By William Hathaway, Jr.
The NCAA Tournament is being held for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak cancelled last year’s March Madness. After four play-in games, a total of 64 teams will take to two courts inside Lucas Oil Stadium and Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
For the first time in 30 years, Rutgers will be in the tournament, where the at-large scarlet Knights will take on Clemson in the Midwest Region. Also, head coach Rick Pitino will lead #15 Iona against #2 Alabama in the East Region, while Knicks legend Patrick Ewing leads the Big East Conference Tournament Champion Georgetown Hoyas against UNC Greensboro who is 21-8 on the season.
Of course, the big story of the big dance is if #1 overall ranked Gonzaga. who is 26-0, can run the table and become the first undefeated National Champion since the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers. Ironically enough, Rutgers made its only Final Four that season.
While RU and Iona are two local squads doing their part to represent the local area, Seton Hall and St. John’s missed out on the festivities. Also, in the biggest surprise of this year’s tournament, there is no Duke or Kentucky participating.
Joining Gonzaga in the top seed bracket are Illinois, Baylor and Michigan. Meanwhile, the women’s tournament top seeds are Connecticut, Stanford, South Carolina, and NC State. As with the men’s team, the Rutgers ladies are also in the hunt for the National Championship.
Finally, due to COVID-19, there are “stand by” teams that could end up playing should there be a team unable to compete due to the virus.
