<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> "2017 </Td> <Td> 2019" </Td> </Tr> <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>

When does the men's college basketball tournament start