Hi guys, I am just a casual college basketball fan, and since I am Canadian I really don't have a clear idea of how many conferences there actually is. It seems like there are hundreds of schools out there, how many conferences are actually there? And how do they decide the top 64 teams? Is there a certain number of teams they pick from each conference? Or just the top 64 teams overall? Thanks for any help.
In D1 (division 1), there are 32 conferences (see this). I don't know how the teams are picked though, so sorry about that!
Teams that win there conference tournament are automatically in. Then, they have a selection committee to pick the best teams that didn't win there conference tournament. A conference like the ACC will usually get atleast 6 teams in, while one of the smaller conferences usually only get 1 team in (the team that won there conference tournament).
wow, that's tough competition, I now have a much better understanding and appreciation of the final 64 now. Thanks for the help guys.