Report: NCAA Basketball Oversight Committee to Propose Nov. 25 Start Date

[Carnac]

By Ben Pickman - Sept 1, 2020

The NCAA's Men's and Women's Basketball Oversight Committee will propose a start date of November 25 to the Division I Council for the 2020-21 season, according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein. Per Rothstein, the committee will also propose no college basketball scrimmages and exhibitions due to health and safety reasons tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The college basketball season was initially scheduled to start November 10.

"We are going to have a tournament," NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said. "It’s going to be special.

Report: NCAA Basketball Oversight Committee to Propose Nov. 25 Start

The college basketball season was initially scheduled to start November 10.

www.si.com

NCAA VP of Women's Basketball Lynn Holzman and Duke Senior Deputy Director of Athletics Nina King join NCAA.com's Andy Katz to discuss the state of the 2020-21 women's basketball season and possible contingency plans for delivering the NCAA tournament.

 

[hoopsfan22]

They have no choice but to play and have a tournament. Basketball pays the bills.

 

[Performance]

I just don't see how they can fairly have an NCAA tournament if full schedules (out of conference & in conference) have not all taken place, I feel a lot of teams would be ranked unfairly do to the lack of strength of schedule. How do you determine a number one if they play no quality competition?

 

[hoopsfan22]

I just don't see how they can fairly have an NCAA tournament if full schedules (out of conference & in conference) have not all taken place, I feel a lot of teams would be ranked unfairly do to the lack of strength of schedule. How do you determine a number one if they play no quality competition?

It's already subjective. I don't think the OOC thing matters very much. People would be glad to just have a tourney at all I think, so for once probably little quibbling over seeding and region and whatnot.

 

[Performance]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, I for one hope there is both a conference tournament and an NCAA tournament

 

[EricLA]

Even when you have a full season with lots of data to determine the top 64 teams for the tourney, there is debate and discussion about deserving teams being left out, or feelings of incorrect seeding and brackets.

This year will be even harder with teams like UCONN possibly facing only 1 top 25 team, in DePaul. Haven't seen the preseason rankings, but there could be some conferences (probably not P5) with no top 25 teams. Also with no OOC games, it will be hard to seed teams based on SOS, etc. I don't envy the committee. This year, possibly more than any other, could create a lot of controversy.

Still, college hoops can only do the best they can with what they have. Having a tourney will be a success, and for a team like UCONN, who should be ranked in the top 2 or 3 and get a 1 seed provided they don't lose a game in conference, will give them a decent path and a chance to earn the NC.

 

[Ozimoto]

Assuming that they have a plan for a tournament, I would think the field would at the very least include conference champions. Win your conference and you're in. If you remember, the NCAA expanded the field to 32 and 64 and then added "play in" games because when the field was held to conference champions only, there was wailing and gnashing of teeth that crappy teams that won their conferences were getting in over strong conference runners up. Hence the at large bids.

Yeah, it will stink if the field is reduced, but you have to work with what you can safely handle in the current pre-vaccine world of Corona virus. I like this team's chances of making the tournament regardless of what size the field is or how the field is selected.

 

[Lorcan]

32 would be rough. Imagine Stanford and UCLA sharing the conference title; going 1:1 against eachother and not losing to anyone else. How do you determine who wins the bid? Imagine DePaul upsetting UConn and UConn doesn’t get to go dancing.

 

[Ozimoto]

That happened to men's teams in the ACC in the early days of the NCAA tournament quite often. Teams ranked in the top 10 in the polls didn't make the tournament because they were not the ACC conference champion. I'm sure it happened in other conferences as well.

 

[MSGRET]

Here's an idea, have 96 teams play, with the lower 64 playing a play in game with the higher seeded 32 hosting the lower 32 at home. Those games can be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Tuesday winners playing on Friday and Wednesday winners on Saturday just like they would against the higher seeded 32 teams in the regular tournament. That way those teams that would be seeded 9 though 16 would have a home game against the teams that were added due to the loss of some of the regular season games. At the end the tourney would still have 64 teams after the play in's, but would have additional suspense that would bring in some more revenue.

 

[Boreifs]

Even when you have a full season with lots of data to determine the top 64 teams for the tourney, there is debate and discussion about deserving teams being left out, or feelings of incorrect seeding and brackets.

This year will be even harder with teams like UCONN possibly facing only 1 top 25 team, in DePaul. Haven't seen the preseason rankings, but there could be some conferences (probably not P5) with no top 25 teams. Also with no OOC games, it will be hard to seed teams based on SOS, etc. I don't envy the committee. This year, possibly more than any other, could create a lot of controversy.

Still, college hoops can only do the best they can with what they have. Having a tourney will be a success, and for a team like UCONN, who should be ranked in the top 2 or 3 and get a 1 seed provided they don't lose a game in conference, will give them a decent path and a chance to earn the NC.

