NCAA Announces Adjusted Dates for 2021 Men’s Basketball Tournament

The 2021 men's NCAA tournament will start two days later than usual thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact.

The NCAA announced dates for its men’s basketball tournament this March. The tournament, which will be held entirely in the Indianapolis area due to COVID-19 protocols, is now slated to begin Thursday, March 18, instead of Tuesday, March 16. The Final Four will remain Saturday, April 3 and the national championship game will be held Monday, April 5.

The major adjustment to the schedule is a slightly delayed start compared to normal years, allowing for additional time following Selection Sunday for teams to arrive in Indianapolis and clear safety measures. The First Four, which in a normal year would be played on the Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday, will this year be held entirely on Thursday, March 18. Two First Four games will be held at Purdue’s Mackey Arena, while the other two will be played at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

🚨 #MarchMadness Scheduling Update!

🏀 March 18 - First Four
🏀 March 19/20 - First Round
🏀 March 21/22 - Second Round
🏀 March 27/28 - Sweet 16
🏀 March 29/30 - Elite 8
🏀 April 3 - Final Four
🏀 April 5 - National Championship

👉 https://t.co/faeZsTVieb pic.twitter.com/0grpnEwAn4

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 19, 2021

Pushing these games back moves the first round of the event to Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20, and the second round to March 21 and 22. Sweet 16 games will be played the following Saturday and Sunday, a two-day delay from the usual Thursday/Friday setup. Those games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship games will all be played at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Elite Eight games, which are are traditionally held on a weekend, will be contested on Monday, March 29 and Tuesday March 30. 

The NCAA previously announced advanced health and safety guidelines, including requiring all players and staff to record seven consecutive negative COVID-19 tests before entering Indianapolis and daily testing once at the event. Teams will also wear contact tracing devices.