March is a very exciting time for basketball fans! It means the biggest tournament in college basketball is right around the corner. That’s right, it’s March Madness time! It is that wonderful time of year, when your family and friends send you brackets and tell you to fill them out. Whether you’re a true sports fan or maybe you’re just going with vibes, in 2026, there are so many ways to get involved with March Madness! And if you’re on the Illinois State Campus, you may have heard the term “Arch Madness” thrown around.
When will the madness stop! Slow down, and don’t worry. I am here to break it down for you. You may be asking, Ella, what are your credentials to be informing me on basketball tournaments? I will have you know I have won my family’s March Madness bracket two years in a row, thank you very much.
First, let’s talk about Arch Madness.
“Arch Madness” is the Missouri Valley Basketball Conference Tournament. This is the geographic conference that schools like ISU, Belmont, Bradley, and SIU are part of. For the last 32 years, Arch Madness has been held at the neutral site of St. Louis Enterprise Center. (This means no teams have home court advantage– a way to even the playing field). Get it, it’s called “Arch Madness” because of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. It’s very clever.
It’s a very exciting time at Illinois State, because ISU is ranked as seed #3– basically translating to the third-best team in our conference. The two teams ahead of us are Bradley (our biggest rival) and Belmont.
- Bradley is seed #2. This season, ISU has actually played Bradley twice this season, coming out with a win (1/17) and a loss (2/21). Overall, Bradley has more conference wins than ISU, which is why they are ranked higher.
- Belmont is seed #1. ISU recently beat Belmont in their last game of the season! This was an extremely close game (which I attended). The final score came down to 74-81, with ISU pulling through after two halves to be neck-and-neck. (It’s kinda a big deal that we were able to beat the best team in our conference during our last game before Arch Madness).
Now, back to the basics. Teams that win their conference championships will get an automatic spot in March Madness. March Madness is the NCAA tournament (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the biggest tournament in college basketball. This means 31 teams, who are their conference champions, get automatic bids in the March Madness Tournament. 37 other teams will then be picked by the Selection Committee to fill in the rest of the bracket. These are called “at large bids”.
*Hypothetical: Two teams from the Missouri Valley Conference could make March Madness
Let’s say ISU and Belmont go to the Arch Madness championship. Let’s say ISU wins the championship. This means ISU gets to go automatically to be one of the 31 conference champion teams in March Madness. But Belmont is also a really good team. Even though they didn’t win, the selection committee knows they are a good team, so they may choose Belmont to be one of the 37 other teams to play. In this case, Belmont would receive the at-large bid.
Usually, the selection committee will favor more prestigious Big 10 or SEC basketball programs for these at-large bids.
March Madness features 68 total teams. When looking at the bracket, you will see a table featuring 8 teams labeled “The First Four”. You guessed it, this is the first four games. These are a blend of at-large teams and the conference bid champions.
Okay, this is where it gets a little tricky. The four games consist of 2 groups of 4 teams, four #16 seeds, and four #11 seeds. (Let’s break that down!)
The #16 seeds are the four lowest-ranked conference champions.
The #11 seeds are the four lowest-ranked at-large seeds (these are teams that likely just barely got into the March Madness tournament– they are the underdogs).
There will be two #16 seed v #16 games. The winner of these games will move into the official bracket, taking the #16 seed slots, matched with their region. Similarly, the #11 seed game winners move into their regions’ #11 seed slots.
Now the bracket is officially completed with 64 teams. It’s time for the opening rounds to begin.
Both Arch Madness and March Madness are single-elimination styles. This means once you lose, you are out!
Bracket ranking is determined by the Selection Committee. Since March Madness is a bigger tournament, it comes with more prestige, coverage, and regulation. Rankings that determine the brackets are revealed on “Selection Sunday”– the Sunday before games start. Rankings follow a simple rank method, with the #1 seed being the best. The bracket format determines who plays whom.
Let’s move on to our final subject, filling in your bracket. After Selection Sunday, the NCAA will release an official bracket to the public. This is to allow March Madness audiences to participate in the long-held tradition of predicting who will win each game.
This can be as low-stakes or high-stakes as you want it to be. Some people bet lots of money on their brackets. Some people do group brackets for a small prize. My family has a pool where everyone puts in $5. Then, the person with the most accurate bracket by the end gets the pooled money. It’s all good fun!
Everyone has a different technique when it comes to filling out the bracket. Some like to go strictly by rankings, others look at the past seasons, total player roster, etc. I personally look at rankings, but also see if the teams have played each other before. Sometimes a team is set to play a higher-ranked team, but the lower-ranked team has actually beaten the higher seed at some point this season. It’s always good to throw an upset in there, too. (Lower-ranked team beating a higher-ranked team).
You can consider as few or as many factors as you please. I know people who root for teams based on how much they like to vacation in the state the college is located in, and I know people who judge based on school color schemes and branding. After all, there’s nothing wrong with rooting for your favorite team to take it all! If you love Notre Dame, have them go all the way! Use logic or your heart.
Final note, there are a few ways you can fill out the brackets. The NCAA allows you to print a physical bracket. I like to do this, so I can write my response out and highlight the wins and cross out losses. The ESPN app has also launched a free bracket program that allows you to create a group to share brackets. This way, the app will track your points based on wins and losses automatically, letting you know which of your friends is in the lead with their picks! I am also planning to send out a Her Campus ISU March Madness Bracket.
Go forth and conquer the Arch Madness and March Madness brackets, ladies! And as always, Roll Birds!