NCAA sets COVID replacement policy for tournament

The NCAA laid out its contingency plans on Thursday should COVID-19 force a team to withdraw from the basketball tournament, and it will not allow a replacement team to enter past March 16 -- two days before the scheduled start.

In fact, should a team not be able to play a game because of medical protocols once the tournament is underway, the game will be recorded as "no contest" and the opponent will move on to the next round.

Changes to the field will be allowed through March 16, however, following rules the NCAA specified Thursday.

If an automatic qualifier from a one-bid conference must pull out for COVID-19 reasons, the conference may enter a designated replacement team. If the change is made before Selection Sunday on March 14, the team will be seeded as the tournament committee sees fit. If the change comes after that, the replacement team will fill the departing team's slot in the bracket.

There will be no reseeding or change to the bracket once it is announced on Selection Sunday.

Should a potential at-large team not meet medical protocols before Selection Sunday, the committee must be notified by March 13. If the team is found after that date to not be able to play, a replacement will come from a pool of four teams -- the last four out.

Those four teams, if they choose to be considered, will be seeded No. 1 through 4, with the top seed to be the first one in, if needed. The replacement team would go on the same bracket line as the team that is withdrawing.

The tournament is being played this year entirely in Indiana because of the pandemic with the majority of games in Indianapolis.

The four replacement teams will remain on their campuses and continue the COVID-19 testing protocol in case they are needed to travel to Indiana.

Any of the four replacement teams that do not play in the NCAA Tournament will be a No. 1 seed in the NIT and eligible to compete in that tournament.

The First Four games in the NCAA Tournament are scheduled for March 18, with the First Round games set to start the following day. The championship game is scheduled for Monday, April 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium before limited fans.

--Field Level Media