After Thanksgiving
The plan from the NCAA Division I council is to have the basketball season for men and women resume as soon after Thanksgiving as possible. In fact, it starts the day after.
There were fears that college basketball wouldn’t be on the agenda this season with health concerns for student-athletes being the main issue. The idea of the November 25 start date comes with the knowledge that over 75% of Division I schools will have sent their students home following the fall semester.
Using The Time Wisely
Many of the general student population in Division I colleges are going to be at home for over a month through December and early January. That leaves a six-week window for the college basketball season to play as many games as possible.
Rule Changes
There are some changes to the rules for this unusual season, with the maximum number of games a team can play being reduced. Men’s teams will be allowed to play a maximum of 25 games, while women’s basketball teams have a max of 23, plus one multiple-team event, to qualify for the championships.
The minimum number of games any Division I team needs to qualify for the championships drops to 13 games, a reduction of 50%. There will also be no preseason scrimmage games allowed, with teams playing their first full games on day one.
It’s going to look a little different, but the 2020 NCAA basketball season will happen. The NCAA even has plans to host its championship tournament in March and April with 68 teams fighting for national glory.