** Congratulations Villanova!! **

The Wildcats won their second national championship in dramatic fashion!  What a game and what a great win for the region!

It’s time again for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments.  March Madness is a roller coaster ride of emotions with office pools, alumni pride, and love of amateur athletics all coming together.  Die-hard and casual fans converge to make each year’s tournament bigger than before.  So sharpen your pencils, fill in your brackets, and cheer for the underdogs.  Get the most out of the NCAA basketball tournaments with help from the NorthDelaWHEREHappening.com 2016 March Madness Guide!

~ Tournament Dates ~

• First Four: March 15 and 16
• First Round: March 17 and 18
• Second Round: March 19 and 20
• Sweet Sixteen: March 24 and 25
• Elite Eight: March 26 and 27
• Final Four: April 2
• National Championship: April 4

~ Braketology ~

You can print out a bracket from almost any sports website or cut one out from a magazine/newspaper.  You can compete with friends, strangers, and officemates.  Everything you’d ever want to know about the Bracket Challenge can be found here.  Sign up and have fun!  Good luck!

But the BEST thing is to play NorthDelaWHEREHappening’s March Madness Bracket Challenge!  Get in on the excitement of this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament with Northdelawherehappening.com (NDH) — Group: Dancin in North DelaWHERE.  Compete against other fans as you fill out a bracket and earn points for every correct pick!  Play the Tournament Challenge and you’ll have a chance to win the grand prize of a $10,000 Amazon Gift Card and a trip to the 2016 Maui Invitational.  Join our group, invite your friends and earn bragging rights by winning it all.  Best of all, it’s free to play and win.  Find out more, here…

~ Where to Go to a Game ~

Philadelphia is hosting the East Regional semifinals and final on March 25 and 27 at the Wells Fargo Center.  LaSalle University is the host school for these games that will eventually crown a Final Four participant.  Tickets are still available for all games.

If you’d like to road trip to some first and second round tournament games (March 17-20), other nearby host cities are Brooklyn (NY), Providence (RI), and Raleigh (NC).

~ Media Coverage of the NCAA Tournament ~

TELEVISION

CBS Sports and Turner Sports have joint U.S. television broadcast rights to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.  TBS will broadcast the Final Four games from Houston, marking the first time in tournament history that the game will air on cable.

• First Four: truTV
• First and Second rounds: CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV
• Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight): TBS and CBS
• National Semifinals (Final Four) and National Championship: TBS

RADIO

Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the entire 2016 NCAA tournament.  97.5 FM The Fanatic and a few AM stations will carry NCAA post-season games.  And if you’re in the vicinity of participating schools, you can listen to the university broadcast.  The schedules are often hard to find, but if you’re on the road or away from a TV, this is a good option to catch the action.

~ Local Rooting Interests ~

After Villanova lost to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament final, the Wildcats dropped from a potential #1 seed to a #2 in the South Regional.  An interesting Big Five match-up is possible with a ‘Nova win and an upset by #10 seed Temple.  That means there could be an all-Philly contest in the second round in Brooklyn.  There’s a good possibility that a Philadelphia team will be in the Sweet Sixteen!  C’mon Wildcats and Owls!

St. Joseph’s defeated VCU to capture the Atlantic 10 conference tournament title.  Their reward?  A #8 seed and a cross-country flight to Spokane, Washington to face #9 Cincinnati.  (The Hawk never dies, but he may be tired after that long flight.)  Go St. Joe’s!

** UPDATE **

Congratulations to Salesianum graduate Donte DiVincenzo, who is a freshman guard on the Villanova basketball team.  Although DiVincenzo has only played in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament against UNC Asheville, he is experiencing the thrill of his team going to the Final Four in Houston!  Villanova faces Oklahoma in the first national semifinal on Saturday.  Go Wildcats!

Senior guard Trevor Cooney of Syracuse is a key player helping the Orange to its fifth Final Four under legendary coach Jim Boeheim.  The Sanford School product helped the Orange defeat Dayton in the NCAA Tournament First Round by contributing 13 points.  The next time out, his 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists were key in a win against Middle Tennessee State.  Cooney dropped 15 on Gonzaga and then 8 on Virginia to help his team advance to a national semifinal versus North Carolina.  Go Orange!

~ Where to Watch the Games ~

Chelsea Tavern and Ernest & Scott Taproom

It’s March Draftness at Chelsea Tavern and Ernest & Scott Taproom.  All of the NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast on 14 HDTVs.  $4 draft beers from 50 taps will keep you lubricated during the action.  You can also enter to win an Atlantic City weekend getaway!  Chelsea is located at 821 N. Market Street and Ernest & Scott is at 902 N. Market.

