A collective sigh of disappointment echoed across the country as both the men’s and women’s 2020 March Madness tournaments were abruptly canceled due to COVID-19. But on Sept. 16, the NCAA announced that men’s college basketball would return Nov. 25, reigniting excitement in players and fans alike. This season will be unlike any other, with COVID-19 restrictions in place for the safety of everyone involved.
Each team must play a minimum of 13 games to be eligible for this year’s tournament (as opposed to 25 in a normal year), but can play no more than 27. The NCAA announced on Monday that March Madness will take place in one spot, likely Indianapolis.
The NCAA DI Council also recommended a minimum of four non-conference games, though that is not a requirement. While the Ducks are set to open the season on Nov. 25 against Eastern Washington, they are still in the process of finalizing their schedule.
“We’re trying to get all those contracts signed and get all the wording right on the testing protocol, which Lane County is different from other counties, the Pac-12 is different from other leagues,” Oregon men’s head coach Dana Altman said. “We’re trying to figure out equal or fair amounts so teams can travel and still make some money with it.”
Oregon will be participating in an event called Bubbleville, where they will play two games at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. This includes a game against Missouri on Dec. 2 or 3, and an unannounced opponent on the other day. The event will include 40 teams playing 45 games between Nov. 25 and Dec. 5.
The Ducks are also trying to plan a multi-team event, but additional details have not been revealed yet.
On the women’s side, they are also waiting to finalize a 25-game schedule featuring 22 Pac-12 games. Unlike the men’s team, they will not be attending any multi-team events.
“I can’t announce that until I get the contracts back, but I think we’re going to stay local,” Oregon women’s head coach Kelly Graves said. “Some of the MTEs, there’s been some question about testing protocols, etc. We decided to stay local.”
The ongoing pandemic will present a constant hurdle throughout the season. As has been the case with college football so far, there will likely be a host of cancellations and disruptions.
“As we’ve seen already with college football, those who test positive are quarantined, contact tracing is conducted, and a lengthy process is enacted to ensure outbreaks are kept to a minimum,” Kyle Boone of CBS Sports said. “And because it is on a much smaller scale, college hoops has a chance to be far more successful, I’d argue, than college football.”
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports predicted that the average men’s team will end up playing 21 or 22 games this season. He also set an over/under at 1,000 non-conference games total, whereas in a typical season there would be 2,000.
The consensus among writers and analysts seems to be that there will be a college basketball season as well as an NCAA tournament, but it’s more than likely to be a bumpy road on the way there.
While athletes and fans can be assured that the proper measures are being taken, the health risks associated with playing through a pandemic cannot be trivialized. A study by Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, the director of athletic medicine at Penn State, showed that four out of 26 college athletes who had recovered from COVID-19 had signs of a heart condition called myocarditis, which in rare cases can cause sudden death from cardiac arrest.
“What this study shows is that myocarditis can also occur after less severe and even asymptomatic cases,” sports medicine physician Dr. Brett Toresdahl said. “Therefore, an athlete’s risk of myocarditis may not be related to the severity of their symptoms.”
There is a lot to watch out for as the new season begins. The Ivy League already canceled all of their winter sports, including basketball, opting not to take any risks.
It’s going to be an unusual season as the Ducks will have to mostly play it by ear. But after a long delay, fans can take solace in the fact that college basketball is finally going to be back in some capacity.
