Upcoming Season - Plans Being Considered

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

.
The following two lengthy articles are well worth a read:

What to know about college basketball's season and the 2021 NCAA Tournament: A Q&A with the NCAA's Dan Gavitt - Matt Norlander, CBS Sports – September 17, 2020

Gavitt speaks with CBS Sports about starting the season on Nov. 25, the NCAA tournament and much more

Wednesday was a highly anticipated day in college basketball. We now know the season's start date will be Nov. 25 -- or at least that's the hope. Shortly after the Division I Council finished its four-and-a-half hour meeting Wednesday, NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt spoke with CBS Sports to provide more information and insight into the decisions that were made -- and just as important, the decisions that were not made Wednesday.

We have a season start date, but why not testing rules yet? And everyone wants to know the status of the NCAA Tournament and what could change there. Gavitt gets into those topics and much more below.

Bracketologists speak: What NCAA tournament forecasters expect from odd 2020-21 basketball season - Joe Lunardi and Charlie Crème, ESPN – September 17, 2020

The NCAA Division I Council ruled on Wednesday that the 2020-21 college basketball season can begin Nov. 25, but many other details about how the campaign will play out remain up in the air. Primary among those is the nature of the 2021 NCAA tournament, with both the 68-team men's event and 64-team women's event subject to alterations in number of teams, sites, selection process and myriad other factors.

From our vantage point in mid-September, we asked ESPN men's tournament bracketologist Joe Lunardi and his women's tourney counterpart, Charlie Creme, to weigh in on the biggest issues surrounding the tournament.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link:

Maui Jim Maui Invitational Announces 2020 Field - Maui Jim Maui Invitational - April 19, 2019

Alabama, Davidson, Indiana, North Carolina, Providence, Stanford, Texas, and UNLV will convene in Maui for the 37th annual Tournament, which will be contested November 23-25, 2020 at the historic Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui.

Report: 2020 Maui Invitational might be held in Asheville, North Carolina Mike Schumann, The Daily Hoosier - September 3, 2020

North Carolina is not Maui, but perhaps still better than Indiana in November? According to a report by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, the annual event in Hawaii might be moving more than 4,500 miles east.

Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein

Source: The 2020 Maui Invitational is considering Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina as a potential location.

Field includes North Carolina, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, Stanford, Providence, UNLV, and Davidson.

NCAA basketball season set to open day before Thanksgiving - The Associated Press - September 16, 2020

The NCAA men's and women's basketball season will begin on November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Maui, as well as the rest of the college basketball season.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education - InsideHigherEd.com – updated regularly

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

.
Size of the 2021 NCAA Tournament Field

Report: ACC proposes every Division I team make NCAA tournament - Cassandra Negley, Yahoo - September 9, 2020

Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein · The ACC will propose that ever single team in Division 1 will make the 2021 NCAA Tournament · 3:10 PM · Sep 9, 2020

What to know about college basketball's season and the 2021 NCAA Tournament: A Q&A with the NCAA's Dan Gavitt - Matt Norlander, CBS Sports – September 17, 2020

CBS Sports: You've stated a few times that the NCAA Tournament as of now is still planning to be held as scheduled, in mid-March, at all 14 sites and with 68 teams. But at a certain point that is going to need to be reemphasized to the membership because there's clearly a cloud of uncertainty hanging over that. So here on Sept. 16, how close do you think we are we to knowing when the NCAA Tournament will be scheduled and/or an official acknowledgement of those dates being reaffirmed?

DG: That's still the plan and preference as of Sept. 16. But we have been and will continue to working on contingency plans.

CBS Sports: Is there a healthy possibility that for one season the tournament would consider just going to 64 teams?

DG: I don't know, just at this point. It'd be premature to comment on that.

CBS Sports: Have you run through circumstances yet about what would happen or need to happen if the tournament would have to shrink to say, 48 teams? The reason why I'm asking is you've said before there's a decent chance we could start the season and really not know the format of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. So, what kind of circumstances would need to arise to for you to even consider shrinking the tournament, and do you still maintain by the time we start the season we won't know for sure the format?

