More College Basketball News
Who Is Oliviyah Edwards? Everything You Need to Know About Lincoln’s 6’3 High School Star Who Can Dunk
Who is Oliviyah Edwards? A detailed look at her career, achievements and family. Everything you need to know!
Shaquille O’Neal’s Daughter Me’Arah Works as Coach for Elite Camp as Gators Prepare for NCAA Season
Shaquille O'Neal's daughter Me'Arah O'Neal gets much love for coaching the aspiring basketball players for the Gators Elite camp.
“I Thought I Was Invincible”: Paige Bueckers Opens Up on Painful Reality Check After ACL Tear Placed Her Career on Abrupt Stop
Having her career eclipsed by multiple injuries, Paige Bueckers reflects on how she dealt with the painful times
“I Wanted Everything & I Didn’t Have the Money”: Paige Bueckers Reflects on Childhood Dream Years Before Achieving $1.4 Million Worth NIL Valuation
Reminiscing about her life before NIL, UConn star Paige Bueckers confesses her early days and how she has come to live the dream
Gabby Williams UConn Stats: Exploring French Star’s College Numbers Ahead of Olympics Final
How are Gabby Williams' University of Connecticut Huskies statistics? Going by her record, can the French player prove dangerous to USA?
High Stakes for Dawn Staley as USC Roots Force a Bet Against Kamilla Cardoso During USWNT vs Brazil’s Olympic Final
What did Dawn Staley have to say about the bet between her and Kamilla Cardoso for the Olympics Finals of women's soccer?
Possible Nike Athlete in Awe of Anthony Edwards’ Adidas Project Due to a Major Reason (Exclusive)
What did a certain Georgia Bulldogs star have to say about Anthony Edwards sneakers after mentioning that she is a Nike fan?
“People Ain’t Working Like How I’m Working”: Kobe Bryant & Shaquille O’Neal’s Tales Inspire 20YO LSU Star Gunning for Basketball & Musical Success
Flau'jae Johnson talks about how a story involving Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal is helping her grow in life.
Suni Lee’s Fight With Kidney Disease Inspires Fellow Minnesotan Paige Bueckers to Achieve More in Thriving NCAA Career
UConn star Paige Bueckers draws inspiration from Sunisa Lee's Olympic triumphs as she aims for a championship in this NCAA season.
Waiting to Fulfill Olympics Dream in Hometown LA, JuJu Watkins Shows Up in Paris in Support of USA’s Finest
Having sights on the next edition of the Olympics to be held in LA, JuJu Watkins cheers for fellow athletes while vacationing in Paris.
Alyssa Thomas College Stats: WNBA Star’s Impressive Records, and More With Maryland Terrapins Revealed
Bringing glory to the Connecticut Sun, let us learn more about Maryland alumnae Alyssa Thomas and her college stats.
Not Just WNBA Chapter, but Sue Bird’s Other Career Gets Judged by NCAA Starlet Asia Avinger (Exclusive)
What did Asia Avinger have to say about Sue Bird's exceptional media career and why is she one of her favorite creators?
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.
