March Madness

March Madness officially begins this week with the First Four rounds in the men's and women's tournaments. The final selections for both the men's and women's tournament will be made Sunday evening.

The game should be two complete, deep basketball teams going at each other. Fans hope that's how it turns out.

When female athletes saw the workout room NCAA provided for the basketball tournament bubble - and compared it to the men's - they cried foul. NCAA officials belatedly acknowledge they blew it.

After the coronavirus led to the cancellation of the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournaments last year, this year's games are on — but with changes including fewer fans, no bands or cheerleaders.

"Players ISOLATED entire year to help make this tournament happen," tweeted Rutgers senior Geo Baker. "NCAA: rewarded w/ $900 million. Players: rewarded w/ free deodorant and small boxed meals."

The NCAA said hosting a tournament across 13 U.S. cities "would be very difficult to execute." Talks are underway to try to hold all 67 games of the tournament in Indianapolis in March and April.

Citing fears of spreading coronavirus, the NCAA has taken the unprecedented step of banning basketball fans from attending any of the men's or women's March Madness tournament games.

The weekend March Madness games may have been disappointing for fans of Tobacco Road's college basketball teams. But for the networks it was a ratings bonanza.

Virginia, Villanova, Kansas and Xavier are the tournament's No. 1 seeds. The opening-round games begin on Tuesday with Final Four action set for March 31 and April 2.