— One by one, the teams marched onto the court, lining up in rows until they had filled half the floor from baseline to midcourt, roughly 500 men’s college basketball players, coaches and team managers standing shoulder to shoulder. The unusual display of hoops humanity is known as the Parade of Champions, and it is a signature moment at the annual N.A.I.A. The N.A.I.A.’s version is truly nuts: 32 teams, seven days and one shared hotel. It is a virtual assembly line of college basketball, and for the true hoops fanatic it is basketball paradise. “This is the real March Madness,” Larry Cordaro, the coach of Louisiana State-Alexandria, said during a busy breakfast on Thursday at Kansas City’s Westin hotel, where all 32 teams were billeted.

Source: New York Times March 17, 2018 20:48 UTC