The nation’s celebration of college basketball has been a rite of spring for decades, a phenomenon that fans could not imagine a March without — until last year, when a catastrophic pandemic had started to claim the lives of millions around the world.
As many sports leagues dimmed their stadium lights, fans were left to wonder if the N.C.A.A. basketball tournaments would return the following year. And what they might look like.
Now the men’s and women’s tournaments have been restored, and some of the fans are back, too. Old-timers and newcomers have found respites from the losses of the last year, along with a glimmer of normalcy among the upsets and overtimes.