March Madness is back—and this year, 10 teams from DC, Maryland, and Virginia are represented in the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. Here’s a quick guide to who’s dancing, and when and how to watch them:
Men’s Tournament
Howard University
Record: 23-10
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic
Region and seed: Midwest, No. 16
Opening opponent: University of Maryland, Baltimore County (No. 16) in the First Four on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:40 PM (truTV). Winner faces Michigan (No. 1) on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 PM (CBS).
What to know: Under coach Kenny Blakeney, the Bison have made the tournament three times in the past four seasons; prior to his arrival, their last NCAA appearance was in 1992. Do-it-all junior wing Cedric Taylor III averages 17.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game—making him the only Division I men’s player to average 17+ ppg, 6+ rpg, 3+ apg, 1+ spg and 1+ bpg. Is that a weirdly-arbitrary set of numbers? You bet. Welcome to sports analysis!
Fun fact: Howard’s men’s and women’s teams have made the NCAA tournament in the same season for the first time in school history.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Record: 24-8
Conference: America East
Region and seed: Midwest, No. 16
Opening opponent: Howard University (No. 16) in the First Four on Tuesday, March 17 at 6:40 PM (truTV). Winner faces Michigan (No. 1) on Thursday, March 19 at 7:00 PM (CBS).
What to know: The Retrievers have won 12 straight games and are connecting on 38 percent of their three-point shots—a very important number for underdog teams! Also, retrievers have a special connection to basketball.
Fun fact: In 2018, UMBC scored the first victory by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament history by defeating Virginia.
University of Virginia
Record: 29-5
Conference: Atlantic Coast
Region and seed: Midwest, No. 3
Opening opponent: Wright State (No. 14) on Friday, March 20 at 1:50 PM (TBS).
What to know: UVA hasn’t won a NCAA tournament game since 2019—the same year the Cavaliers won the national title. But coming off a strong performance against No. 1 overall NCAA seed Duke in the ACC tournament final, the team looks ready to snap that streak.
Fun Fact: UVA’s men’s and women’s teams both made the NCAA tournament in the same season for only the third time (2001, 2018) in the last 25 years.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Record: 27-7
Conference: Atlantic 10
Region and seed: South, No. 11
Opening opponent: North Carolina (No. 6) on Thursday, March 19 at 6:50 PM (TNT).
What to know: The Rams, who captured their second straight A-10 tournament title, have won 16 of their last 17 games. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels are without star forward and surefire NBA Draft Lottery pick Caleb Wilson, whose season-ending hand injury has left a hole in their frontcourt. This could be a trendy upset pick in your office bracket.
Fun Fact: VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr.’s father coached A-10 school St. Joseph’s from 1995-2019 and was named national coach of the year in 2004-05.
Women’s Tournament
Howard University
Record: 26-7
Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic
Region and seed: Region 1, No. 14
Opening opponent: Ohio State (No. 3) on Saturday, March 21 at 11:30 AM (ESPN2).
What to know: Howard has won eight straight games and is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2022.
Fun fact: The Bison received their highest-ever NCAA seed.
University of Maryland
Record: 23-8
Conference: Big Ten
Region and seed: Region 1, No. 5
Opening opponent: Murray State (No. 12) on Friday, March 20 at 3 PM (ESPNU).
What to know: ESPN’s number-crunching analytic prediction tool gives the Terrapins a 94 percent chance of wining their first game, which is both: a) very good; b) quite possibly a kiss of death, if you’re a superstitious sort or simply just someone who has noticed how every time television announcers talk about how someone is an exceptional free-throw shooter, they promptly clank their next attempt. (Ask Steph Curry! He knows!)
Fun fact: Under head coach Brenda Frese, Maryland has reached a dozen Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights, three Final Fours, and won the 2006 title.
University of Richmond
Record: 26-7
Conference: Atlantic 10
Region and seed: Region 1, No. 3
Opening opponent: Nebraska (No. 11) in the First Four on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 PM (ESPN2). Winner faces Baylor (No. 6) on Friday, March 20 at 2 PM (ESPN).
What to know: Two-time A-10 Player of the Year Maggie Doogan leads the Spiders, who are in the NCAA tournament for the third straight season. Last year, Richmond upset No. 9 seed Georgia Tech—the program’s first-ever March Madness win—and played eventual Final Four participant UCLA to a draw in the first half of its loss to the Bruins.
Fun fact: This will be the first-ever game between Nebraska and Richmond.
University of Virginia
Record: 26-7
Conference: Atlantic Coast
Region and seed: Division 1, No. 10
Opening opponent: Arizona State (No. 10) in the First Four on Thursday, March 19 at 9 PM (ESPN2). Winner faces Georgia (No.7) on Saturday, March 21 at 1:30 PM (ESPN2).
What to know: While UVA only finished 11-7 in the ACC, that was enough to join a record-breaking nine schools from the conference making the NCAA tournament. Point guard Kymora Johnson is a bucket-producer: she averages 19 points per game, and her 5.9 assists per game lead the ACC.
Fun fact: A Herndon native, Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton—aka “Coach Mox”—is one of only four Division I coaches to start their career with 60 victories in fewer than 70 games.
Virginia Tech
Record: 23-9
Conference: Atlantic Coast
Region and seed: Region 3, No. 9
Opening opponent: Oregon (No. 8) on Friday, March 20 at 1:30 PM (ESPN2).
What to know: Last season, the Hokies saw their NCAA bubble burst on Selection Sunday, missing the tournament for the first time since 2019. This year’s squad hangs it hats on defense, holding opponents to 38.1 percent shooting.
Fun fact: This is the program’s 50th season.
West Virginia
Record: 27-6
Conference: Big 12
Region and seed: Region 3, No. 4
Opening opponent: Miami of Ohio (No. 13) on Saturday, March 21 at 5 PM (ESPNU).
What to know: The Mountaineers have won six games in a row and will be hosting NCAA tournament games for the first time since 1992, which means a Sweet 16 appearance is in their grasp. Of course, that’s also why USA Today named them one of five teams “under the most pressure” in March Madness. Gulp!
Fun fact: In a November upset of Duke, a series of ejections for an on-court scuffle that took place just before halftime left the Mountaineers with only five players in the second half. Depth is overrated!
Jenae Barnes previously reported and fact-checked for Capital B Gary in Indiana, 5280 Magazine in Denver, Forbes in New York and ABC News in Washington, D.C. She is a 2024 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow. As a DC-area native, she received her Bachelor’s from George Mason University and Master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.
Patrick Hruby joined the magazine in 2022. He previously worked as an editor or writer for ESPN, VICE, Sports on Earth, Global Sport Matters, and The Washington Times, and has contributed to publications including The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.
