The NCAA Tournament 2021 – Everything You Need to Know

Unless you live under a rock (or you’ve just been stuck at home under quarantine for so long you’ve forgotten that sports exist), you’re probably at least somewhat familiar with the men’s NCAA Division I basketball tournament held annually in March.

This fan-favorite event features sixty-eight teams going toe-to-toe in a seven-round bracket-style tournament. Each week, teams are eliminated until the final rounds reach 16, 8, and 4 teams and a National Champion is named.

How The NCAA Tournament Works

The single-elimination tournament, which has been around since 1939, begins with Selection Sunday when a committee releases the NCAA tournament bracket. Section Sunday is slated for March 14 at 6 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks to the pandemic, all the games will be played in and around Indianapolis, Indiana this year at various sites adjacent to the city, including Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and Bankers Life and Hinkle fieldhouses. At-home spectators can catch each game via many cable channels or stream them online.

The first four games will be played Thursday, March 18 starting at 4 p.m., followed by Round 1 games on March 19 and March 20.

Second-round games begin at noon on March 21 and continue into March 22.

The remaining 16 teams will face off March 27 and 28, followed by the 8 winners of the previous round on Monday and Tuesday, March 29 and March 30.

The remaining four teams will play starting at 5:00 p.m. on April 3. And the NCAA National Championship game is set to take place at 9 p.m. on Monday, April 5.

NCAA Team Shoes & Fan Gear

While you most likely won’t be cheering your favorite team on from inside the arena, sporting your favorite NCAA fan gear is still encouraged. Suit up in your favorite team tee or jersey, some basketball shorts and a pair of baller kicks to root for the home team from the comfort of your couch. Hibbett | City Gear also has a great selection of team baps, button-downs and game day accessories to help tie your tourney outfits together toe-to-head.

No. 1 Seeds Styles

The projected No. 1 seed teams for the 2021 brackets include Baylor, Gonzaga, Michigan and Ohio State. No matter which team you’re rooting for in your bracket, Hibbett | City Gear provides all the NCAA tournament-ready fan gear for both seasonal and longtime fans of all ages. Get your Baylor Bears hats, dress up for the game in a long-sleeve Gonzaga Bulldogs button-down, or pull on your Ohio State polo before you pull for the Buckeyes.

Spectator Sneakers

Dressing full-body in premium fan gear, not exactly your style? You can still support your favorite players and schools with our collection of team-colored sneakers.

Member of the Tar Heel nation? Shop our selection of Carolina Blue shoes, like the Air Jordan 1 “UNC” colorway or the Air Jordan 4 “UNC.” This particular release has been hyped again and again in anticipation of the NCAA tournament… but its release continues to get pushed back. Currently, the shoe is set to land April 28.

Looking for a high-top in Syracuse orange? We’ve got just the Nike Dunks for you! Seeing red? Slip into some Nike Zoom Pegasus 37s in a sharp “Ohio State” colorway.

NCAA Tournament Brackets Contest

Of course watching the best teams in the nation play against one another for the national championship title is probably the most exciting part of the tournament, but filling out your bracket is a close second.

More than 70 million brackets are submitted during the March event according to the American Gaming Association. Well this year, after you’ve filled out your ESPN, Captial One and NCAA official tournament brackets, visit Hibbett.com to join in a little madness of a different kind.

This year, we are kicking off our first ever Sneaker Madness bracket contest through which YOU can help determine which of the sneakersphere’s most iconic kicks are the best sneakers of all time. Interested? Visit our Sneaker Madness contest page for promotion details on how to enter and most importantly, how to win!

Keep reading:

• How to Style a Basketball Uniform Off The Court
• Our 2021 Basketball Season Sneaker Picks – Styles to Shop
• 12 Tips for Buying Basketball Shoes