Kansas & Villanova are tied for 7th with three national titles. Since 1985, when the tournament expanded to 64 teams, Duke has won five championships; the NCAA has changed the tournament format several times since its inception, most being an increase of the number of teams. This section describes the tournament as it has operated since 2011. A total of 68 teams qualify for the tournament played during April. Thirty-two teams earn automatic bids as their respective conference champions.
Of the 32 Division I "all-sports" conferences, all 32 hold championship tournaments to determine which team receives the automatic qualification. The Ivy League was the last Division I conference. If two or more Ivies shared a regular-season championship, a one-game playoff was used to decide the tournament participant. Since 2017, the league conducts their own postseason tournament; the remaining 36 tournament slots are granted to at-large bids, which are determined by the Selection Committee in a nationally televised event on the Sunday preceding the First Four play-in tournament and dubbed Selection Sunday by the media and fans, by a group of conference commissioners and school athletic directors who are appointed into service by the NCAA. The committee determines where all sixty-eight teams are seeded and placed in the bracket; the tournament is divided into four regions and each region has at least sixteen teams, but four additional teams are added per the decision of the Selection Committee.
The committee is charged with making each of the four regions as close as possible in overall quality of teams from wherever they come from. The names of the regions vary from year to year, are broadly geographic. From 1957 to 1984, the "Mideast" corresponding to the Southeastern region of the United States, designation was used. From 1985 to 1997, the Mideast region was known as "Southeast" and again changed to "South" starting from 1998; the selected names correspond to the location of the four cities hosting the regional finals. From 2004 to 2006, the regions were named after their host cities, e.g. the Phoenix Regional in 2004, the Chicago Regional in 2005, the Minneapolis Regional in 2006, but reverted to the traditional geographic designations beginning in 2007. For example, during 2012, the regions were named South, Midwest (St. Louis, Mis
College basketball
College basketball today is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including the United States's National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Junior College Athletic Association, the National Christian College Athletic Association. Governing bodies in Canada include the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association; each of these various organizations are subdivided into from one to three divisions based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes. Each organization has different conferences to divide up the teams into groups. Teams are selected into these conferences depending on the location of the schools; these conferences are put in due to the regional play of the teams and to have a structural schedule for each to team to play for the upcoming year. During conference play the teams are ranked not only through the entire NCAA, but the conference as well in which they have tournament play leading into the NCAA tournament.
The history of basketball can be traced back to a YMCA International Training School, known today as Springfield College, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The sport was created by a physical education teacher named James Naismith, who in the winter of 1891 was given the task of creating a game that would keep track athletes in shape and that would prevent them from getting hurt; the date of the first formal basketball game played at the Springfield YMCA Training School under Naismith's rules is given as December 21, 1891. Basketball began to be played at some college campuses by 1893; the first known college to field a basketball team against an outside opponent was Vanderbilt University, which played against the local YMCA in Nashville, Tennessee, on February 7, 1893. The second recorded instance of an organized college basketball game was Geneva College's game against the New Brighton YMCA on April 8, 1893, in Beaver Falls, which Geneva won 3–0; the first recorded game between two college teams occurred on February 9, 1895, when Hamline University faced Minnesota A&M. Minnesota A&M won the game, played under rules allowing nine players per side, 9–3.
The first intercollegiate match using the modern rule of five players per side is credited as a game between the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, Iowa, on January 18, 1896. The Chicago team won the game 15-12, under the coaching of Amos Alonzo Stagg, who had learned the game from James Naismith at the Springfield YMCA. However, some sources state the first "true" five-on-five intercollegiate match was a game in 1897 between Yale and Penn, because although the Iowa team that played Chicago in 1896 was composed of University of Iowa students, it did not represent the university, rather it was organized through a YMCA. By 1900, the game of basketball had spread to colleges across the country; the Amateur Athletic Union's annual U. S. national championship tournament featured collegiate teams playing against non-college teams. Four colleges won the AAU tournament championship: NYU, Butler and Washburn. College teams were runners-up in 1915, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1932 and 1934.
The first known tournament featuring college teams was the 1904 Summer Olympics, where basketball was a demonstration sport, a collegiate championship tournament was held. The Olympic title was won by Hiram College. In March 1908, a two-game "championship series" was organized between the University of Chicago and Penn, with games played in Philadelphia and Bartlett, Illinois. Chicago swept both games to win the series. In March 1922, the 1922 National Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament was held in Indianapolis – the first stand-alone post-season tournament for college teams; the champions of six major conferences participated: Pacific Coast Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Western Pennsylvania League, Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Indiana Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Western Conference and Eastern Intercollegiate League declined invitations to participate. Wabash College won the 1922 tournament.
The first organization to tout a occurring national collegiate championship was the NAIA in 1937, although it was surpassed in prestige by the National Invitation Tournament, or NIT, which brought six teams to New York's Madison Square Garden in the spring of 1938. Temple defeated Colorado in the first NIT tournament championship game, 60–36. In 1939, another national tournament was implemented by the National Collegiate Athletic Association; the location of the NCAA Tournament varied from year to year, it soon used multiple locations each year, so more fans could see games without traveling to New York. Although the NIT was created earlier and was more prestigious than the NCAA for many years, it lost popularity and status to the NCAA Tournament. In 1950, following a double win by the 1949–50 CCNY Beavers men's basketball team, the NCAA ruled that no team could compete in both tournaments, indicated that a team eligible for the NCAA tournament should play in it. Not long afterward, assisted by the 1951 scandals based in New York City, the NCAA tournament had become more prestigious than before, with conference champions and the majority of top-ranked teams competing there.
The NCAA tournament overtook the NIT by 1960. Through the 1960s and 1970s, with UCLA leading the way as winner
