March Madness ejection rules for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, explained

No one wants to see ejections in sports, especially on a stage like the NCAA tournament.

But they happen from time to time, even with the stakes as high as they are during March Madness. Given that fact, what exactly does it take to get ejected from a men’s college basketball game?

Well, there are a few ways, not including a typical foul-out. The simplest, however, is to draw a flagrant 2 foul. Even more severe than a flagrant 1, flagrant 2s require an added level of harshness or brutality, and if called, they result in an automatic ejection for an offender.

As of 2023-24, accumulating three flagrant 1 fouls in a game will also result in your ejection.

There are other ways, though. If a player or coach is assessed with two Class A or three Class B technical fouls (or a combination of three between the two) they will be ejected. Class A technical fouls deal with unsportsmanlike conduct (think vulgar language) while Class B technical fouls aren’t directly unsportsmanlike (think hanging on the rim for too long or flopping).

Further, fighting results in an automatic ejection for all players and a one-game suspension for first offenders. On a second offense, it’s a season-long suspension. In the event of a fight, only head coaches are permitted to enter the court.

If any bench players or personnel do so, it results in an automatic ejection.

Hopefully, we don’t see any brawls during the tournament, but ejections happen. If it happens while your team is making its March Madness run, at least now you’ll know why.