March 14 is the day to watch out for. This is the Selection Sunday on which 2010 NCAA when college basketball team match-ups will be officially announced. You can expect the opening round games on March 16.

Then off to the month-long battle of skill, perseverance and dazzling performances by top college teams to emerge as the 2010 champions. The final four games are to be played from April 3 to 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

NCAA March Madness tickets for top venues are already on sale.

Opening Round: March 16

UD Arena, Dayton, OH

First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 18 and 20

New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA

Dunkin Donuts Center, Providence, RI

HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA

Spokane Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA

First and Second Rounds: Friday and Sunday, March 19 and 21

HSBC Arena, Buffalo

Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL

Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI

Ford Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Regionals: Thursday and Saturday, March 25 and 27

East: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY

West: Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT

Regionals: Friday and Sunday, March 26 and 28

Midwest: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO

South: Reliant Stadium, Houston TX

Final Four: Saturday and Monday, April 3 and 5

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

In an earlier post I wrote on the origin of the term March Madness.  Another term that intrigues me is “The Big Dance”. You must have heard it: “All eyes on the Big Dance”. Just how did it come about? I haven’t been able to find a reliable record on its origin.

Now for some records of the best teams.

Six schools have won top honors in the NCAA Division I Men’s basketball. Guess who?

[1] UCLA has 11 championships to its credit.

[2] Kentucky won the March Madness games 7 times;

[3] Indiana has had 5 victories so far.

[4] North Carolina emerged at the top 4 times.

[5] Duke and Kansas have 3 titles each.

[6] 8 teams each have been champions twice.

Will there be a team that will do what our Men’s hockey team is doing in this 2010 Winter Olympics? Come from nowhere to spring a surprise? That will be something to look out for. But the interest starts with the seeding. Injury and slump by power players will be the main determiners for this.

Check out this website for a twist on the theme…