College Basketball Set to Begin November 25th

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives have been upended. It's turned the entire year into a punchline. Anything weird, outrageous, or unforeseen happens and we're all like "Well, only in 2020."

2020 has also done a number on the sports world. While I've enjoyed watching the NBA Playoffs and, in particular, former UK greats like Jamal Murray, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Anthony Davis blow our minds on the court, it is admittedly still very strange to see the "avatar crowd" cheering, like in an old school home video game.

Everything's been pushed back. There are "bubbles." (And they work, too.)

And while we've seen the beginnings of professional basketball, baseball, and football, we await college athletics.

And for me--if you know ANYTHING about me--I am a college hoops junkie. But I was under the impression that it probably wouldn't start until after the first of the year.

Well, having seen JUST how good the NBA and WNBA bubbles are working, why can't that work for the NCAA?

I don't know exactly what they have in mind, but I do know that college basketball is set to begin Wednesday, November 25th, when most all students at most all universities will be off-campus.

But what will the schedules look like? Kentucky, for example, was set to play Kansas, Michigan (in London), UCLA, Georgia Tech, and Louisville (of course), among others. But all schedules will be pared back. The Michigan game is one we KNOW isn't happening this year. That three-game home/away/neutral series now won't being until 2021. And I guess we can say goodbye to the Kentucky/Kansas tilt since that was going to be a part of the annual Champions Classic (with Duke/Michigan State the other game in that event) which was to be held November 10th.

With the season now beginning on November 25th, you'd think teams will probably get in a few non-conference games. I can't imagine a college hoops season without Kentucky/Louisville for example.

And with the shortened season and teams playing fewer games, you have to also wonder what the 2021 NCAA Tournament will look like.

There are so many unknowns in the world of COVID. But one thing we DO know is that college basketball--one of my favorite things in the history of me--is all set to go and I cannot wait.