Louisville Cardinals player Jerry Smith jumps into the arms of teammate Kyle Kuric during the Big East men's championship game against the Syracuse Orange in New York, March 15, 2009. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Segar)

Let the Madness Begin!

Top-ranked University of Louisville and 64 other college basketball teams are ready for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

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For the next three weeks, no other sport will matter in America as much as college basketball.

Sports fans are in the grip of March Madness. They're arguing about seedings, filling out brackets, and talking about Cinderellas. Much of the excitement is about the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins tonight. (The Division I women's tournament is starting soon too.)

In the tournament, teams from 65 schools compete in a win-or-go-home tournament for a chance at winning a national championship.

The tournament is divided into four regional brackets: Midwest, East, South, and West. In those brackets are 16 teams that are assigned positions, or seeded, from one to 16, based on their regular season performance.

The Louisville Cardinals are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest bracket, as well as the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament. The University of Pittsburgh Panthers are tops in the East, with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels the top seed in the South, and the University of Connecticut Huskies ranked No. 1 in the West bracket.

What makes this tournament so crazy is that being a top-ranked team doesn't mean an easy road or guaranteed trip to the Final Four or the national championship game.

Each year, at least one low-seeded team becomes a Cinderella, surprising everyone by making a deep run in the tournament. Last year, that team was Davidson College. Davidson was the 10 seed in the Midwest bracket. They upset Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin to reach the Elite Eight. But then they ran into Kansas and were defeated by the eventual national champions.

It's runs like Davidson's that excite fans, but also give them fits—and give March its Madness.

The tournament is an intense, unpredictable roller coaster ride for sports fans. And it begins tonight.

The Alabama State Hornets and Morehead State Eagles meet for the play-in game at 7:30 p.m. in Dayton, Ohio. The Hornets and Eagles are the weakest teams in the tournament and are playing for the right to participate as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest bracket.

The next games are on March 19-20 when round one of the tournament is played. Round two follows on March 21-22, the Sweet Sixteen on March 26-27, and the Elite Eight on March 28-29.

The Final Four games will be played on April 4, followed by the national championship game on April 6. These games will take place in Detroit this year.

For a complete schedule of games and a printable tournament bracket, visit the official March Madness Web site.

Stay tuned to Scholastic News Online for more news from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, as well as coverage of the women's tournament!

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK

Read today’s story and answer the following question.

Will you be watching the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament? What team or teams will you be rooting for? Tell us what you think on the Scholastic News Online Blog!

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