Bankers Life Fieldhouse hosting 16 NCAA men's tournament games, seven Pacers have teams competing
Bankers Life Fieldhouse hosting 16 NCAA men's tournament games, seven Pacers have teams competing
The home of the Pacers is one of six tournament sites — all in Indiana.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the Pacers, is serving as one of six host sites for the 2021 NCAA Div. I men’s basketball tournament. The Final Four was already scheduled to be held in Indy, at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the NCAA — which is headquartered there — elected to host the entire event in Indiana.
Fifty-five of the 67 games will be played in Indianapolis.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Indy lost far too many events and conventions, including the 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend. It was postponed to 2024. Hosting this entire tournament is a signifiant boost and will receive far more national attention.
The Fieldhouse is home to 16 of the 67 games, which is why the Pacers are on the road for five of their next six games. Their only home game during this stretch is on Wednesday, March 24 against the Pistons.
Each tournament site has an official host school and for The Fieldhouse, it’s Ball State University (of Muncie, Ind.). The other five host sites: Lucas Oil Stadium (Horizon League), Indiana Farmers Coliseum (IUPUI), Hinkle Fieldhouse (Butler), Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (IU) and Mackey Arena (Purdue).
The tournament is utilizing four main downtown hotels that are all connected via skywalk: J.W. Marriott, Marriott, The Westin and Hyatt Regency. Officials are staying at Le Méridien.
The Indiana Convention Center has been converted into an athlete village featuring practice courts, a giant weight room, academic rooms and more. Victory Field, home of the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, is also available for tournament participants to get out of their rooms and get fresh air.
Seven Pacers have their university in the 64-team field:
Malcolm Brogdon — Virginia
Aaron Holiday — UCLA
Jeremy Lamb — Connecticut
Caris LeVert — Michigan
Doug McDermott — Creighton
Domantas Sabonis — Gonzaga
Myles Turner — Texas
Sabonis’ Gonzaga Bulldogs are 26-0 and a No. 1 seed. “They’re playing the best basketball they’ve ever played,” he said. “I’m so happy for Mark Few, Tommy (Lloyd), all the coaching staff. This year should be the year.”
Myles Turner played just one season (2014-15) at Texas. “I’ve watched them all season long. I think they’re a great team. One thing about them and what’s important in the NCAA Tournament is having seniors on your roster and guys that have the experience. We have an experienced team.
“I’m very excited, I think they’re very capable of making a deep run. I think for (coach) Shaka’s (Smart) sake, it’s something he’s looking forward to as well. I think it’s a year to prove the coach that he is and the year for us to prove the program that we have. I talked to some of the guys and I think that they have a real legit shot of doing something special so I’m gonna be tuned in for sure.”
The Fieldhouse will be home to 12 games over the next four days, including three first-round games each on Friday and Saturday. Limited tickets are available.
Shawn Sullivan took over as the public address announcer for Pacers games this season, but you won’t hear his voice during the tournament. He’s an associate athletic director at Ball State, so he is serving as a tournament manager at The Fieldhouse.
Instead, it will be Tom Simpson, the PA guy for Cardinals games for more than 30 years at Worthen Arena. Former Pacers PA announcer Tim Sinclair can be heard over at Lucas Oil Stadium.
First-round games
Friday, March 19
12:45 p.m. ET: (14) Colgate vs. (3) Arkansas — TBS
4:30 p.m. ET: (12) Oregon State vs. (5) Tennessee — TNT
9:20 p.m. ET: (10) Rutgers vs. (7) Clemson — TBS
Announcers: Spero Dedes, Brendan Haywood, Lauren Shehadi
Saturday, March 20
12:45 p.m ET: (13) UNC Greensboro vs. (4) Florida State — truTV
4:30 p.m. ET: (11) Drake vs (6) USC — TNT
9:20 p.m. ET: (16) Norfolk State vs (1) Gonzaga — TBS
Announcers: Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce
Second-round games
Sunday, March 21
12:40 p.m. ET: (1) Illinois vs. (8) Loyola Chicago — CBS
5:15 p.m. ET: (3) West Virginia vs. (11) Syracuse — CBS
8:45 p.m. ET: (5) Villanova vs. (13) North Texas — TNT
Monday, March 22
12:10 p.m. ET: (2) Iowa vs. (7) Oregon — CBS
5:15 p.m. ET: (11) UCLA vs. (14) Abilene Christian — TBS
8:45 p.m. ET: (2) Alabama vs. (10) Maryland — TNT
Announcers: Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce
Sweet Sixteen
Saturday, March 27
5:00 p.m. ET: (4) Florida State vs. (1) Michigan — CBS
9:45 p.m. ET: (7) Oregon vs. (6) USC — TBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson
Sunday, March 28
2:40 p.m. ET: (12) Oregon State vs. (8) Loyola Chicago — CBS
7:25 p.m. ET: (15) Oral Roberts vs (3) Arkansas — TBS
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Dana Jacobson
The Final Four will be held over at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 3 and 5.