The most unusual NCAA Tournament will tip off on Thursday.
March Madness will be contained entirely in and around Indianapolis. Players will be quarantined outside of games and practices. Fans will be here, but at 75% fewer capacity than recent years.
This feat hasn’t happened since Indiana’s famed 1976 team.
That was so long ago some players’ parents weren’t even born yet. So it’s clear how difficult this is to pull off.
Gonzaga (26-0) rallied to beat BYU for the West Coast Conference Tournament championship and has a roster full of potential NBA players. The Bulldogs played in the national championship game in 2017 — losing to North Carolina — but this season’s team seems capable of even more.
Suggs, who averages 14.3 points, can take over games. Forwards Corey Kispert and Drew Timme combined to average 37.9 points per game.
The Zags seem to have a clear path to the title game. They’ve already played — and beaten — beat three teams in its region: No. 2 seed Iowa(98-88 on Dec. 19), No. 3 seed Kansas (102-90 on Nov. 26) and No. 4 seed Virginia (98-75 on Dec. 26).
Gonzaga is the first team since Kentucky in 2015 to enter the tournament undefeated. That team imploded against Wisconsin. Gonzaga, which opens the tournament Saturday against the First Four winner between Norfolk State and Appalachian State, is out to make history.
