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5 years after COVID tournament, everyone wins at Final Four’s Indy return | Opinion

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5 years after COVID tournament, everyone wins at Final Four’s Indy return | Opinion

INDIANAPOLIS – There are worse things in college basketball than getting overlooked at the Final Four. Like not getting here at all.

Or the entire COVID tournament in 2021, just the thought of which is enough to send UConn coach Dan Hurley spiraling.

“If you did great in that tournament, you deserve all the credit. If it went bad for you — and I’m not just saying that because it went bad for us — but you should get a pass. That was a mess,” Hurley said.

“I’m, like, jarred mentally up here,” Hurley said, looking pained. “That was horrible.”

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Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

There are many reasons UConn and Illinois are thrilled to be in Indianapolis for the Final Four this week, even if their national semifinal is the undercard to the showdown between the remaining No. 1 seeds, Arizona and Michigan.

For Brad Underwood, this has been the goal since he was hired at Illinois nine years ago. For Hurley and UConn, it’s a chance to stake a claim as college basketball’s latest dynasty without all the spotlight and pressure of last year’s pursuit of a three-peat.

And for both coaches, there’s also the benefit of cleansing their memories of the last time they were here for the NCAA Tournament.

“Most of my memories on the basketball side are pretty positive,” Underwood said. “The other stuff wasn’t.”

Though it’s only been five years, the “COVID tournament” seems like something out of a fever dream now. The country was still in the grips of the pandemic, with vaccines just starting to become available and restrictions still in place throughout much of the country.

After managing to get through the regular season, the NCAA decided to go ahead with the basketball tournaments — albeit in very different form. Rather than sites across the country, every game from the First Four to the Final Four was played in central Indiana.

Teams were sequestered at hotels in downtown Indianapolis, able to leave only for practices, games and assigned outdoor time. Restaurants were off-limits. Players were tested regularly and the threat of being unable to play was ever present. Only a few fans were allowed, and crowd noise was piped in.

The women’s tournament was held under similar conditions in San Antonio.

“That whole season was a tough season,” Hurley said. “We were lucky just to be able to get a tournament in and do those things.”

Indianapolis was one of the few cities that could pull off a tournament in a bubble. The city has both an NBA arena and a domed stadium, and Butler, Indiana and Purdue are all within driving distance.

There’s a sizeable convention center that housed practice courts and about a dozen hotels surrounding it. There also are elevated walkways linking almost everything, so teams had almost no contact with anyone not playing in or associated with the tournament.

“They were literally knocking on your door and dropping the food at your door,” Hurley said. “It wasn’t slop, but it was — maybe it was.”

It’s an experience no one wants to repeat. Which makes it even more meaningful the Final Four has returned to a city that, until 2021, had produced so many great memories in the tournament.

Hurley’s brother Bobby and Duke ending UNLV’s 45-game win streak in 1991. Princeton stunning defending champion UCLA in 1996. Michigan State’s Flintstones winning the Big Ten’s last NCAA title in 2000. Little Butler coming oh, so close in 2010.

“It doesn’t feel like there’s many better places to play a Final Four,” Hurley said. “It’s cool to be back here for a non-COVID Final Four.”

Even if most of the attention is on the No. 1s.

Illinois, a No. 3 seed, wasn’t considered Final Four material until its Big Ten brethren Iowa put the South Region up for grabs by taking out Florida. And UConn definitely wasn’t expected to make it this far, pitted against overall No. 1 Duke in the East Region final.

But here they are.

“I’m just focused on our game,” said Solo Ball, who is playing in his second Final Four in his three years at UConn. “It’s all that we’ve been looking forward to, too, just being back here in the Final Four.”

It’s already better than the last time the tournament was in Indianapolis. And that’s a win for everyone.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 Final Four in Indianapolis is a cleanse from 2021 COVID tournament

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