<P> The 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was a 68 - team single - elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2017--18 season . The 80th edition of the tournament began on March 13, 2018, and concluded with the championship game on April 2 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas . </P> <P> During the first round, UMBC became the first 16 - seed to defeat a 1 - seed in the men's tournament by defeating Virginia 74--54 . For the first time in tournament history, none of the four top seeded teams in a single region (the South) advanced to the Sweet 16 . Also, the tournament featured the first regional final matchup of a 9 - seed (Kansas State) and an 11 - seed (Loyola - Chicago). </P> <P> Villanova, Michigan, Kansas, and Loyola - Chicago, the "Cinderella team" of the tournament, reached the Final Four . Villanova defeated Michigan in the championship game, 79--62 . </P> <P> A total of 68 teams entered the 2018 tournament . 32 automatic bids were awarded, one to each program that won their conference tournament . The remaining 36 bids were "at - large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee . </P>

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