March Madness tweaks schedule
INDIANAPOLIS — That much-anticipated opening Thursday of March Madness will belong to the play-in teams, part of a scrambled and modestly condensed schedule for the 2021 tournament released Tuesday.
The coronavirus pandemic forced the NCAA to move the entire 67game tournament to Indiana, which means the schedule doesn’t have to be built with travel concerns in mind.
The so-called “First Four” — two games pitting the last four at-large teams in the field and another two featuring the lowest-rated conference champions — will take place on Thursday, March 18, with two games on Purdue's campus in West Lafayette, Ind., and two on Indiana’s campus in Bloomington..
That day typically would have marked the start of play in the main bracket. Instead, the first two full days of action are now scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 19-20, with the round of 32 taking place Sunday and Monday, March 21-22. Those games will be held at the two First Four arenas and Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The Sweet 16 will run Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28 at Hinkle Fieldhouse and Bankers Life Fieldhouse, with none of the games scheduled to overlap, as they often do when they take place on the second Thursday and Friday nights of the tournament. Those winners will face off in the Elite Eight on the following Monday and Tuesday evenings.
The Final Four is still scheduled for Saturday April 3 and Monday April 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
A&M-VANDY GAME OFF
Texas A&M’s game at Vanderbilt on Wednesday night has been postponed because of multiple COVID-19 cases within the Commodores’ program. A makeup date has not been scheduled.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
Cole Swider hit the winning free throw in the final seconds and Collin Gillespie scored 22 points to help No. 3 Villanova win its first game in 27 days, 76-74 over vistiing Seton Hall. … Noah Locke scored 14 points, Tyree Appleby added 13 and Florida, playing without three of its best players, stunned No. 6 Tennessee 75-49 at Gainesville, Fla. Florida got unexpected help from several players, like forward Omar Payne, who started for the first time in nearly a year and finished with nine points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. … John Petty scored 24 points on eight 3-pointers, and Alabama made a SECrecord 23 shots from beyond the arc in a 105-75 win over host LSU. Joshua Primo was 6 of 8 from deep and scored 22 points, and Jahvon Quinerly also scored 22 on 6-of-7 3-point shooting.