MARCH MADNESS

After a three-day pause, the madness will resume on Thursday with the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament.

The stakes will be higher for March Madness this year in some states.

Jermaine Samuels had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova advanced to its third Final Four in the last six NCAA Tournaments with a 50-44 victory over Houston in the South Region final.

Morgan Maly matched a career high with 20 points and Lauren Jensen and Molly Mogensen each had 16 as 10th-seeded Creighton defeated No. 7 seed Colorado 84-74 in an NCAA tournament first-round game.

March Madness has college basketball fans glued to their seats. Some men are finding an excuse to spend some extra time on the couch.

ESPN has treated the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on the same level as the College Football Playoff and “Monday Night Football.”.

In case you've ever looked at an NCAA Tournament bracket and wondered, "Where the heck is that school located?," we have just the quiz for you.

How do you pick your winner?

About 45 million Americans say they plan to bet on this year’s March Madness college basketball championship tournament, and an increasing percentage will do it in a way that doesn’t include filling out brackets.

It’s tournament time, which, for college basketball fans, is the best time of the year.

College basketball fans hungering for a return to normal this March should feel happy.

A year after the NCAA got called out for gender inequities between its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the organization has made changes over the past six months to make the events more equitable.

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament will start using “March Madness” in marketing and branding beginning this season.

The Indianapolis 500 plans to host 135,000 spectators next month, which would make it the largest sporting event in the world since the pandemic.

A Supreme Court case being argued this week amid March Madness could erode the difference between elite college athletes and professional sports stars. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)WASHINGTON – A Supreme Court case being argued this week amid March Madness could erode the difference between elite college athletes and professional sports stars. In 1984, the high court rejected NCAA rules restricting the broadcast of college football. Currently, athletic scholarships can cover the cost of college athletes’ attendance at college. Whatever happens at the high court, how college athletes are compensated is already likely changing.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Memorial Hospital had some fun with March Madness when it welcomed three newborns just in time for the Sweet 16. The trio of future basketball players slam-dunked their way into the world with the help of their coaches (AKA mothers). Their cute basketball hats and nets were handmade, with love, by labor and delivery nurse Becky Geschwind, RN, at Memorial’s Special Beginnings. Geschwind is known to have knitted countless baby outfits for babies delivered at the hospital over the years. Thanks to Memorial for sharing the sweetness with us!

(AP Photo/Wayne Parry)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Some sports betting companies are offering tools that allow compulsive gamblers to block themselves from most online sites. Unibet last week announced it was making software from U.K.-based Gamban available to customers in the U.S. The software blocks thousands of licensed and unlicensed gambling sites and is constantly updated to add new ones as they appear. And states including New Jersey offer state-administered self-exclusion lists where gamblers can prohibit themselves from gambling for differing periods, or permanently. “We strongly support the ability of gamblers to self-exclude through both the operator and on their own personal devices,” he said.

(Photo by Trevor Brown Jr/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)The up and down basketball season for the Florida Gators ended on a harsh down note. Florida led by 11 points, but couldn’t hold the lead and lost to 15th seeded Oral Roberts 81-78. Instead, the Gators season is over. “I really would have liked to have seen Keytonae and his teammates have the opportunity to celebrate and go to the Sweet 16 in another week and see what happens from there. He finished the season averaging 16 points per game.

The NCAA Tournament and bars were made for each other, with fans of powerhouse teams like Gonzaga and longshots like Colgate pouring in to cheer their teams. This year, the tournaments back, and bars and restaurants, some shuttered for months, are open for March Madness, though things may look a little different. This year, the tournament’s back, and bars and restaurants, some shuttered for months, are open for March Madness, though things may look a little different. As for those who choose to watch at bars or restaurants, their experiences will vary depending on their location. AdIn Chicago, city inspectors cite bars and restaurants that violate strict capacity rules.

But 8% fewer plan to fill out brackets pools because many offices remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Fewer Americans expect to fill out brackets for the NCAA's college basketball tournament this year, but the overall number of people making bets on March Madness should remain about the same as the last time the tournament was held, according to the gambling industry's national trade association. The American Gaming Association released figures Sunday predicting that more than 47 million Americans plan to make a bet — legal or otherwise — on March Madness this year. That's about the same number that said they planned to bet on the 2019 tournament. “The sports betting landscape has changed dramatically since 2019, and as a result, tournament betting has transformed,” AGA President and CEO Bill Miller said.

INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced Monday it plans to hold the entire 2021 men’s college basketball tournament in one geographic location to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 and is in talks with Indianapolis to be the host city. The Final Four is already set to be held in Indianapolis next year and the NCAA has its headquarters in the Indiana capital. 🚨 #MarchMadness Update 🚨The 2021 NCAA Tournament will be held in one geographic area. 👉 https://t.co/0b9eNzVcRS pic.twitter.com/MO6M7M6Ood — NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) November 16, 2020The association said it is relocating early-round games that had been scheduled to be played at 13 already-determined sites. The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee said hosting all 68 teams in one place would “enhance the safety and well-being of the event.”

The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, approved a plan to allow college basketball players to start working with their coaches for the first time since the pandemic wiped out March Madness. The summer access period for men's and women's players will begin July 20. The summer access period for men's and women's players will begin July 20. The NCAA basketball tournaments were cancelled days before the fields were scheduled to be selected because of the coronavirus outbreak. It will also consider adding more activities for basketball players during the July 1-19 period.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - We all found out the high school football playoff brackets last Sunday when the Florida High School Athletic Association unveiled its field. Of course, it's all for fun, but how would a 32-team field look? I gave our Super 10 the top seeds in the News4Jax playoff bracket and used RPI for spots 11-32. In the instance of RPI ties, I used the opponent's winning percentage as the first tiebreaker. RPI, or ratings percentage index, multiplied a team's winning percentage (.35), an opponent's winning percentage (.35) and an opponent's opponent's winning percentage (.30) to come up with an RPI.