BBC Tavern & Grill

During all of the tournament games, BBC will be pouring $3.50 pints of Yuengling and $4.50 pints of Lagunitas IPA.  Plus there are 1/2-price nachos and 50-cent wings.  BBC Tavern & Grill is located at 4019 Kennett Pike.

Grotto Pizza

Enjoy 22-ounce big Coors Lights ($3.50) and 2 cuts ($3) at the bar during tournament games.  If you are the champion of Grotto Pizza’s March Mania, you could win free pizza for a year!  See Grotto’s March Mania website for contest details.

Extreme Pizza

Pizza, beer, and basketball…what’s a better combination than that?  Head to LOMA for the games and make Extreme Pizza your March Madness headquarters.  Enjoy 7 draft beers and 7 large HDTVs.  Visit Extreme Pizza for more information.

Timothy’s on the Riverfront

Enjoy the NCAA March Madness specials at Timothy’s Riverfront Grill in Wilmington.  With “too many TVs to count,” Timothy’s is your perfect college basketball viewing spot.  For more info, visit Timothy’s.

Gallucio’s

Watch March Madness at Gallucio’s on Lovering Avenue where there will be game day draft and food specials.  Visit Gallucio’s for more information.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Need a March Madness getaway?  Head to one of four BW3 locations in Northern Delaware: Bear, Newark, Middletown, and Wilmington.  Buffalo Wild Wings developed a series of basketball themed mini-games and a bracket challenge competition.  The chain has also added special flavors, representing each of the regions hosting tournament games, to its menu.  Visit Buffalo Wild Wings for locations, information, and NCAA tournament promotions.

Stanley’s Tavern

Come to Brandywine Hundred’s favorite neighborhood bar for all of the NCAA Tournament games.  Stanley’s has 25 beers on tap and will be holding a March Madness Bike Giveaway Contest.  Visit Stanley’s Tavern for more info.

Catherine Rooney’s Wilmington

Catch all of the March Madness tournament action at Catherine Rooney’s!  Be at Rooney’s on Friday, March 18th for all of the games and to play the Bud Light March Madness Table Game Challenge.  The Challenge runs from 6-7 p.m.  You can play and win prizes including the Grand Prize — a Bud Light Speaker Tower!

Famous Taverns

Make sure you’re at a Famous Tavern to root for your favorite college team(s).  Don’t forget that none of the nine(9) Famous Taverns provide in-house food, but that allows you to feed your face with what you enjoy most before your bracket gets busted.  For more information, please visit the Famous Taverns website.  Famous Taverns include Buck’s, Jack’s, Jim’s, Joe’s, John’s, Mike’s, Pat’s, Tim’s, and Tom’s.

Hooters

Get ready for Hooters’ $50,000 “Pick 64 Bracket” challenge as well as its “Sweet 16 Bracket” challenge where you can win 2 VIP tickets and accommodations to The Hooters Regional Swimsuit Competition.  Plus, the wings are killer, the beers are cold, and the staff is friendly at all three area locations — Newark, New Castle, and Glen Mills.  For more information, visit Hooters.

~ Where to Watch/Listen to the Games Online ~

With a good Wi-Fi signal, you can watch games on your computer, tablet, or smart phone through CBSSports or the March Madness app.  You can pick whichever games you want to watch plus track how you’re doing in your office bracket pool.

You can also typically listen into games via internet radio.  Aside from professional broadcast URLs, most colleges and universities broadcast tournament games live via their websites.  You may not get video, but you’ll get a couple of excitable underclassmen giving you play-by-play.

~ NCAA Tournament House Party ~

March 19, 2016 is National Corn Dog Day!  Dating back to 1992, NCDD is  wonderful excuse to gather friends on the first Saturday of the NCAA tournament.  Throw a Corn Dog Party where participants bid on how many corn dogs, tater tots, and beers they can consume from tip-off of the first NCAA game to the final buzzer of the final game of the day.  The famed “Triple Double” is 10 corn dogs, 10 servings of tots, and 10 brewskis.  It’s tougher than it sounds!  Official beer is Pabst Blue Ribbon.

El Diablo Burritos

Calm your March Madness by letting someone else prepare the food for your house party.  El Diablo Burritos can put together a wonderful assortment of Mexican goodies for you.  To order catering, call (302)439-4541.