I have done a post like this every year since MSF began, outlining the schedule and tournament sites of each year’s upcoming March Madness season. And even though we are still a long ways from Selection Sunday, I like to get the post out early so that people can start thinking forward with their March Madness ticket and travel plans.
The first question, of course, is will your team make it? And if they do, what seed will they get? Here is a link to the best March Madness 2012 bracketology on the web, courtesy of our own Andy Bottoms. (Watch and see how many he gets right on Selection Sunday.)
And now, here is all of the basic information you need to know about the 2012 edition of March Madness, including the schedule, key dates, all of the tournament sites, and links to Vivid Seats – the official provider of MSF – to buy tickets to each of the 67 games that will comprise this year’s NCAA Tournament – the greatest sports month of the year.
March Madness 2012 Schedule and Key Dates
Here are the key dates to keep in mind as this year’s NCAA Tournament approaches:
- March 5-March 11: Conference Championship Week
- March 11: Selection Sunday
- March 13 and 14: First Four
- March 15 and 16: Second Round Games*
- March 17 and 18: Third Round Games*
- March 22 and 23: Sweet 16 Games
- March 24 and 25: Elite 8 Games
- March 31: Final 4
- April 2: NCAA Championship Game
* – Remember that because of the First Four, the games on the NCAA Tournament’s traditional opening weekend are now officially referred to as “second round” and “third round” games, as silly as that sounds.
March Madness 2012 Tournament Sites and Tickets
Below you will find a breakdown of the March Madness 2012 schedule by tournament site, with links for you to buy tickets to each site. Obviously it is tough to know which site to buy tickets for if you follow a specific team, which is why I encourage you to bookmark this page so you can come back in March when the field of 68 is announced.
All ticket links below go to VividSeats.com. Midwest Sports Fans does have an affiliate relationship with Vivid, so we greatly appreciate you purchasing your tickets via the links below as each purchase helps to keep our website alive and supports our brave troops and proud veterans via Operation Homefront.
Additionally, here are some other links that may help with your travel plans:
- Hotels.com: Book hotels for March Madness 2012
- Priceline: Last-minute deals of up to 60% off on March Madness travel — flights, hotels, cars, and Packages
- Travelocity: Travelocity saves you 20% or more on March Madness air fares and more
First Four Sites and Tickets
- Dates: March 13th and 14th
- Site: University of Dayton Arena in Dayton Ohio
- First Four Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 – Tue, March 13th | Session 2 – Wed, March 14th
Second and Third Round Sites and Tickets
Portland, Oregon
- Dates: March 15th and 17th
- Site: Rose Garden
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Dates: March 15th and 17th
- Site: The Pit
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Dates: March 15th and 17th
- Site: Consol Energy Center
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Louisville, Kentucky
- Dates: March 15th and 17th
- Site: KFC Yum! Center
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Columbus, Ohio
- Dates: March 16th and 18th
- Site: Nationwide Arena
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Omaha, Nebraska
- Dates: March 16th and 18th
- Site: CenturyLink Center
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Nashville, Tennessee
- Dates: March 16th and 18th
- Site: Bridgestone Arena
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Greensboro, North Carolina
- Dates: March 16th and 18th
- Site: Greensboro Coliseum
- Tickets: All Sessions | Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3
Regional Sites and Tickets
East Regional in Boston, Massachusetts
- Dates: March 22nd and March 24th
- Site: TD Garden
- Tickets: All Sessions | Sweet 16 Games | Elite 8 Game
West Regional in Phoenix, Arizona
- Dates: March 22nd and March 24th
- Site: US Airways Center
- Tickets: All Sessions | Sweet 16 Games | Elite 8 Game
Midwest Regional in St. Louis, Missouri
- Dates: March 23rd and 25th
- Site: Edward Jones Dome
- Tickets: All Sessions | Sweet 16 Games | Elite 8 Game
South Regional in Atlanta, Georgia
- Dates: March 23rd and 25th
- Site: Georgia Dome
- Tickets: All Sessions | Sweet 16 Games | Elite 8 Game
Final Four Site and Tickets
New Orleans, Louisiana
- Dates: March 31 and April 2
- Site: The Superdome
- Tickets: All Sessions | Final Four Games | National Championship Game
March Madness History
Longtime readers of MSF know that we have done a number of posts related to the history of this wonderful sporting event. Here are links to these posts:
- 10 Most Memorable March Madness Moments
- NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament History: Past Champions, Final Four participants, Final Four locations by year, and interesting tournament tidbits
- NCAA Champions – Mens Basketball: All-time list of mens basketball NCAA Tournament champions, ordered from most won to least.
- NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament MOPs: All-Time List
And just to whet your appetite or another exciting March, how about the last two One Shining Moment videos? MSF’s beloved Butler Bulldogs are featured prominently in both, and since they don’t look like national contenders this year, it seems like an appropriate tribute.
Of course, at this time last year everyone was saying the same thing…
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About Jerod Morris
[...] Now that football season is over, at least as far as I’m concerned, not too early to start looking forward to March Madness 2012: Dates, Schedule, Tournament Sites, and Tickets. [...]