Fans can't get into arena for start of game Thursday in Hartford

For whatever reason, the NCAA and its broadcast partners put Hartford on a real time crunch, with its first set of games starting at 2 p.m., and the second at 7:20 p.m.

Ultimately, that second game of the day, Murray State’s win over Marquette, ran late, and didn’t finish until after 7. Even after a delay for the tip of Villanova-Saint Mary’s to 7:45, the arena staff had to get everyone from the first games out, and then securely receive a new group of 14,000 fans.

As you’d imagine, it didn’t go well.

Because of the time crunch, many fans attending the Villanova-St. Mary’s NCAA Tournament game at Hartford’s XL Center didn’t get to their seats until halftime.

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