NCAA Tournament: A look inside the field of 68 and link to bracket

Storylines abound as the basketball madness in March gets underway with no COVID interference for the first time since 2019.

It’s been nearly three years since the last “normal” NCAA Tournament concluded in 2019, and much has changed since then in college basketball. After the 2020 Big Dance was canceled amid the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 event was held in a controlled environment with limited attendance.

Finally, at long last, the bracket is set for a 2022 NCAA Tournament that should be a beautiful reminder of everything that makes March Madness so great. Preliminary games will be played at venues spanning the country with full attendance allowed and diminished concern over health and safety protocols.

With Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski participating his last NCAA Tournament after missing out on last season’s event and Kentucky also back in the Big Dance after a rare down season, there is plenty of blue-blood power near the top of the bracket. Arizona being a No. 1 seed under first-year coach Tommy Lloyd is another perfect example of that.

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