If the tournament is played in a bubble, it is likely to have only 16 teams.
Round one on Sun and Mon
Quarters on Tue and Wed
Semis on Fri
Final on Sun.

They are college students; a bubble couldn’t last any longer.

 

[Huskee11]

Before we just nod our obedient heads and move on, I would be interested in knowing the rationale for recommending a 15 day extension to the start of the season.

Are they basing this recommendation on empirical evidence? Trends? Or is it just a political compromise to provide them some cover?

Do they really expect things to be materially different on November 25 than on November 10?

Why 15 days? Why not 30? Or 60? Why any?

And with all of the different conditions across the country, why a one size fits all recommendation?

As you might have guessed, I am more than a bit skeptical of the decision making abilities of those at all levels pulling the strings.

 

[dr. uconn]

I would guess the Nov. 25 start date is because many universities plan to send students home for Thanksgiving and will have them stay home until spring semester starts. This reduces chances of COVID spread by bringing infected students back to campus. It also reduces infection rates for team members. Just speculation, though, on my part.

 

[Alydar]

Before we just nod our obedient heads and move on, I would be interested in knowing the rationale for recommending a 15 day extension to the start of the season.

Are they basing this recommendation on empirical evidence? Trends? Or is it just a political compromise to provide them some cover?

Do they really expect things to be materially different on November 25 than on November 10?

Why 15 days? Why not 30? Or 60? Why any?

And with all of the different conditions across the country, why a one size fits all recommendation?

As you might have guessed, I am more than a bit skeptical of the decision making abilities of those at all levels pulling the strings.

My guess it has to do with some schools ending the semester at Thanksgiving. At that point the campuses will be mostly deserted and the season can start under easier-to manage conditions.
BTW I don't agree with that.

 

[Boreifs]

I would guess the Nov. 25 start date is because many universities plan to send students home for Thanksgiving and will have them stay home until spring semester starts. This reduces chances of COVID spread by bringing infected students back to campus. It also reduces infection rates for team members. Just speculation, though, on my part.

Good guess. You are absolutely correct.

 

[bluedevil]

Lot of good opinions here ; I for one have never thought there were 64 teams worthy of being included in the tourney..the depth is just not there yet...I know its all about those Benjamins but those first round 60 point blowouts and second round 50 point blowouts are hard to watch...jmo

 

[hoopsfan22]

Lot of good opinions here ; I for one have never thought there were 64 teams worthy of being included in the tourney..the depth is just not there yet...I know its all about those Benjamins but those first round 60 point blowouts and second round 50 point blowouts are hard to watch...jmo

Yeah I think we could do without the first couple of rounds if we're in a situation where the tourney is played in a bubble. I think the 16 team tourney played out over a week as proposed above makes a lot of sense in that scenario and would be quite manageable.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The NCAA has said the basketball season should start on or after November 25. Some conferences have bumped fall sports to the spring. Have any said that there will be no sports until January 1?

From Geno: "Continue wearing masks and taking necessary health and safety precautions so this [Big East] tournament can take place in 2021.” We all have a hand in making sure there is a season.

 

[oldude]

The NCAA has said the basketball season should start on or after November 25. Some conferences have bumped fall sports to the spring. Have any said that there will be no sports until January 1?

From Geno: "Continue wearing masks and taking necessary health and safety precautions so this [Big East] tournament can take place in 2021.” We all have a hand in making sure there is a season.

I believe both the Pac-12 & the Ivies have postponed all sports until January 1 at the earliest. Other conferences may have done the same.

 

[Alydar]

I think this was done in part for schools that were a month away from their first practice. UConn didn't start until mid-October but the NCAA allowed earlier starts while limiting the total number of practices allowed to 15.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I believe both the Pac-12 & the Ivies have postponed all sports until January 1 at the earliest. Other conferences may have done the same.

That's what I thought. Thanks!

 

[ed4ourgirls]

As Geno has said, no matter where you're seeded or what region you're assigned to,
you will have to beat some good teams to win the national championship.

As long as UConn is in the tournament, I like our chances.

 

[Carnac]

They have no choice but to play and have a tournament. Basketball pays the bills.

That......and they can't afford to go two consecutive years without a 64 team national championship tournament.

 

[Carnac]

I believe both the Pac-12 & the Ivies have postponed all sports until January 1 at the earliest. Other conferences may have done the same.

They may hold to that start date of Jan 1.....or.......they may rethink that start date in light of the bubble/wubble concept for college basketball, especially if other conferences adopt the bubble philosophy and begin play in late November or early December. They have at least 45 days before they have to make a decision to begin on or before Dec 1. Carnac sez the earlier the better!! I think we would all like to see UConn begin play by December 1.