DG: Again, I think it's premature. I mean, we're only six months removed from the start of this pandemic, right? And we still have quite a lot of time before the tournament is scheduled would start. We're going to be guided by science, we're going to be guided by safety and health, and we will consider changes as necessitated by all that. But, you know this, you can look at that both ways. There's hope and optimism of all sorts of developments between now and March 2021, or there may not be, in which case, decisions will be necessitated in a different way. So we have we have a lot of contingencies, we have a lot of plans that if needed to be activated will be, but Sept. 16 is not the time to consider that or even comment on it.

Bracketologists speak: What NCAA tournament forecasters expect from odd 2020-21 basketball season - Joe Lunardi and Charlie Crème, ESPN – September 17, 2020

The notion of reduced NCAA tournament fields figures to be on the table for months to come, depending on the nation's handle on the spread of coronavirus and the sport's ability to adhere to testing and travel protocols. What would the implications be if the tournaments were reduced to, say, 32 teams each?

Lunardi: It seems to me that a 32-team field would be an all-or-nothing proposition. As in, only the current 32 automatic qualifiers make it, or there are no automatic qualifiers and the committee selects what it thinks are the best 32 teams regardless of conference affiliation. The former would completely change the nature of the tournament in the short term, and the latter would accelerate the long-term fear of a Division I divorce in which the power conferences move out.

Creme: I applaud the NCAA for publicly saying and (at least for now) planning on having full 68-team and 64-team fields. Any hybrid of the two scenarios Joe laid out above would create a chaotic, confusing mess of a process, leaving those two as the only realistic conclusions to a 32-team-field decision. Neither is good.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

.
Maui Invitational Moves to the Mainland for 2020 Tournament - Wendy Osher, MauiNow.com – September 19, 2020

The Maui Jim Maui Invitational is moving to the mainland for 2020, according to a tournament announcement.

For the first time ever, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and schedule changes announced by the NCAA, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational is planning to relocate to Asheville, North Carolina this year. Tournament dates will be announced in the near future.

Games will be played at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, operating under the guidance of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for mass gatherings. This year’s teams include Alabama, Davidson, Indiana, North Carolina, Providence, Stanford, Texas, and UNLV.

Next year’s 2021 Maui Jim Maui Invitational field is set to feature Oregon, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Butler, Texas A&M, Houston, St. Mary’s, and host Chaminade of Honolulu.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

.
With Two Months Until College Basketball Season Begins

... the biggest question still remains: "Will it actually begin on November 25th?"

United States Coronavirus Cases – Worldometer – updated continuously

Total Coronavirus Cases in the United States

March 24, 2020: 58,021
Increase ....... + 876,534

April 24, 2020: 934,555
Increase ....... + 769,082

May 24, 2020: 1,703,637
Increase ........ + 763,634

June 24, 2020: 2,467,271
Increase ....... + 1,797,111

July 24, 2020: 4,264,382
Increase ...... + 1,669,209

Aug. 24, 2020: 5,933,591
Increase ...... + 1,251,880

Sept. 24, 2020: 7,185,471

NCAA basketball season set to open day before Thanksgiving - The Associated Press - September 16, 2020

The NCAA men's and women's basketball season will begin on November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving.

The council is scheduled to meet again October 13-14 and could delay the start date and change other pieces of the basketball framework if circumstances surrounding the virus warrant.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Latest NCAA Division I News – NCAA.org – updated regularly

College Basketball: Schedule, Latest COVID-19 News for the 2020-21 season – NCAA.com blog – updated regularly

Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education - InsideHigherEd.com – updated regularly

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

.
Maui Invitational Bracket Released – Bama Insider – One Hour Ago

Due to COVID-19, this year’s Maui Invitational will not be played in Hawaii but rather Asheville, N.C. All games will be played inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center- Asheville from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. All 12 Championship Round games of the Maui Invitational will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, and streamed on ESPN3. TV listings will be announced closer to the Tournament.

..................... Game 2: Providence vs. Indiana – Monday, November 30, 2020, 2:30 PM ET. .....................

Best of luck to the Friars. The Flyer Faithful do not root for public schools to beat Catholic schools, regardless of who their present coach might be.

