Things you need to know about March Madness and the NCAA
The NCAA tournament is back this season, with some significant modifications from the regular format, after last year’s event was canceled amid the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is your guide to some frequently asked questions about this year’s installment of March Madness.
Q: When and where will the NCAA tournament be played?
A: March 18 through April 5, with all games taking place in Indiana. The Final Four will be April 3-5 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with games in earlier rounds also scheduled for Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis), Hinkle Fieldhouse (Indianapolis), Indiana Farmers Coliseum (Indianapolis), Mackey Arena (West Lafayette) and Assembly Hall (Bloomington). The days for this year’s tournament will be different from years past.
First Four: Thursday, March 18 First round: Friday, March 19, and Saturday, March 20
Second round: Sunday, March 21, and Monday, March 22
Sweet 16: Saturday, March 27, and 1 p.m. start on Sunday, March 28
Elite Eight: Monday, March 29, and 6 p.m. start on Tuesday, March 30 Final Four: Saturday, April 3 NCAA championship game: Monday, April 5 Q: When is Selection Sunday? A: March 14. The 68-team field will be unveiled, with 31 automatic qualifiers (the Ivy League has opted out of winter sports and will not participate) and 37 at-large bids. The 10-member NCAA men’s Division I basketball committee is responsible for selecting, seeding and bracketing the field.
The bracket will be a bit different because all games are in Indiana.
The top four seeds and first-four games will be handled the same as previous years, but the rest of the field will be placed in the bracket based on rankings without the usual considerations for geography. Q: How do teams qualify? A: There are two ways to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The first is as an automatic qualifier by winning the conference tournament. The second is earning an at-large bid based on analytics the selection committee takes into consideration after the regular season and conference tournaments have concluded.