March may be 12 days old already, but its namesake madness doesn’t start until Sunday.
The brackets for this year’s men’s and women’s N.C.A.A. tournaments will be announced on Sunday night, at 6 p.m. Eastern for the men on CBS and 8 p.m. for the women on ESPN.
The games start for the men on March 16 and conclude with the Final Four in Houston on April 1 and the championship game on April 3. The women’s tournament begins March 17 and leads up to the Final Four in Dallas on March 31 and the championship game April 2.
Here are several things to expect as both brackets are unveiled.
MEN
The Big 12 should dominate the top of the seeding.
The reigning national champion, Kansas, is in the mix to be the top overall seed despite losing three starters from last year’s title team. Coach Bill Self missed the Big 12 tournament with an illness, but an assistant coach, Norm Roberts, led the third-ranked Jayhawks to their conference championship game, though they fell there to Texas, 76-56. If they’re installed as the top seed in the Midwest, the Jayhawks would play the regional in nearby Kansas City, Mo.
No. 7 Texas, No. 10 Baylor, No. 12 Kansas State, No. 22 Texas Christian and Iowa State of the Big 12 are also projected to be among the top seeds.
Houston (30-2), the No. 1 team in…
