Selection Sunday 2019: Start Time, Date, TV Schedule and More

One of the most exciting events in all of sports is almost upon us.

The 68-team field for this year's NCAA tournament will be announced on Sunday evening, two days ahead of the start of March Madness. The First Four will open the tourney with a pair of games on Tuesday.

But it hasn't been decided which teams will compete for the national championship. There have been 12 teams clinch automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments, but there are more of those on the way, and the NCAA tourney selection committee will have to decide which other teams deserve to fill the rest of the field.

Fans should start preparing, though—because it's nearly time to fill out those brackets.

Selection Sunday Information

Date: Sunday, March 17

Time: 6 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Automatic Bids Through Wednesday

Atlantic Sun: Liberty

Big South: Gardner-Webb

CAA: Northeastern

Horizon: Northern Kentucky

MAAC: Iona

Missouri Valley: Bradley

NEC: Fairleigh Dickinson

Ohio Valley: Murray State

Patriot: Colgate

Southern: Wofford

Summit League: North Dakota State

WCC: Saint Mary's

Schedule for Remaining Conference Tournament Championships

Saturday, March 16

America East championship game, 11 a.m.

MEAC championship game, 1 p.m.

Big 12 championship game, 6 p.m.

Big East championship game, 6 p.m.

Mountain West championship game, 6 p.m.

SWAC championship game, 6 p.m.

MAC championship game, 7:30 p.m.

ACC championship game, 8 p.m.

Big Sky championship game, 8 p.m.

Conference USA championship game, 8:30 p.m.

Southland championship game, 9:30 p.m.

WAC championship game, 10 p.m.

Pac-12 championship game, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 17

Big West championship game, midnight

Atlantic 10 championship game, 1 p.m.

SEC championship game, 1 p.m.

Sun Belt championship game, 2 p.m.

AAC championship game, 3:15 p.m.

Big Ten championship game, 3:30 p.m.

Ivy League championship game, 4 p.m.

All times ET.

No. 1 Seed Predictions

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Many bracket projections, including ESPN's Joe Lunardi's Bracketology, have the same four teams as the No. 1 seeds in this year's tournament: Virginia, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Kentucky.

Gonzaga is the No. 1 team in the country, but the AP Top 25 poll was released before Tuesday night's West Coast Conference Championship Game. The Bulldogs were expected to follow a dominant regular season with a conference tourney title, but that didn't happen. Instead, they were upset 60-47 by Saint Mary's, the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament.

However, Gonzaga still has a strong resume, likely one that will get it a No. 1 seed. The Bulldogs have only lost three games this season, and they are the only team that has beaten Duke while the Blue Devils were at full strength.

Virginia and North Carolina are the top two seeds in the ACC tournament. The seedings for those schools could depend on how the teams fare in its conference tourney.

Duke could also be in the conversation for a No. 1 seed if it wins the ACC tournament, especially if it does so by beating North Carolina in the semifinal and Virginia in the final.

Either way, it's quite likely that the ACC will have two No. 1 seeds—and potentially even three—if certain scenarios unfold with the nation's other top teams.

One of those that would need to happen is for Kentucky not to win the SEC tournament, for which the Wildcats are among the favorites.

It's also possible that Tennessee could win the SEC tournament and secure a No. 1 seed.

Although things can change, it seems  likely that the four No. 1 seeds will be Virginia, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Kentucky this year.