Tigers adjusting to NCAA Tournament bubble life

CLEMSON — Before Clemson left for Indianapolis, Aamir Simms made sure to pack his goody bag and Apple TV.

The self-described homebody and snacker knew being comfortable in the Tigers’ hotel would be crucial for a good trip to this season’s unusual NCAA Tournament.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA elected not to send teams around the country for games throughout the tournament. Instead, Indianapolis was designated as the bubble, hosting all teams and games for this year’s Big Dance.

Upon arrival teams were required to quarantine for 28 hours and test negative twice before beginning to practice and meet. For Clemson, the 28-hour period began when it arrived on Monday. The Tigers held their first practice in Indianapolis on Tuesday night.

“It was more of a mental thing, just being in your room,” Simms said on a zoom call on Wednesday. “Even back home being by yourself, you could at least go on a walk or something. When we first got here, we had to completely stay in our rooms. … You couldn’t really see your teammates or anyone else. You just had to find ways to get the time to pass quickly.

“It wasn’t bad. I’ve talked about being a homebody myself, so being confined to the walls of a hotel room wasn’t too bad. It was pretty fun for me.”

Still, even after quarantine, bubble life isn’t close to what a typical NCAA Tournament looks like. All teams are housed at one of four hotels that are connected to the Indianapolis Convention Center. The convention center houses practice courts and workout facilities for teams.

Teams are separated by floor, too, and travel from meals and practices together. Whenever Clemson isn’t at a team-oriented event, the Tigers will be in their hotel rooms.

“It’s different,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “You don’t go outside, which is strange. You get here, guess we got here Monday afternoon, and we were basically in quarantine for the better part of 28 hours.

“Appreciate what the NCAA is doing in trying to keep everybody safe. There’s really no contact with teams. You see other teams, you walk by each other but that’s pretty much it. They’re trying to keep everyone away from each other. We’re all in separate floors. It is different.”

Brownell said Clemson will practice Wednesday afternoon and twice on Thursday. Then the waiting game begins for the Tigers’ first-round matchup.

Seventh-seeded Clemson has to wait until 9:20 p.m. on Friday night for its tip-off with No. 10 seed Rutgers on TBS. Now in his 11th season with the Tigers, Brownell plans to let his players sleep in and scatter meetings throughout the day before making the short trip to Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“A little bit of Groundhog Day for the next several days,” he said.