USC Hoops: Men's March Madness Will Be Held In A Bubble In Indiana
The pandemic is not slowing down college basketball as the NCAA announced plans to hold the entire 2021 men's basketball tournament in Indianapolis this year.
This past summer we saw the NBA do their own version of a bubble on the Disney World campus - with no positive cases as a result. The NCAA is looking to replicate those results in ensuring the health and safety of their student-athletes.
There will be six main venues that will host these games - Lucas Oil Stadium (two courts, but only one game at a time will be played there), Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indiana Pacers), Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler), Indiana Farmers Coliseum (IUPUI), Mackey Arena (Purdue) and Assembly Hall (Indiana). The Indiana Convention Center will be used as a practice facility.
The NCAA said they will establish a "controlled environment" and a coronavirus testing program for players, coaches and staff, along with administrators and officials. Marriott is expected to house most of the teams on "dedicated hotel floors" as well. Teams wont even have to leave the hotel for practice as the Indiana Convention Center is connected to the Marriott via skywalks.
Marriott should have their hands full as there seems to be no plans to reduce the amount of teams from 68. Monday’s announcement referenced still playing the usual 67 games.
Fan attendance will be highly unlikely, unless you’re a family member. The NCAA said it “is closely monitoring the ongoing pandemic and will continue to work with local officials to determine the feasibility of having fans attend games at any of the venues, though a limited number of family members of each participating team's student-athletes and coaches will be permitted to attend their team's games."
The NCAA knows they make more money from television than ticket sales, thus their priority is protecting their product on the court. The two key dates to remember in all of this are Selection Sunday (March 14th) and the Final Four will be played on April 3rd and 5th.
An official announcement for the women’s basketball tournament should be announced in the coming weeks, however, all signs point to San Antonio as the staging point for the NCAA's 64 teams.
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