The initial bracket released on Selection Sunday includes 60 locked-in teams and four empty spaces, to be determined among eight teams — the four lowest-seeded automatic bids and the four lowest-seeded at-large bids — competing in the First Four play-in games. The winners of these four games will take up the final four available spots and complete the field of 64.
This year, the First Four matchups will be held on Thursday, March 18, in West Lafayette and Bloomington, Ind.