It’s that time of the year when you not only have to worry about a runny nose from allergies or getting pinched for not wearing green, but also what might be scarier — March Madness.

It can be an intimidating topic unless you’ve had an older sibling or friend teach you the basics. But if you didn’t, don’t worry. By the end of this article, you’ll be articulate in ball knowledge.

First and foremost, March Madness is not the National Basketball Association. It refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association college basketball tournament featuring both men’s and women’s teams competing for a national championship. 

Each tournament has 68 teams. Of those, 32 teams earn automatic bids by winning their conference tournaments, while the remaining 36 teams receive at-large bids selected by the NCAA Selection Committee. 

Selection Sunday took place over this past weekend on March 15 when the brackets were announced for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. 

The tournament begins with the “First Four.” These games feature the last at-large teams and the lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers trying to make the cut for the main 64-team bracket.  This year, the men’s teams kicked off on March 17-18, followed by the women’s teams on March 18-19. 

Once the bracket is set, the remaining 64 are divided into four regions: East, West, South and Midwest. Each region is made up of 16 teams, who are ranked from the first seeded from No. 1 to No.16, with No.1 seeds considered as the best teams and No. 16 seeds the weakest on paper. 

While those matchups might seem unfair, seeding is designed to reward teams for the quality of their season. Teams that perform well against stronger competition are usually given better seeds, while teams with weaker resumes are placed lower in the bracket. Of course, that does not mean lower-seeded teams can’t pull off an upset — that’s exactly what makes March Madness so fun.

Next is the second round, with 32 teams remaining. Winners advance to the Sweet 16, which narrows the tournament down to  — you guessed it — 16 teams. Once again, the winners move on to the next round, the Elite Eight, where each region crowns just one champion and the losers are eliminated.

Those four regional winners then make up the Final Four, where the pressure is at its peak and only two teams move on to the national championship game. This year, the women’s championship will take place on April 5 in Phoenix and April 6 in Indianapolis for the men’s teams.

If you ever hear the term “Cinderella” being thrown around, know that they’re not actually talking about the Disney princess. Instead, they’re referring to a lower-seeded underdog team that defies all expectations and makes a surprisingly long run into the tournament. Every year, fans look for that one team that’ll ruin your bets, shock the country and turn a small school famous.