NCAA tournament selection show back to bracket-first format

NEW YORK (AP) — The NCAA Tournament selection show is returning to CBS and its traditional bracket-first format for revealing the field for March Madness.

Last year, the Selection Sunday show aired on TBS for the first time since CBS and Turner became broadcast partners for the men’s basketball tournament in 2011. The presentation of the 68-team field was tweaked, first showing the teams that had earned automatic bids in alphabetical order, and then revealing the 36 at-large selections in alphabetical order. After the teams were announced, the matchups were revealed region-by-region and the bracket was filled in.

The plan for Sunday is to drop the alphabetical reveal and get right to the bracket. The show will be one-hour, hosted as usual by Greg Gumbel.