The NCAA tournament is officially expanding to 76 teams, and Dayton could use some help when it comes to hosting opening round games. That’s where Wichita comes in.
The NCAA announced that Wichita and Dayton will host opening-round tripleheaders on the Tuesday and Wednesday following Selection Sunday.
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“We were pleased but not surprised by the number of cities from around the country that very much wanted March Madness to begin in their market,” said Keith Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference and the chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. “Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament. Having a city in Middle America will be advantageous for getting teams from various points around the country, many of which won’t be known until Selection Sunday, to the Opening Round and subsequently first-round sites.”
The games in Wichita and Dayton will feature the 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large schools.
Dayton has been the opening round host since 2001, with UD Arena hosting the most games in NCAA tournament history.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Wichita to co-host expanded opening round men’s March Madness games
