After one year without a tournament and one year with all the games in Indianapolis because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s time for some real Madness.
The March Madness men’s tournament returns to its usual format with games spread out over eight venues on the first weekend and four on the second before New Orleans hosts the Final Four, April 2-4.
Selection Sunday kicked off the proceedings with the Gonzaga Bulldogs from Washington State once again the No. 1 overall seed.
Last year, Gonzaga went unbeaten before losing to Baylor in the tournament final.
Baylor also received a No. 1 seed, along with Arizona and Kansas.
The First Four games are in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, the field will be narrowed to 64 with the first full day on Thursday.
Here are some takeaways from the selection show.
Go West, big names
Gonzaga plays out of the West region with first- and second-round games close to campus in Portland followed by a second weekend in San Francisco.
But the road to Northern California could be tricky with ex-Gonzaga assistant coach Leon Rice poised to face the Bulldogs in the second round as he guides No. 8 Boise State against No. 9 Memphis.
At the bottom of the West bracket, there is also plenty of intrigue.
Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has his team as a No. 2 seed in his final year coaching the Blue Devils. If Coach K gets by Cal State Fullerton, he could face another marquee coach in Michigan State’s Tom Izzo in the second round.
No. 7 seed Michigan State faces No. 10 Davidson — Steph Curry’s old team.
Gonzaga will try to become the first No. 1 overall seed to win the tournament since Kentucky in 2012.
Upset potential
No. 13 seeds are 5-7 against No. 4 seeds the past three years at the tournament.
Perhaps the most compelling matchup for those seeds comes in the South with No. 13 Chattanooga facing No. 4 Illinois.
The Mocs of Chattanooga hit a wild buzzer-beater to beat Furman in their conference final, earning a trip to the Big Dance.
The Tennessee team will have to contain one of the most productive players in college basketball – Illinois centre Kofi Cockburn, The native of Kingston, Jamaica, averaged 21.1 points and 10.6 rebounds this season.
Meanwhile, No. 13 Vermont should have most of the crowd support in its first-round West match in Buffalo against No. 4 Arkansas.
In the Midwest, No. 4 Providence faces a 30-4 No. 13 team in South Dakota State.
In the East, No. 4 UCLA takes on a No. 13 team in Akron that upset the top two squads in the MAC conference tournament.
NBA watch
Many of the top prospects for this year’s NBA draft are in the tournament.
They include Gonzaga centre Chet Holmgren, Auburn forward Jabari Smith, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, Duke forwards Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin and Canadian guard Bennedict Mathurin of Arizona, whose name is in the lottery conversation.
Michigan survives
Many thought Michigan was not going to make the field after it lost its Big Ten tournament opener against Indiana.
But not only did Michigan get a spot, the Wolverines weren’t even listed as one of the last four in.
The Wolverines have a famous coach in former NBA star and Fab Fiver Juwan Howard, who was suspended for the final five games of the regular season after throwing a punch at a Wisconsin assistant coach in the handshake line.
Michigan is a No. 11 seed in the South and will face No. 6 Colorado State.
O Canada
Montreal’s Mathurin won’t be the only Canadian on a team with a legitimate chance to win the title.
Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ont., led Gonzaga in scoring in its past two games.
Third-seeded Purdue, which lost the Big Ten final on Sunday against Iowa, has a key Canadian on its roster in seven-foot-four Toronto centre Zach Edey.
Only five Canadian men have captured the NCAA title.
It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if that number goes up by one this year.
Last four in
Indiana, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Wyoming
First four out
Dayton, Oklahoma, SMU, Texas A&M
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