GUIDELINES
ESPN’s Bracketology initiatives concentrate on forecasting the NCAA tournament lineup in alignment with expectations for how the NCAA Division I basketball committee will finalize the participants in March. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi relies on the same metrics prioritized by the committee, such as strength of schedule and various season-long markers, including the NET and team-sheet information akin to what the NCAA accesses when forming his predictions for the bracket. For a more comprehensive insight into NCAA selection standards, check the NCAA’s official website.
68-Team Bracket
The 68-team bracket represents the conventional format of the NCAA tournament that has been established since 2011. Should the 2021 bracket consist of 68 teams, there will be notable distinctions compared to earlier tournaments, nonetheless.
The main change from a typical year is, naturally, the hosting of the complete NCAA tournament at a single location. This removes the necessity for geographical factors in the seeding process. Moreover, there will be at least one automatic qualifier less this season, given the Ivy League’s choice to skip the 2020-21 season, which decreases the total number of AQ entries to 31 this year.
48-Team Bracket
For this forecast, a streamlined selection procedure would lower the field by 10 at-large teams along with 10 automatic qualifiers (the latter still receiving a revenue unit). The four highest seeds in each region would earn a bye into the second round, while four first-round matchups per region – 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9 – will take place without spectators on the home courts of the higher seeds.
To reduce travel, first-round matchups will be arranged with geographical considerations as a top priority. The diminished field means only 32 teams will contend at the central location. All entrants are required to achieve a minimum .500 conference record – known as the «Lunardi Rule» – to be eligible for at-large selections.
16-Team Bracket
In this projection, the committee will choose and rank the 16 most suitable teams available. No automatic qualifiers are included, though all conference champions who do not compete earn the allocated revenue unit.
To preserve a degree of national equilibrium, participation from any conference is limited to four teams. Furthermore, no region may feature more than one team from the same conference.
