The 68-team bracket for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament was revealed Sunday night following an action-packed week of conference championship tournaments.
All 67 games of the 2021 NCAA Tournament will be played in the state of Indiana, with most taking place in Indianapolis. The bracket has still been divided into four regions – designated East, Midwest, South and West. All of the first round matchups were revealed on the selection show; however, no game times or locations were announced; those details are still being worked out.
Gonzaga, the 26-0 West Coast Conference Champions, will be the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and the top team in the West Region. The Zags’ fellow No. 1 seeds are Baylor (South), Illinois (Midwest) and Michigan (East). Gonzaga is the first team to enter the tournament undefeated since Kentucky in 2014-15, and the fifth since Indiana’s undefeated season in 1975-76.
Here’s how each region will look:
WEST:
SOUTH:
MIDWEST:
EAST:
The East Region could be interesting for Western New York fans.
St. Bonaventure, the Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions (and winners in the regular season), will be the No. 9 seed in the East. The Bonnies will face No. 8 seed Louisiana State University in the first round.
Alabama, led by former University at Buffalo head coach Nate Oats, was also placed in the East bracket. Fresh off a Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship and regular season league title, the No. 2 seed Crimson Tide are slated to play No. 15 seed Iona, coached by Naismith Hall of Famer Rick Pitino.
Syracuse fans had to sweat out the selection show with the 16-9 Orange sitting in "on the bubble" territory. However, head coach Jim Boeheim and company made it in as a No. 11 seed, and will face No. 6 seed San Diego State in the first round in the Midwest Region.
Tournament action officially begins on Thursday, March 18 at 5 p.m. ET, with the "First Four" play-in games.
Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis and Mississippi were announced as the first four teams out of the tournament. There are contingency plans in case a team has to withdraw from the tournament due to COVID-19 that could put one or more of these teams into the tournament. However, replacement teams can only be added to the field by 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 16.
The first round begins on Friday, March 19 at 12 p.m. ET. The entire NCAA Tournament schedule is available at ncaa.com.