March is here, and you know what that means: It's time to start filling out some brackets.
The beauty of the NCAA Tournament is that you can throw out everything that happened in the regular season for the 68 competitors. Experts are made to look like fools with their predictions, while casual fans can come out as geniuses — and vice versa.
That's what makes March Madness so special. Quite literally anyone can end up with the best bracket.
While viewers are gaining as much last-minute knowledge on teams as possible before they fill out their brackets, the last part of the tournament challenge presents a different problem. As a potential tiebreaker, many bracket competitions ask users to predict the final score of the championship game.
So what does an average NCAA Tournament championship final score look like? Here are some details to know about the history of such final tallies in order to win the bracket tiebreaker.
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Average total points in March Madness final games
When looking at the total points scored in the final game of March Madness, an opportune starting point is the introduction of the 3-point shot. It wasn't until 1987 that the extra point for shots from beyond the arc was introduced.
With that in mind, the average total score for NCAA Tournament championships between 1987 to 2023 comes to 145.1 points.
That can be rounded down to 145. That total would amount to an average of 72.5 per competitor, which can be rounded up to 73.
PRINTABLE: Downland a blank March Madness bracket here
Average college basketball game score
While there is plenty of madness that occurs in March, the average final score remains relatively the same compared to the regular season.
On average, an NCAA basketball team scores between 72 and 75 points per game. So when looking at the total score for a game (with two teams competing), that would translate to an average total somewhere between 145 and 150 points.
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List of NCAA Tournament championship scores
| Year | Final Score | Total Points |
| 2023 | UConn 79, San Diego State 59 | 138 |
| 2022 | Kansas 72, UNC 69 | 141 |
| 2021 | Baylor 86, Gonzaga 70 | 146 |
| 2020 | No tournament (COVID) | N/A |
| 2019 | Virginia 85, Texas Tech 77 (OT) | 162 |
| 2018 | Villanova 79, Michigan 62 | 141 |
| 2017 | UNC 71, Gonzaga 65 | 136 |
| 2016 | Villanova 77, UNC 74 | 151 |
| 2015 | Duke 68, Wisconsin 63 | 131 |
| 2014 | UConn 60, Kentucky 54 | 114 |
| 2013 | Louisville 82, Michigan 76 | 158 |
| 2012 | Kentucky 67, Kansas 59 | 126 |
| 2011 | UConn 53, Butler 41 | 94 |
| 2010 | Duke 61, Butler 59 | 120 |
| 2009 | UNC 89, Michigan State 72 | 161 |
| 2008 | Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT) | 143 |
| 2007 | Florida 84, Ohio State 75 | 159 |
| 2006 | Florida 73, UCLA 57 | 140 |
| 2005 | UNC 75, Illinois 70 | 145 |
| 2004 | UConn 82, Georgia Tech 73 | 155 |
| 2003 | Syracuse 81, Kansas 78 | 159 |
| 2002 | Maryland 64, Indiana 52 | 106 |
| 2001 | Duke 82, Arizona 72 | 154 |
| 2000 | Michigan State 89, Florida 76 | 165 |
| 1999 | UConn 77, Duke 74 | 151 |
| 1998 | Kentucky 78, Utah 69 | 147 |
| 1997 | Arizona 84, Louisville 79 (OT) | 163 |
| 1996 | Kentucky 76, Syracuse 67 | 143 |
| 1995 | UCLA 89, Arkansas 78 | 167 |
| 1994 | Arkansas 76, Duke 72 | 148 |
| 1993 | UNC 77, Michigan 71 | 148 |
| 1992 | Duke 71, Michigan 51 | 122 |
| 1991 | Duke 72, Kansas 65 | 137 |
| 1990 | UNLV 103, Duke 73 | 186 |
| 1989 | Michigan 80, Seton Hall 79 (OT) | 159 |
| 1988 | Kansas 83, Oklahoma 79 | 162 |
| 1987 | Indiana 74, Syracuse 73 | 144 |
HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 1 | 15 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5
Who will win March Madness 2024?
Here are the latest college basketball betting odds to win the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament as of March 20, according to BetMGM.
| School | Odds |
| UConn | +400 |
| Houston | +600 |
| Purdue | +650 |
| Arizona | +1100 |
| North Carolina | +1300 |
| Tennessee | +1500 |
| Auburn | +1700 |
| Iowa State | +1800 |
| Kentucky | +2500 |
| Marquette | +2500 |
| Creighton | +2500 |
| Duke | +3000 |
| Illinois | +3000 |
| Baylor | +3500 |
| Alabama | +4000 |
| Kansas | +4000 |
| Gonzaga | +6000 |
| Florida | +6000 |
| Saint Mary's (CA) | +6600 |
| BYU | +6600 |
| Wisconsin | +8000 |
| Michigan State | +10000 |
| Florida Atlantic | +10000 |
| Texas Tech | +10000 |
| San Diego State | +10000 |
| Texas | +12500 |
| New Mexico | +12500 |
| Utah State | +12500 |
| TCU | +15000 |
| Mississippi State | +15000 |
| Washington State | +15000 |
| Clemson | +15000 |
| Nevada | +15000 |
| Nebraska | +15000 |
| Colorado State | +15000 |
| Texas A&M | +20000 |
| Colorado | +20000 |
| NC State | +20000 |
| South Carolina | +20000 |
| Dayton | +20000 |
| Oregon | +25000 |
| Northwestern | +25000 |
| Drake | +25000 |
| Boise State | +30000 |
| Grand Canyon | +30000 |
| McNeese State | +35000 |
| Yale | +50000 |
| Duquesne | +50000 |
| UAB | +50000 |
| Samford | +100000 |
| Morehead State | +100000 |
| Oakland | +100000 |
| Charleston | +100000 |
| Vermont | +100000 |
| Akron | +100000 |
| Western Kentucky | +100000 |
| Long Beach State | +100000 |
| Grambling | +100000 |
| Stetson | +200000 |
| Wagner | +200000 |
| S. Dakota State | +200000 |
| Colgate | +200000 |
| Montana State | +200000 |
| Saint Peters | +200000 |
More March Madness bracket predictions
The Sporting News experts gave their knowledgeable opinions on the tournament, both for the men's and women's tournament. Check out their predictions:
EXPERT PICKS: Bender (UConn) | DeCourcy (UConn) | Iyer (UConn) | Yanchulis (South Carolina women)