From the familiar names at the top of the bracket – Gonzaga, Kansas, Baylor – to the well-worn debates all across it (Why did Coach K get shipped out West? Did somebody do Dayton wrong?) this version of Selection Sunday for the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament felt as comfortable as a well-worn pair of Air Jordans.
March Madness is back to normal, or as close to normal as it can get, and that means all those stunning upsets and once in a lifetime winning shots will play out in front of crazy crowds for the first time in three years.
“This was a really special year because we all realized what we missed,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose second-seeded Wildcats won the Big East tournament title Saturday in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden.
Gonzaga is the overall top seed, with Arizona, Kansas and Baylor joining the Bulldogs on the “1” line for an NCAA tourney that makes it seem like old times. It’s the first since 2019 to be played in different cities and different time zones across America. The party lands in New Orleans for the Final Four and championship game on April 2 and 4.
It’s a return to the way things were before the COVID-19 pandemic scrubbed the tournament completely off the 2020 calendar, then turned the 2021 event into a one city fits all affair – with each game played in a makeshift bubble in front of limited crowds in and around Indianapolis.