Four "play-in" games are now played, officially known as the "First Four".
Two play-in games among the four teams with the worst regular season records decided which two teams would have the final two spots in the eight-team double-elimination bracket.
In addition, three play-in games were held to determine the last three automatic qualifiers.
As the tournament field expanded to the now-familiar six-round bracket and 68 teams (including 4 play-in games), "bracket busters" became more of a phenomenon.
The final four rounds of the tournament were preceded by six play-in games on May 6:
The contest was one of three play-in games used to determine N.C.A.A. berths this year.
VCU defeated USC 59-46 in the "First Four" play-in game.
Wait for the winners of those play-in games are top-seeded Michigan and second-seeded Michigan State.
This tournament featured three play-in games before the tournament field was announced.
Instead, Fordham played in one of three "play-in games", but lost, and was not considered to have reached the NCAA Tournament.
As the conference tournament champion, Coastal Carolina was granted a "play-in" game in order to gain an automatic berth into the 1991 NCAA Tournament.
The Americans and Colonels were tied in the standings, and a "play-in" game to determine who would qualify for the playoffs.
The Eagles have twice appeared in the tournament's Opening Round Game (formerly called the "play-in" game) and participated in its debut contest in 2001.
Supplicating itself to money and television, the N.C.A.A. this year forced six smaller conferences to participate in mean-spirited "play-in" games.
In the later play-in game, No. 8 Canisius defeated No. 9 Loyola of Maryland, 83-69, to advance to a quarterfinal against top-seeded Siena.
The original league playoff plan called for an initial play-in game between the league's 4th and 5th seeds, then a best of three semi-final series and final series.
Unlike the men's tournament, there are only 32 at-large bids (as of the next tournament in 2014), and no play-in game.
In 2011, the Rams' journey to the Final Four began in one of the four opening round games, commonly called "play-in" games, intended to narrow the field from 68 to 64 teams.
The format is the same as the Men's Tournament, except that there are 64 teams and no play-in game.
He received a 25-minute penalty after checking Slovakia's Ľuboš Bartečko in the head during the quarterfinal play-in game on February 23, 2010.