The Big Dance is a Go.
It looks like the NCAA Tournament will be played as planned with no alterations as all 68 teams have cleared protocol and are full go for March Madness, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt told reporters on Wednesday.
Dan Gavitt officially tells reporters that all 68 teams are a full go for the 2021 NCAA Tournament. No contingency plans will need to be put in place.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 17, 2021
This means that there will be no need for the contingency plans the NCAA developed last month in the event that a team would be unable to participate due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
The contingency plans outlined a process for a replacement team to join the field should a team needed to withdraw due to issues with the coronavirus, and designated four at-large replacement teams – Louisville, Colorado State, Saint Louis, and Ole Miss, in that order.
But no replacement teams will be necessary, which means for those four teams, their bubble has officially been busted.
