NCAA announces radical shift in dates for March Madness

The NCAA is changing the timing of the first rounds of March Madness.

There has been a lot of intrigue about the bubbled NCAA Tournament, which is slated to take place entirely in the state of Indiana to protect the event against coronavirus related issues. The use of the bubble will require an intake period to ensure teams aren’t entering with any known positive tests, resulting in some big scheduling changes from the NCAA this week.

The intake period will indeed alter the timing of the first few rounds of March Madness, adding to the new look bracketology we could see with geography no longer a consideration in seeding teams this year. Here’s what you need to know from the NCAA’s announcement.

March Madness scheduling changes

• The First Four will take place on Thursday, March 18 with all four matchups taking place in one day. Traditionally this event has been held over two days in Dayton, OH.
• First round action will take place on Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. This is a one-day delay from the originally scheduled Thursday/Friday action with games slated to be held at eight locations across the state of Indiana.
• Second round action will occur on Sunday, March 21 and Monday, March 22, a one-day delay from the typical Saturday/Sunday slots.
• The Sweet 16 will be played on Saturday, March 27 and Sunday, March 28, a two-day delay from the original calendar. The games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Hinkle Fieldhouse across eight separate broadcast windows, meaning there won’t be an overlap in any of the games.
• The Elite Eight games will be held in prime-time on Monday, March 29 and Tuesday, March 30. This is also a two-day delay from the original calendar.

There are two things remaining the same for March Madness: Selection Sunday will still be on March 14 and the Final Four schedule remains locked on April 3 with the National Championship slated for April 5. The end result is a more compressed calendar that feels like a true sprint to the finish, which should lead to some exciting results for college basketball fans.

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