BleedGopher
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per Matt:
An innovative nonconference scheduling initiative is developing behind the scenes in college basketball that, if adopted, would adjust the landscape of the sport each February.
Twenty-two of Division I's 32 conferences have been receptive to an ambitious scheduling concept that would introduce back-to-back non-league games played just a few weeks prior to Selection Sunday, WAC commissioner Brian Thornton and WAC associate commissioner Drew Speraw told CBS Sports. The selling point of these out-of-conference matchups would be to pit projected NCAA Tournament candidates, in addition to bona fide bubble teams, against each other. What's more, there would be an array of games between schools fighting to improve their NCAA tourney résumés.
Here's how the first-of-its-kind concept would work: For one week in February, a slew of leagues would pause their conference schedules and instead have all their members play two nonconference opponents. The model would have every team involved play one home game and one away game, with the majority of those games happening three days apart — many on Wednesday and Saturday — with the window commencing after Valentine's Day.
The matchups would be decided by an algorithm that would ensure the best teams play the best teams. The games wouldn't be determined until the end of January. Think of it like a mini-Selection Sunday within the regular season. You could even build a television show around it. How fun would that be?
If the important multi-bid leagues (American Athletic Conference, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, West Coast Conference) decide to do this, college hoops could theoretically have late-February nonconference games akin to Gonzaga-Houston, Colorado State-Davidson, Memphis-Saint Mary's or Boise State-Davidson — all teams that comfortably made the 2022 NCAA Tournament. This would provide a late-season scheduling opportunity that would undeniably enhance those conferences' visibility and viability to get more teams into the discussion of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
This groundbreaking concept was conjured up by Thornton, a former college basketball coach, who initially toyed with the idea in 2020 when he was an associate commissioner at the American Athletic Conference. There is no formal name attached to the event yet, but the notion as a whole stands to improve college basketball's regular season.
www.cbssports.com
Go Gophers!!
An innovative nonconference scheduling initiative is developing behind the scenes in college basketball that, if adopted, would adjust the landscape of the sport each February.
Twenty-two of Division I's 32 conferences have been receptive to an ambitious scheduling concept that would introduce back-to-back non-league games played just a few weeks prior to Selection Sunday, WAC commissioner Brian Thornton and WAC associate commissioner Drew Speraw told CBS Sports. The selling point of these out-of-conference matchups would be to pit projected NCAA Tournament candidates, in addition to bona fide bubble teams, against each other. What's more, there would be an array of games between schools fighting to improve their NCAA tourney résumés.
Here's how the first-of-its-kind concept would work: For one week in February, a slew of leagues would pause their conference schedules and instead have all their members play two nonconference opponents. The model would have every team involved play one home game and one away game, with the majority of those games happening three days apart — many on Wednesday and Saturday — with the window commencing after Valentine's Day.
The matchups would be decided by an algorithm that would ensure the best teams play the best teams. The games wouldn't be determined until the end of January. Think of it like a mini-Selection Sunday within the regular season. You could even build a television show around it. How fun would that be?
If the important multi-bid leagues (American Athletic Conference, Mountain West, Atlantic 10, West Coast Conference) decide to do this, college hoops could theoretically have late-February nonconference games akin to Gonzaga-Houston, Colorado State-Davidson, Memphis-Saint Mary's or Boise State-Davidson — all teams that comfortably made the 2022 NCAA Tournament. This would provide a late-season scheduling opportunity that would undeniably enhance those conferences' visibility and viability to get more teams into the discussion of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.
This groundbreaking concept was conjured up by Thornton, a former college basketball coach, who initially toyed with the idea in 2020 when he was an associate commissioner at the American Athletic Conference. There is no formal name attached to the event yet, but the notion as a whole stands to improve college basketball's regular season.
The bold, new college basketball flex scheduling model that would bring big nonconference games into February
An ambitious, groundbreaking idea is being mulled in college hoops that could significantly upgrade the regular season
www.cbssports.com
Go Gophers!!
