Throw away those mileage charts. Forget about which teams can't play on their home courts. No one is opening the NCAA tournament on one side of the country and advancing to the next weekend on the opposite coast.
All that matters now is to avoid conference rematches until the designated rounds. And that's assuming no other bracketing criteria are adjusted. The juggling of the 2020-21 college basketball postseason has begun, and we might even like it.
Then again, they could play the 2021 NCAA tournament on Mars and we'd probably like it. Just don't leave us hanging like the cancellation we endured last March.
Not surprisingly, the NCAA announced Monday that the 2021 men's basketball championship will be contested at a single site -- most likely Indianapolis -- in an effort to decrease COVID-related interruptions and increase the likelihood of completing the event.
What happens between now and Selection Sunday, still scheduled for March 14, is anyone's guess. All we know for sure is that the regular season is set to open next Wednesday, Nov. 25, and that 31 of 32 automatic qualifying conferences are expected to name an NCAA representative in time for the men's basketball committee to formulate a bracket. (The Ivy League has announced it will not play winter sports in this academic year.)
Formulating that bracket got a whole lot easier with Monday's announcement. Haggling over the placement of teams in their closest geographic region or sub-region is now moot. Unlike 2020, we won't see any mock brackets with the likes of San Diego State as a No. 1 seed in Madison Square Garden or Kentucky as the No. 1 seed in the West. We also won't have the No. 1 overall seed choosing its regional destinations, avoiding the Kansas-like shenanigans of 2020.
Instead, we'll simply have four regions with the top four teams inserted in seed list order. Barring conference conflicts, the weakest No. 1 seed will automatically be paired with the strongest No. 2 seed, and so on. This can proceed all the way down to the last line of the bracket (as seeding purists rejoice throughout the land!). Less manipulation for geography, more attention to true seeding.
And the Kentuckys of the world -- the Wildcats were set to host the opening weekend at Rupp Arena -- won't have to worry about getting shipped to Boise or San Jose. Kentucky is hopping on a bus to Indy, whether it plays one game or six. Same for schools like Memphis, Providence, Minnesota and NC State. All were first- or second-weekend hosts, likely to travel farther than desired.
On the other end, No. 2 Baylor loses out on a possible 94-mile journey to its tourney openers in Dallas. Michigan State can't play in Detroit. Duke or North Carolina can't play in Raleigh.
Taking things to the extreme, I presume if Butler makes the field it would play somewhere other than Hinkle Fieldhouse. But whichever team plays there has to promise to bring Gene Hackman along to measure the height of the rims.
The Bracketology accompanying this story includes all of the teams from our most recent update (Oct. 7), with the exception of an Ivy League representative. The official preseason edition of Bracketology, complete with updated evaluations of all eligible teams, will appear on Tues., Nov. 24.