Duke's Mike Krzyzewski: It Would Be Challenging to Host March Madness in 1 City
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has concerns about the possibility that the NCAA holds the men's basketball tournament in a single location.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Krzyzewski called it a logistical "challenge to get that many teams" in one spot for the event.
On Monday, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee announced it had begun preliminary talks with the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis to host the 68-team event in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The tourney is scheduled to begin with First Four games March 16 and 17.
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Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is already scheduled to host the Final Four in April, making the city a logical choice to host the entire tournament if the committee decides to go that route.
According to ESPN's Myron Medcalf, a Marion County health department official said the NCAA had yet to contact it about potentially holding the event in Indianapolis.
Krzyzewski has been adamant that the men's basketball tournament must be played this season because of the financial risk it would present to the NCAA if it went two straight years without the event.
"We're the thing that the NCAA is most concerned about because men's college basketball and the tournament pays for something like ... it produces 98 percent or more of the money for the NCAA," Krzyzewski told ESPN Radio's Keyshawn, JWill & Zubin in August (h/t Medcalf). "We need to have the tournament. We can't have it where two years in a row you don't have the NCAA tournament."
On Thursday, Krzyzewski said the NCAA can "always keep in mind" pushing the season back if the COVID-19 pandemic gets "worse than what it is."
The 2020-21 men's and women's college basketball seasons are scheduled to begin Nov. 25. Teams can play a maximum of 27 regular-season games, including one multiple-team event.
The men's tournament is scheduled to run from March 16 to April 5. The women's tournament is slated to take place from March 19 to April 4.
