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The NCAA men’s March Madness Basketball Tournament concludes tonight with the championship game between the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks and No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels.
Here’s are some interesting things to note before the NCAA Tournament men’s final tonight:
What time does the game start?
The game will tipoff at 9:20 p.m. Eastern time.
What channel is the game on?
Normally the NCAA men’s final would be televised on CBS, but that is changing this year — tonight’s game will air on TBS. Turner Sports announcer Jim Nantz will be announcing the game, and Bill Raftery and Grant Hill will join him in the broadcast booth.
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How much money does the NCAA tournament make?
The NCAA is set to make $870 million in revenue from just the men’s March Madness basketball tournaments in 2022, according to an NCAA filing. Other revenues from the regular season and conference tournaments are not included in that figure.
Who gets that money?
Despite the relaxing of name, image and likeness (NIL) rules by the NCAA in 2021, the organization does not directly compensate any of the participating student athletes. Nearly all of the revenue is dispersed to the NCAA’s 1,200-member schools, with the bulk of the money going to Division I programs through a conference payout system, according to the NCAA.
Star college basketball players participating in the women’s March Madness tournament are actually set to make more money through NIL deals than the male players.
How much money is bet on the tournament?
The 2022 men’s tournament will probably be the biggest sports betting event in U.S. history.
According to estimates from PlayUSA, $3 billion is expected to be legally wagered during this year’s college basketball tournament, doubling totals from 2021.
“Wagering on March Madness typically dwarfs the Super Bowl, and this year the difference could be dramatic,” Eric Ramsey, analyst for PlayUSA.com, wrote to MarketWatch in an email. “The high betting volume is a function of the NCAA Tournament’s popularity coupled with 67 games played over a condensed schedule of just a few weeks. Add in the proliferation of legalized sports betting across the U.S., and this year will easily shatter the record for the most bet-on event set last year by March Madness.”
Who is favored to win?
According to Monday’s betting line from DraftKings
DKNG,
sportsbook, Kansas is a four-point favorite over North Carolina.
