2020-21 College Basketball thread

I'd also add that the format of the tournament makes it difficult to evaluate the "true" level of some coaches. Look at the NBA playoffs - In the opening round, there have been plenty of times that the eventual championship winner has lost the first game they've played, and it's rare that the championship winner has a stretch of 6 wins in a row. I'd imagine that the worst at-large berth still probably has a 15 to 25 percent chance to win against the tournament's #1 seed, and the percentages get closer to 50/50 the deeper in you go.

 

Being a child of the 1960s and 1970s, it's very hard for me to envision UCLA as a Cinderella. But this year, it is.

 

Starting an Elite 8 game at 9:57 EDT should be a real boost for the ratings.

 

Yeah, I've been meaning to ask on here about the schedule. I suspect it's already been discussed at length (I'm too lazy to check), but what was the reasoning behind abandoning the traditional Thursday-Sunday schedule of the first two weeks? Was there some COVID-driven reason? Did they think the ratings would be better? And have they been?

 

Testing/playing First Four on one night pushed everything back.

This NCAA tournament format change could actually make it better

 

It didn't make it better.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday of the Sweet 16 in the Elite 8, three consecutive 10 pm starts.

 

Can anyone explain to me why the only non-West Coast team playing Tuesday is in the 9:57 game?

 

Yes, the old schedule is definitely better.

 

Why is anyone playing an 8:57 p.m. local time game?

 

Leave it to the NCAA to continue to screw up something that works just fine the way it is. We wouldn’t have this if we’d invite 64 teams and not need a play-in round.

 

Anything that gets basketball out of domes as long as possible is an improvement. The women are playing on two courts in the Alamodome and their shooting stats are abysmal.

 

That doesn't sound unusual for women's basketball.