According to ESPN, the Barclays Center was selected to host games in the first weekend of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the sites selection committee announced on Monday. The six games, four in the Round of 64 and two in the Round of 32, will be played March 18 and 20, 2016 and will be the first tournament games ever played in Brooklyn. New York was a hit last March when Madison Square Garden hosted the East Regional; the first NCAA Tournament games there in 53 years.
Sellout crowds saw UConn advanced to the Final Four on its way to the national championship. The Garden also was named in the announcements to repeat as host of the East Regional in the 2017 Big Dance. Those games will be March 24 and 26 of that year. The Big East and St. John’s are the hosting organizations at the Garden. The Atlantic 10 is the host at Barclays Center, where it currently plays its conference tournament.
The NCAA also announced that the Round of 64 and Round of 32 would be renamed first- and second-round games. The four games on the Tuesday and Wednesday after the field of 68 is announced will remain in Dayton and be called the “First Four.” It seems Brooklyn is trendy in a lot of ways these days and so it is with Barclays Center and college basketball. Duke, Virginia, Villanova, Iowa State and VCU all will play games there this season. The ACC will also have its conference tournament at Barclays in 2017 and 2018.
-Brendan Dolan
The Thoma 