[LMS]

Creighton announced that their spring semester will not begin until Jan 27, meaning CU will have two full months between Thanksgiving and the beginning of classes in 2021. Jays could get 2/3 of their season played during that time without students on campus.

[stever20]

I just hope there is a season...

Hope all on here are doing well staying safe... I sure hope we can work up to debating about the 2020-21 season.... I'm just not sure.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

.
Toledo pauses men's basketball activities after coach, players test positive for COVID-19 - CBS Sports - Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Toledo coach tested positive this week, and now the team is dealing with its own outbreak.

Marquette pauses men's, women's basketball after COVID-19 positives - ESPN - Thursday, October 22, 2020

Marquette is pausing for 14 days all activities for its men's and women's basketball teams after one positive COVID-19 test from each team. The school did not specify whether the positive tests came from athletes or other personnel, but all those who fall into Tier 1 would be quarantined for two weeks.

Jay Wright leads Villanova through COVID-19, early injuries - Associated Press - Thursday, October 22, 2020

Wright says it’s “50-50” if the sport — which took one of the first major hits in the coronvirus pandemic era with the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament – can make it through the season intact. “You have to try to anticipate what it’s going to be,” Wright said Wednesday. “But you have to realize, you could be wrong.”

The Wildcats already felt the impact of COVID-19 when they had to put workouts on hold for 14 days last month when members of the program tested positive for the virus. Citing confidentiality, Wright has not disclosed the names of the people who had it, but the winningest coach in Villanova history said he was not among them. Wright said he’s tested once a week — including Wednesday — and the worry of keeping his players and staff safe can leave him more restless than prepping for the Big East Tournament.

“It does affect you because you get different guys involved, obviously not everybody is involved,” Wright said. “Initially the whole team is shut down. We all have to be prepared for that during the season. I think we’re back on track. I feel like we handled that pretty well. We have not had any issues since.”

Wright said the Wildcats are “just a little bit behind” their normal late-October learning curve without the benefit of full practices because of COVID-19, nagging injuries, and the absence of secret scrimmages. Like all programs, Villanova also failed to run its usual summer program that cost them some in player development.

Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education - InsideHigherEd.com – updated regularly

Friday October 23, 2020: University of Dayton Freshman Dies of COVID-19 Complications

An 18-year-old freshman at the University of Dayton died yesterday, reportedly of COVID-19-related complications.

The Roman Catholic university in Ohio announced the death of Michael Lang, a first-year student in its College of Arts and Sciences, in a message today addressed to students, faculty members and staff members. Lang was from LaGrange, Ill. He died after a long hospitalization “apparently due to complications from COVID-19,” according to the message. Lang left campus Sept. 13 “to return home for remote study,” it said.

“We extend our deepest sympathy and prayers to his family, friends, professors and our campus community,” said the message, signed by Eric F. Spina, the university’s president, William M. Fischer, its vice president for student development, and Crystal Sullivan, its executive director of campus ministry. “Campus ministers, housing and residence life, and counseling staff are always available for you and for those you know who may be deeply affected by this loss.” The university invited campus community members to light a candle of remembrance and pray for Lang in its chapel this afternoon.

Students moved into University of Dayton residences over two weeks starting Aug. 8. The university has since seen several spikes and declines in COVID-19 cases detected, moving between different campus statuses indicating varying levels of outbreak containment and transitioning between in-person and remote learning. The university’s COVID-19 dashboard lists 42 active cases and 1,368 recovered cases as of Oct. 22. It covers a period beginning Aug. 10.

Lang is at least the third college student reported to have died from COVID-19 or related complications this fall. Chad Dorrill, a 19-year-old sophomore studying to become a physical therapist at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, died Sept. 28th. Jamain Stephens, a 20-year-old senior who played defensive tackle on the football team at California University of Pennsylvania, died Sept. 8th.

Latest NCAA Division I News – NCAA.org – updated regularly

Blanket waiver approved for men’s basketball multiple-team events – NCAA.org - Friday, October 23, 2020

More than 30 colleges await Connecticut ‘bubble’ - Associated Press - October 24, 2020

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — A resort casino on tribal land in Connecticut is completing plans to host more than 30 college basketball teams as it becomes a modified bubble for several early season tournaments, including two moved from New York. The Mohegan Sun has teamed with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which holds its men’s Tip-Off Tournament and Women’s Challenge there every year, and the Gazelle Group, which runs the Empire Classic and the Legends Classic in New York.

