Last March, basketball fanatics were disappointed to find March Madness, college basketball’s playoff tournament, cancelled due to outbreaks of COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time that the playoffs had ever been cancelled in its history. This year, however, with increased knowledge of the pandemic, three FDA approved vaccines and strong safety precautions, the Big Dance is set to resume again this March.
The tournament this year will see a multitude of changes in comparison with prior seasons. For starters, fan capacity will be heavily limited in order to prevent tournament games from becoming superspreader events for the coronavirus. There will be one extra at-large bid this year, with the Ivy League’s automatic entry being nullified due to their division’s basketball games being canceled.
Another change is that The First Four will play on March 18, whereas historically the First Four have played over a two day span which are the Tuesday and Wednesday following the Selection Sunday. The entire 2021 men’s basketball championship will be played in Indiana, and a majority of those games will take place in Indianapolis.
The return of the Big Dance brings excitement to many students across Montgomery County, such Walter Johnson High School Sophomore Luka Maxam.
“I am rooting for the University of Florida,” Maxam said. “They are doing very well so I have faith that they could win it.”
Like many other students, Maxam shared disappointment about March Madness being closed last year.
“Last year was disappointing since I was really looking forward to watching [March Madness]. But I have faith that the quality of this March Madness will make up for the lack of a March Madness last year,” Maam said.
College Basketball analyst Andy Katz, who only got one team incorrect in his last prediction before Selection Sunday in 2019, believes that the best teams in this year’s tournament will be Gonzaga, Baylor, Illinois, and Michigan.
Article by Darius Kamrad of Walter Johnson High School
Photo courtesy of Phil Roeder under a CC BY 2.0 license
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