2021 NCAA Tournament: Some March Madness dates shift as full schedule and locations are set

The 2021 NCAA Tournament will begin a few days later than usual

By Kyle Boone

Jan 19, 2021 at 3:13 pm ET • 2 min read

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-First Four Practice

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Grab your calendar and a pen, because the official dates for the 2021 NCAA Tournament have just landed. The NCAA announced on Tuesday its full preliminary rounds information, including locations, for this year's March Madness, revealing that the official start date will be on a Thursday as opposed to its normal Tuesday start date.

First Four action will begin Thursday, March 18 followed by first round action Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20. Nearly all of the games before the Final Four are scheduled to take place later than what they typically do in a normal year. As expected, the national title game will be held on the first Monday of April -- April 5 -- with Lucas Oil Stadium playing host.

Fifty-five of the 67 games in the tournament this year will take place in Indiana, with Mackey Arena, Assembly Hall, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Lucas Oil Stadium all serving as hosts of first-round games. The four venues in Indy will serve as sites for the remainder of the championship -- including second round games -- which are set to be held Sunday, March 21 and Monday, March 22.

🚨 #MarchMadness Scheduling Update!

🏀 March 18 - First Four
🏀 March 19/20 - First Round
🏀 March 21/22 - Second Round
🏀 March 27/28 - Sweet 16
🏀 March 29/30 - Elite 8
🏀 April 3 - Final Four
🏀 April 5 - National Championship

👉 https://t.co/faeZsTVieb pic.twitter.com/0grpnEwAn4
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) January 19, 2021

It's not a massive overhaul to the NCAA Tournament format this year, but it certainly is an adjustment. It's the first time we'll have to wait until Thursday for NCAA Tournament games to start following Selection Sunday, and it's the first time all of the games will be held primarily in one city, with Indy logistically being the most sensible option because of its myriad venues. Here's a look at the schedule and how it breaks down.