NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament: First Four Explained

The First Four round of the Division I NCAA Basketball Tournament is essentially a play-in style four games where the winners will earn their way into the field of 64 teams.

© Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK and © Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The First Four round of the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament is often misunderstood, or fans simply aren't aware of how teams ended up there. 

In 2011 on the men's side and 2021 for the women, the First Four was introduced to trim the number of teams from 68 to 64 in the first round. Thirty-one automatic qualifiers plus 37 at-large bids means eight teams would enter its own play-in style tournament across four games.

The First Four round consists of two games featuring the four lowest-ranked automatic qualifiers and two games between the four lowest-ranked, at-large bids. The winners of these matchups earn their way into the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the field of 64 teams.

Here are examples from last year's First Four to paint the full picture:

2022 Men's First Four

Midwest: Texas Southern 76, Texas A&M-Corpus-Christi 67

East: Indiana 66, Wyoming 58

South: Wright State 93, Bryant 82

West: Notre Dame 89, Rutgers 87

Texas Southern earned its spot into the field of 64 and then competed in the first round of the Midwest region where the Tigers fell to the eventual champions Kansas.

Indiana advanced to the first round where it lost to Saint Mary's in the East region. Wright State fell to Arizona in the South region, and Notre Dame got as far as the second round in the West.

2022 Women's First Four

Greensboro: Howard 55, UIW 51

Greensboro: Dayton 88, DePaul 57

Bridgeport: Longwood 74, Mount St. Mary's 70

Spokane: Missouri State 61, Florida State 50

In the Greensboro region, Howard advanced to the first round but fell to the eventual champions South Carolina while Dayton fell to Georgia.

Longwood lost to NC State in the Bridgeport region as the Wolfpack made it all the way to the Elite Eight. Missouri State lost to Ohio State in the first round of the Spokane region as the Buckeyes eventually advanced to the Sweet 16.

2023 First Four Schedule

• Men's First Four: Tuesday and Wednesday, March 14-15 in Dayton Ohio (times TBD)
• Women's First Four: Wednesday and Thursday, March 15-16 (times TBD)

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