March Madness Preview

The first thing to keep in mind this “March Madness” is that the nation might witness more madness that usual because of the unusual circumstances of this year’s tourney.

Usually the NCAA tournament is split up into four regions of the United States, with each region contains sixteen teams and the games being played all over the country, ultimately leading to the location of the Final Four. This has changed because of the aforementioned coronavirus pandemic.  

This year’s tournament is still split into regions, but every game is going to be played in the same location: Indianapolis, Indiana. It’ll be a similar experience for these college players to how the National Basketball Association’s players experienced the bubble in Orlando last year. In fact, the NCAA trademarked the phrase “Battle in the Bubble,” according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. 

This situation sets up an interesting dynamic for every team in the “Big Dance,” which ESPN’s college basketball expert Jay Bilas laid out in the ESPN Daily Podcast: “The players in Indianapolis are not allowed to leave their hotels except to go to the arena and play. They’re not allowed to leave the hotel.”  

Another thing that’s unique to this years tourney is that there are four teams on “stand-by” in-case of any covid cancellations: Louisville, Colorado State, St.Louis and Ole Miss.

According to the NCAA, “for teams unable to play due to medical reasons after the deadline (6pm Tuesday) has passed, the team’s opponent will advance. The incoming team will take the position on the bracket of the team it replaces.”