Last year, Covid-19 brought an end to many events. One major event that did not occur and many people were shocked to see it cancelled, was March Madness. This college basketball tournament is one of the biggest basketball events of the year. This is a chance for any possible draft prospect to play in the biggest basketball tournament of them all, and make a run for the NBA.
Last year was the first time in nearly 20 years that it was unable to happen. Both players and coaches were unsure of what to do and wondered when sport events would resume. Seasons had ended and everyone had to go home. This year, March Madness is back but without the fans. On March 19th the first round began, officially bringing the tournament underway.
Unlike previous years, both Duke and Kentucky for the first time in 45 years will not be a part of the sporting event. This year the setup has changed due to Covid. The games will be played on two courts inside of Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena in West Lafayette and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Only one game at a time will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium. Teams will practice at the Indiana Convention Center with multiple courts set up inside the venue. All teams will be housed on dedicated hotel floors, with socially distanced meeting and dining rooms, along with transportation to and from competition venues. This setup is similar to the NBA bubble, however, they are placed in Indiana instead of the Orlando resort.
All games will be played across channels TNT,CBS,truTV, and TBS. The bracket competition is still on, but this year the entire tournament will be in Indiana and will be structured according to the ranking of each team. The First Four matchups will work the same as they would in a normal year, with the last overall ranked 65 and 66 teams playing, and the overall number 67 and 68 teams facing each other. The other First Four games will feature the last four teams on the final seed list.
The prize is the same as always, if you have a perfect bracket you will be the winner of $1 million dollars. Noone has ever been able to complete this feat, but you never know what can happen. Now that we are able to have the tournament, I want to see the best performances out of all the teams involved. Since this is the first one since the start of the pandemic, it will be a sight to see and the stars will be out.
