'First Four' NCAA games to Dayton

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The first four games of a revamped NCAA Men's Division I basketball tournament will be played in Dayton Ohio, the association said Thursday.

The NCAA in April changed the format of the tournament, adding three teams to make a field of 68. That created the need for a "First Four" series of games prior to the start of the main tournament draw.

Four of the teams involved will play for the right to be installed as two of the four No. 16 -- and last -- seeds. The other two games will send the last four at-large selections against each other.

The games will be played March 15-16 in Dayton, which has been the site of play-in games since the NCAA expanded its tournament from 64 to 65 teams in 2001.

"Dayton hosted the opening round game for the past 10 years and consistently attracted extraordinary crowds, including over 11,000 in 2009," said Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith, the chairman of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. "The enthusiasm the UD staff and the local fans demonstrated for hosting that game did not go unnoticed, so it makes sense to us to conduct the inaugural First Four in Dayton."

Selection Sunday for the tournament field is March 13.