March Madness arrives in Buffalo for the weekend

By Mikayla Boyd, Editor-in-Chief

On Thursday, March 19, and Saturday, March 21, the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament first and second-round games are being hosted at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. The eight teams competing, along with their division seed, are No. 11 South Florida, No. 6 Louisville, No. 14 North Dakota State, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 16 UMBC/Howard, No. 1 Michigan, No. 9 Saint Louis and No. 8 Georgia. According to GoGriffs, “The 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship First and Second rounds at KeyBank Center will mark the eighth time since 2000 that the city's downtown arena has hosted the NCAA's premier basketball championship tournament. 

Not only does the tournament bring in business at the KeyBank Center, but it also attracts game-goers to local businesses and restaurants. In years past, however, the break between games has been 90 minutes, but this year, fans only have about an hour to frequent Buffalo’s local businesses. To make the most out of the small window, “Many restaurants are bringing it out buffet style to make the magic happen,” reports Spectrum Local News. On the KeyBank Center staff side, the reduction in break length has shifted how they handle the crowds. Greg Belile, who has previously worked security at two other March Madness tournaments at the KeyBank Center, says “there were lines all the way through the plaza and around the corner down Illinois Street.  We had to empty the entire building between sessions and get the doors open for the second session in only 35 minutes.” The turnaround was tight, but on Thursday, the KeyBank Center staff was able to adapt to the change.

Buffalo is expected to welcome an estimated 19,000 people to the City of Good Neighbors for the event. Local Buffalonians have also taken advantage of the event, with The Griffin’s own Assistant Copy Editor and Sports Layout Editor Andrew Nowel and Sports Editor Colin Richey visiting the tournament. To read more about Richey's experience, visit page 10 for his reporting of the games he watched and the experience overall in the sports section of this issue. As for the tournament itself, after the first and second-round games in Buffalo and other locations across the country, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight (regional rounds) will be held from March 26–29 in four cities: Houston, Texas (South), San Jose, Calif. (West), Chicago, Ill. (Midwest) and Washington, D.C. (East).