March Madness To Be Played In One Place
LOS ANGELES, CA - The 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be played from Mar 18, 2021 — Apr 5, 2021. March Madness will be held entirely in Indiana. The tournament will played in only one state to limit the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic cancels the tournament for a second straight season.
March Madness will be played only in Indiana due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Final Four was already scheduled to take place in Indianapolis. It did not take long for the state to be a favorite to host March Madness. “It’s going to be easier for the players because it’s not as much traveling,” said Aaron Wilson.
That change means there won’t be the typical geographical regions in different parts of the country. It also means the selection committee is changing how it fills out the 68-team field.
Games in Indianapolis will be played on two courts inside Lucas Oil Stadium as well as at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse and Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Mackey Arena located in West Lafayette, just north of the capital, will host games too, as well as Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, which is just south of Indianapolis.
At Lucas Oil Stadium there will only be one game playing at a time even though there are two courts in the stadium.
At all March Madness venues, they will allow up to 25% capacity for fans. That includes essential staff, participants, and family members of players and coaches who’s teams are playing in the tournament. Therefore, there will be a reduced number of fans.
Many teams had to be dismissed from their conference tournaments due to positive COVID-19 tests. If that ends up happening during the tournament, teams will be eliminated from March Madness.
“This virus is very serious and hopefully teams don’t have to drop out because that would really suck, especially for Gonzaga and Michigan,” said Asaad Muhammad. “That would be a huge loss.”
The NCAA made a plan for after the whole tournament bracket is revealed. If a team has to drop out of the tournament, another team can replace that team before all the games start.
When the tournament starts, there will not be any replacement teams. Teams with COVID-19 issues would be forced to drop out of the tournament. The opposing team would move on to the next round due to the no-contest rule.
Aaron Wilson said, “Safety has to come first. They’re risking their lives out there to play basketball for our entertainment and their future. You got to do what you gotta do and it sucks cause I know those players have been working hard all year.”
Players will not be able to leave their hotels to do activities by themselves. They will only be able to leave hotels for team activities.
Video Credit: WTHR
Video Credit: Alfonso Henry
By Alfonso Henry
Contributions from Associated Press, WNEP
Video Credit, Alfonso Henry, WTHR
Photo, Alfonso Henry, Indy Star
Audio, Alfonso Henry
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