NCAA Basketball Will Open the Day Before Thanksgiving
After the exciting news for fans of Big Ten and Iowa football earlier this week, announcing an eight-game regular season to start October 24, another sport makes holiday wishes come true for fans.
The Division 1 Council originally wanted to start on November 10, but pushed it back as one of several precautions to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Most schools are sending students home from class from Thanksgiving to early January for the same reason.
"Closed campuses could serve as a quasi bubble for players and provide a window for non-conference games" according to the AP story via KWWL. The maximum number of regular-season games has been reduced from 31 to 27, while the minimum number for NCAA tournament consideration is reduced from 25 to 13.
This could still all change if the Coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen. The committee is scheduled to meet again in Mid-October. We will update you with schedule information as it becomes available for the men's and women's basketball teams at Iowa, Iowa State, Drake, and UNI.
The return this season of star Center Luka Garza for the Hawks has some experts putting Iowa in the Final 4, if not championship contention. It's certainly exciting to know that we will likely get a chance to watch that pursuit play out this season.