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Carpeted Courts, 19,000-Wing Orders and No Barber: Tales From the Men's NCAA Tournament Bubble

INDIANAPOLIS — Chris Pezman never thought his trip to the men's NCAA tournament would begin this way, hustling down a flight of stairs at Assembly Hall, heading toward the court—or as close as he could get to it—while clutching a bag of pharmaceuticals meant for an injured member of Houston.

What happened next was altogether unusual. The Houston athletic director, leaning against a railing overlooking the court, wound back his arm and heaved medication down below toward a team staff member.

“I threw the prescription into the air,” Pezman says, days later. “The thought of throwing anti-inflammatories across a basketball court wasn’t something I had envisioned.