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NCAA gives 1st overall seed choice of venue for opening rounds

Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports

The No. 1 overall seed in March Madness will have its choice of eight locations for games in the first two rounds, the NCAA announced Monday.

The change will take place starting with the 2016-17 edition of the tournament, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

The eight cities slated to host first-weekend action in next year's tournament are: Buffalo, N.Y.; Milwaukee; Orlando, Fla.; Salt Lake City; Greensboro, N.C.; Indianapolis; Tulsa, Okla.; and Sacramento, Calif.

Each team in the running for the top seed would tell the NCAA ahead of time where it would prefer to play, and once the official selection is revealed, that program would head to its chosen venue. While the No. 1 team wouldn't know its opponent until Selection Sunday, it would know where the matchup would take place.

The decision places further emphasis on the importance of gaining the overall No. 1 seed, and could lead teams to treat conference tournaments with a greater sense of urgency.

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