The organizers plan to hold those tournaments and several other “pods” of games, which will get names in the next few weeks, at the Mohegan Sun, which is owned by the Mohegan Tribe and includes a 10,000-seat arena that is home to the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. “It’s a single site, secluded location, with enormous square footage for social distancing,” said Greg Procino, vice president of basketball operations for the Hall of Fame. “There are a lot of things that will work in our favor, ”

Rick Giles, the president of the Gazelle Group, expects about 35 teams from more than a dozen conferences will participate at what they are dubbing “Bubbleville” between Nov. 25 and Dec. 5, with up to seven games a day.

There will be at least nine “pods” of games, beginning with the Empire Classic on Nov. 25-26, which will include Villanova, Baylor, Arizona State, and Boston College. UConn, USC, Virginia, Florida, St. John’s, UMass, Vanderbilt, BYU, Louisville, North Carolina State, and other men’s and women’s programs also have agreed to play, organizers said.

The resort’s 125,000-square-foot exposition center will be converted into a practice facility, with courts on which some games also will be played. The teams will move around through designated “back of the house” corridors so they don’t interact with the public. The organizers plan to use a pool of about 25 officials, who also will be housed at the resort for those two weeks. The casino had already installed safety devices as part of its reopening in June, including ultraviolet lighting and special filters in its HVAC system.

The organizers are not planning to allow fans at the games, but that could change if metrics suggest it would be safe to allow a limited number of people, Procino said. It has not yet been determined how often and what kind of coronavirus testing will be done because each conference has its own requirements. “That’s been a real challenge,” Giles said. “I would love to see a unified set of consistent protocols that all conferences can sign onto. That would make interconference play much easier.”

Coronavirus: US cases reach record high amid new wave of infections - BBC World News – Saturday, October 24, 2020

US coronavirus cases have hit a record daily high as states grapple with a renewed wave of infections. Citing data from local state health authorities, the Covid Tracking Project reported 83,010 new cases on Friday.

America's Midwest continues to be the hardest-hit region of the country, with cases soaring in states like North Dakota, Montana, and Wisconsin. In Ohio, a key battleground state for the upcoming presidential election, authorities recorded their worst daily case increase for a third day running. Others in the region, including Illinois and Indiana, also saw daily rises near or at record highs on Friday.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With One Month Until College Basketball Season Begins, the virus numbers are going in the wrong direction.

United States Coronavirus Cases – Worldometer – updated continuously

Total Coronavirus Cases in the United States

March 24, 2020: 58,021
Increase ....... + 876,534

April 24, 2020: 934,555
Increase ....... + 769,082

May 24, 2020: 1,703,637
Increase ........ + 763,634

June 24, 2020: 2,467,271
Increase ....... + 1,797,111

July 24, 2020: 4,264,382
Increase ...... + 1,669,209

Aug. 24, 2020: 5,933,591
Increase ...... + 1,251,880

Sept. 24, 2020: 7,185,471
Increase ....... + 1,654,332

Oct. 24, 2020: 8,839,803

NCAA basketball season set to open day before Thanksgiving - The Associated Press - September 16, 2020

The NCAA men's and women's basketball season will begin on November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving.

[admin]

ESPN is canceling plans to host eight of its men's college basketball events at one location in Orlando, Florida.

ESPN had planned to move eight of its 10 nonconference events to the ESPN Wide World of Sports property at Walt Disney World in Orlando, including the Champions Classic, Charleston Classic, Myrtle Beach Invitational, NIT Season Tip-Off, Wooden Legacy, Orlando Invitational, Jimmy V Classic and Diamond Head Classic.

[Omaha1]

No bubble? That really surprises me based on the rumors we heard earlier.

Val Ackerman on a Big East bubble: “It’s a possibility. We are looking at a variety of game formats that would be an alternative to what we’re calling the travel model.”

But plan A is to travel like they normally do and have a traditional schedule.