There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 27 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while three were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-10).
Three conferences, the East Coast Conference, Great Midwest Conference, and Metro Conference, did not receive automatic bids to the tournament. This meant that the play-in games played prior to the 1991 tournament were not necessary for the 1992 tournament.[4]
Three conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Campbell (Big South), Delaware (NAC), and Eastern Illinois (Mid-Continent). Additionally, Tulane received an at-large bid for its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
# — New Mexico State vacated its appearance in the 1992 NCAA tournament due to sanctions from the Neil McCarthy scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with New Mexico State removing the wins from its own record.
# — signifies Michigan's final two games, in the 1992 Final Four, were vacated on November 7, 2002, as part of the settlement of the University of Michigan basketball scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with the removal of any Michigan wins from all records.
Announcers
Jim Nantz/Billy Packer/Curry Kirkpatrick – Southeast Regional at Lexington, Kentucky; Final Four at Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dick Stockton and Al McGuire/Greg Kelser (afternoon session of first round only) – First & Second Round at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Midwest Regional at Kansas City, Missouri
Verne Lundquist and Len Elmore – First & Second Round at Cincinnati; East Regional at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Greg Gumbel and Quinn Buckner – First & Second Round at Atlanta, Georgia; West Regional at Albuquerque, New Mexico