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18 Mar 2021
Last March, college basketball became the first major sport to come to a halt with the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA College Basketball Tournaments. No one would have ever predicted the year that was in store after the cancellation, but March Madness is finally back in 2021. The men’s and women’s tournaments will both be played in the Indianapolis and San Antonio/Austin metro areas respectively, breaking the tradition of the tournaments taking place in multiple regions across the country for the early rounds, then culminating in a final location for the Final Four and National Championship games.
The switch to a central location is one of many precautions the NCAA is taking this year to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The NCAA hopes that by hosting the tournament in a single city and limiting travel, they can create a bubble-like atmosphere similar to the playoffs seen in the NBA and MLB. All teams are required to have seven consecutive days of negative testing to play in the tournaments, with at least five players cleared through the testing process. Players, coaches, and staff will be required to quarantine until their negative test results, and daily tests as well as contract tracing devices will be administered throughout the tournament. If a team is unable to field a roster with five negative tests, they will be replaced by a team from the same conference or from the highest ranking at-large schools. Once the tournaments begin, teams will not be replaced, and instead their opponents will essentially get a bye in the tournament.
Once the tournaments tip off, each stadium or arena will allow up to 25% capacity in attendance with social distancing implemented. Most of the fans will be made up of family members of the athletes, students, and a reduced number of fans, all of which will be required to wear facemasks while inside the venues. The NCAA has ensured each venue will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected prior to games, and they are taking every precaution to make the events as safe as possible.
On the court, number one seeds in the men’s tournament will be made up of Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois, and Michigan. The Big Ten are the most well represented conference in the tournament, with nine teams represented, and four of those nine taking the number one or two seeds in different regions. Hot teams on the lower end of seeding, but with a chance to bust some brackets include Georgia Tech, Georgetown, and Oregon State, all of which surprisingly won their conference tournaments heading into the Big Dance. Some players to keep an eye on throughout the tournament include Iowa’s all-time leading scorer Luka Garza, three-time AP All-American Jared Butler from Baylor, and the likely number one overall pick in this year’s NBA draft, Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma State.
In the women’s tournament, Stanford will be the number one overall seed with UConn, NC State, and South Carolina taking the top seeds in the other regions. Maryland and Texas A&M likely feel like they were left out, especially after completing respectable regular seasons as well. Overall, the SEC has the most teams representing their conference in the women’s game, with seven teams taking part in the tournament. Some players to watch include the likely number one pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, Charli Collier from Texas, two-time SEC defender of the year Aliyah Boston from South Carolina, and the back-to-back ACC player of the year Dana Evans.
The action for this year’s March Madness tips off on Thursday March 18th with the First Four matchups in the men’s tournament, and Sunday March 21st for the women’s tournament. The men’s tournament will continue through March, with the Final Four beginning at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, April 3rd and the championship game taking place on Monday, April 5th. The women’s Final Four will begin on Friday, April 2nd at the Alamodome in San Antonio, with the championship game taking place on Sunday, April 4th. Both tournaments should be packed with drama on and off the court, and it will definitely be a welcome sight seeing teams cutting down the nets again.