March Madness 2018: Bracket Release Dates for Men, Women Tournaments

In some ways, the madness of March has already begun. But the 2018 NCAA tournaments are still over a week away as teams fight for spots in the Big Dance with strong performances in their respective conference tournaments.

While some teams have already punched their tickets to the tournaments, many teams in both the women's and men's divisions have to win their respective conferences just to see their names get called on Selection Sunday (men) and Monday (women).

The NCAA men's tournament selection show will have a different format than previous years, as the show will reveal all 68 teams in the tournament before showing any of the head-to-head matchups in the brackets.

"The Selection Show will begin with the announcement of all 68 tournament teams, followed by the release of the brackets and matchups, with analysis, discussion, interviews and reactions from teams as they find out if they made the 'Dance' along with their region, seeding and opponent," CBS Sports and Turner Sports announced in a press release.

Here's a quick look at the information you'll need to know ahead of both the men's and women's selection shows followed by a preview of each division's top contenders heading into the NCAA tournaments.

NCAA Tournament Selection Shows: Time, TV channel for Men and Women

Men

Time: 6 p.m. ET
Date: Sunday, March 11
TV channel: TBS

Women

Time: 7 p.m. ET
Date: Monday, March 12th
TV channel: ESPN

The NCAA tournament selection shows will be streaming on the March Madness Live app.

Contenders: Women

Baylor

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Lady Bears moved up to No. 2 in the national rankings after they defeated Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game, 77-69.

Helped by South Carolina beating then-No. 2 ranked Mississippi State in the SEC title game, Baylor looks to be a virtual lock for a No. 1 seed when the brackets are released.

With a 31-1 record, the Lady Bears have been a dominant force this season with their only loss coming by way of UCLA back in November. Since that loss, Baylor has won 28 consecutive games, including two wins over the aforementioned Longhorns.

Baylor has a legitimate shot at making a run at the Final Four this year after reaching the Elite Eight a year ago.

University of Connecticut

Jessica Hill/Associated Press

I think it's safe to say that no team in college basketball, men's or women's, is playing better than the Huskies at the moment.

It's more than the team's undefeated record of 32-0 this season; it's even more than the team's 100-0 record against AAC opponents (86-0 in regular-season games and 14-0 in the conference tournaments). If you watched the Huskies Monday against the fourth-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the AAC semifinal, then you saw basketball in its purest form.

Connecticut, to put it nicely, beat down Cincinnati in one of the more lopsided victories you'll see, 75-21. At one point, the game was close at 9-5 in favor of Connecticut, but then the Huskies turned it on in the first quarter, holding the Bearcats to five points in the first half and zero in the second quarter.

To put it simply, UConn is the team to beat on the women's side of things, and it doesn't look like losing anytime soon.

Contenders: Men

Virginia

Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images

While there are at least two teams in the women's bracket that should reach the Final Four with relative ease, the same can't be said for the men. But for the time being, Virginia appears to be the odds-on favorite to make a run in this year's tournament when it's all said and done.

In a season where the Kentucky Wildcats are nowhere near contention (yes, you read that right) and is currently projected as a sixth seed by ESPN's bracketology expert Joe Lunardi (h/t A Sea of Blue's Zac Oakes), it's hard to predict how things will shape up once the brackets are released. After all, this is what March Madness is all about.

But the Cavaliers have been special all season long, posting a 28-2 record this season, including an incredible comeback victory over Louisville last week to kick off the chaos of the month.

Virginia will be a No. 1 seed in the tournament as long as it doesn't suffer a complete collapse in the ACC tournament and will be the unanimous pick for many fans and pundits once brackets can be filled in.

Duke

Lance King/Getty Images

The Blue Devils are a lot of things, including incredibly frustrating and unpredictable.

But there's no denying how good Duke can be on any given day, ranking in the top 10 in both offense and defense in the country despite inconsistent performances against high-level competition.

With the likes of Wendell Carter Jr., Grayson Allen and freshman phenom Marvin Bagley III, how could anyone count out the Blue Devils? And seeing as they just pulled off a remarkable comeback against a strong North Carolina squad last week, maybe they'll have it all figured out when the tournament rolls around.

Picking Duke to make a run at the Final Four is risky because of its inconsistencies and flaws, but it's hard to like any other team's chances at making a run after a tumultuous regular season.