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2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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The 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a planned single-elimination tournament of 68 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's college basketball national champion for the 2019–20 season. The 82nd edition of the tournament would have begun on March 17, 2020, and concluded with the championship game on April 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

2020 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament
Season2019–20
Teams68 (planned)
Finals siteMercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«2019 2021»

On March 12, the tournament, as well as all other NCAA championships for the remainder of the academic year, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, just five days before it was set to begin. It was the first time the tournament had been cancelled since its creation in 1939. Four years later in 2024, Atlanta successfully bid for the right to host the 2031 tournament in lieu of the cancelled event.[1]

COVID-19 impact and cancellation

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See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

The timing of the tournament coincided with the wider spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. On March 10, the Ivy League announced it had cancelled the conference's tournament, and would award its championship and automatic qualification to Yale based on regular season records. Harvard University was scheduled to host the event at Lavietes Pavilion in Boston on March 14 and 15.[2] Some conferences subsequently announced they would go on with their tournaments while holding their games behind closed doors with no outside spectators and limited attendance, especially on March 11 (when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic).[3]

The NCAA subsequently announced it would go on with its winter-sport championships, including its basketball tournaments, with attendance limited to essential staff and family members. Some venues (such as those in Ohio and California) enacted further local numerical restrictions on the numbers of those who could attend an event, which the NCAA agreed to respect.[4] Reports also stated that for practicality reasons, the NCAA was considering re-locating some of the later rounds (including the regional finals and the Final Four, the latter scheduled to be held at the 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium) to smaller venues within the same host cities.[5] Construction of the Final Four tournament in Mercedes-Benz Stadium would have started on March 23.[6]

On March 11, hours after the WHO's pandemic declaration, the NBA suspended its regular season after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert was diagnosed with COVID-19.[7] On the same night, Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg fell visibly ill during a game in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. There were initial fears that Hoiberg had COVID-19, but he was ultimately diagnosed with influenza A. The following day, due in part to Gobert's diagnosis and Hoiberg's health scare,[8] all conferences that had not yet concluded tournament play announced they would be scrapping their tournaments. Many of them had announced they would play without fans, but it was decided to scrap play altogether. With the decision to cancel the 2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament, all games that had yet to be played in the basketball season were cancelled, while the Big East called off its tournament at halftime during a quarter-final game between Creighton and St. John's. Most major conferences also announced suspensions of all athletics to varying degrees.[9][7] Later in the day, the NCAA announced the tournament would be cancelled, along with all remaining winter and spring championships for the academic year.[10]

The NCAA had not ruled out publishing what would have been its at-large selections and bracket.[11] Vice president of men's basketball Dan Gavitt told the Associated Press that he had proposed holding a shortened, 16-team tournament in Atlanta (split between State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz Stadium) as an alternative, with all participants chosen by the selection committee, before the decision was made to cancel the entire tournament due to Rudy Gobert's diagnosis.[12] The NCAA ultimately decided against releasing any brackets, with Gavitt stating, "Brackets based on hypotheticals can’t substitute for a complete selection, seeding and bracketing process."[13]

As part of a cycle that began in 2016, TBS was scheduled to televise the 2020 Final Four and national championship game.[14] CBS was scheduled to televise the selection show.[15] CBS Sports and Turner Sports announced on March 16 that all technicians and utility staff who were expected to work the NCAA March Madness coverage would still be paid.[16] Radio rightsholder Westwood One announced plans to offer encores of radio broadcasts from classic NCAA tournament games—accompanied by interviews with notable figures from the respective games—to fill the time slots it had originally devoted to the tournament.[17] CBS similarly announced on March 19 that it would also air nine classic Final Four games across the weekend afternoons of March 21, 22, and 29.[18]

Originally scheduled dates, venues, and television coverage

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Dayton
 
Tampa
 
Albany
 
Spokane
 
St. Louis
 
Sacramento
 
Cleveland
 
Greensboro
 
Omaha
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2020 First Four (orange) and first and second rounds (green)
 
 
Indianapolis
 
Los Angeles
 
New York City
 
Houston
 
Atlanta
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2020 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

Prior to cancellation, fourteen venues had been scheduled to host games in the 2020 tournament:[19]

First Four

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

Television channels, studio hosts, studio analysts, and commentary teams
  • First Four – TruTV
  • First and Second Rounds – CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV
  • Regional semifinals and final (Sweet Sixteen & Elite Eight) – CBS and TBS
  • National semifinals (Final Four) and championship – TBS
Studio hosts
  • Greg Gumbel (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Ernie Johnson (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Adam Zucker (Atlanta) – First Four, first round and Second Round
  • Adam Lefkoe - First round and Second Round (Game Breaks)
Studio analysts
  • Charles Barkley (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Seth Davis (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round, Regional Semi-Finals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Brendan Haywood (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals
  • Clark Kellogg (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Candace Parker (Atlanta) – First Four, first round, second round and Regional Semi-Finals
  • Kenny Smith (New York City and Atlanta) – First round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Gene Steratore (New York City and Atlanta) (Rules Analyst) – First Four, first round, second round, Regionals, Final Four and National Championship Game
  • Dwyane Wade (Atlanta) – Final Four and National Championship Game
Commentary teams

Automatic qualifiers

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Twelve teams had automatically qualified for the 2020 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.

All conference tournaments that had not been completed were cancelled, the majority without naming an automatic qualifier. Teams with † next to their names were named automatic qualifiers by their conferences after their tournament was cancelled.

Conference Team Record Appearance Last bid
Tournament completed
ASUN Liberty 30–4 5th 2019
Big South Winthrop 24–10 11th 2017
Colonial Hofstra 26–8 5th 2001
Horizon Northern Kentucky 23–9 3rd 2019
Missouri Valley Bradley 23–11 10th 2019
Mountain West Utah State 26–8 22nd 2019
NEC Robert Morris 20–14 9th 2015
Ohio Valley Belmont 26–7 9th 2019
Patriot League Boston University 21–13 8th 2011
Southern East Tennessee State 30–4 11th 2017
Summit League North Dakota State 25–8 5th 2019
WCC Gonzaga 31–2 23rd 2019
Cancelled during final round
America East Vermont †[21] 26–7 8th 2019
Cancelled during semifinals
Ivy League Yale †[22] 23–7 6th 2019
SWAC No automatic bid awarded
Cancelled during quarterfinals
ACC Florida State †[23] 26–5 18th 2019
Big 12 No automatic bid awarded
Big East No automatic bid awarded
Big Sky No automatic bid awarded
Big Ten No automatic bid awarded
Big West No automatic bid awarded
C-USA No automatic bid awarded
MAAC Siena †[24] 20–10 7th 2010
MAC Akron †[25] 24–7 5th 2013
MEAC No automatic bid awarded
Pac-12 No automatic bid awarded
Southland No automatic bid awarded
Sun Belt No automatic bid awarded
WAC New Mexico State †[26] 25–6 23rd 2019
Cancelled during an earlier round
American No automatic bid awarded
Atlantic 10 No automatic bid awarded
SEC Kentucky †[27] 25–6 60th 2019

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Associated Press (August 29, 2024). "Final Four back to Atlanta in 2031 after 2020 cancellation". Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Ivy League cancels conference basketball tournaments because of coronavirus". ESPN.com. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Schad, Tom (March 11, 2020). "NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns". USA Today. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Tom Schad (March 11, 2020). "NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments will not include fans due to coronavirus concerns". USA Today. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  5. ^ Terranova, Justin (March 11, 2020). "March Madness 2020 could change Final Four venue amid coronavirus crisis". New York Post. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Tucker, Tim (January 16, 2020). "Here's how Mercedes-Benz Stadium will look as Final Four venue". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "The Day Sports Shut Down". Wall Street Journal. March 12, 2020. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "'It was like a movie': What led the NCAA to shut down competition". ESPN. March 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Power 5 leagues cancel conference tournaments; ACC, Pac-12 halt all athletics". ESPN.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "NCAA weighing release of 68-team bracket despite cancellation of 2020 NCAA Tournament over coronavirus". CBSSports.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  12. ^ "AP Exclusive: Inside NCAA's attempt to save March Madness". Associated Press News. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "NCAA's Gavitt: Basketball championship brackets will not be released for 2020". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "CBS Sports and Turner Sports announce 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship commentator teams". NCAA. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  15. ^ Gleeson, Scott. "CBS will stick with popular brackets-first format for NCAA tournament Selection Sunday show". USA Today. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Digital, Brandon Costa, Director of (March 16, 2020). "CBS Sports, Turner Sports Will Pay All March Madness Techs and Utilities, Including Freelancers". Sports Video Group. Retrieved March 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Westwood One will air classic NCAA Tournament games in its normal tournament windows". Awful Announcing. March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  18. ^ Joyce, Greg (March 20, 2020). "CBS giving fans March Madness fix of classic games". New York Post. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  19. ^ "Future Division I Men's Basketball Championship sites". NCAA. April 21, 2017.
  20. ^ "Siena to Host NCAA basketball tournament Next Three Years". Siena College. April 21, 2017.
  21. ^ "America East championship, NCAA Tournament canceled amid COVID-19 concerns". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  22. ^ Fuller, Jim (March 10, 2020). "Ivy League tournament canceled, Yale men receive automatic NCAA bid". NHRegister.com. New Haven Register. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  23. ^ Boone, Kyle (March 12, 2020). "2020 ACC Tournament canceled amid coronavirus pandemic concerns". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  24. ^ "2020 MAAC Men's Basketball Championship". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  25. ^ "MAC Tournament Press Conference: March 12, 2020". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  26. ^ "WAC Official Statement". Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  27. ^ "SEC cancels remainder of Men's Basketball Tournament". SECSports.com.
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