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NCAA officials confident in regular season, NCAA Tournament in 2020-21

College basketball was the first major sport to be impacted by COVID-19 when all conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament were cancelled back in March. Now, with two conferences cancelling fall football in 2020, the 2020-21 college basketball season has started to garner more attention.

NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt and 2021 NCAA Tournament Selection Committee chair and Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart discussed where they are at with the planning process and their outlook on the season with Andy Katz on Wednesday.

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“We recognize what’s going on around the country, and we have been making plans and contingencies for change, if necessary. But we’re also, trying to exercise patience, make sure we learn as much as we can from all the other sports that are happening right now, notably the NBA and WNBA in our sport, and the success that they are having and making sure we make informed and responsible decisions in a timely fashion," Dan Gavitt said.

While there is no clear idea what the season will look like at the current moment, they have multiple contingencies in place and are willing to do anything in order to have a season, and more importantly an NCAA Tournament - something both are confident in.

“We remain very confident we’re going to have a basketball season, albeit different and maybe altered as necessary by the virus that we don’t control," Gavitt added. "And then leading into March Madness, very confident that’s going to happen, and all sorts of different contingencies that are being considered.”

Because these are still students, planning around school schedules and summer schedules with graduation is something that may be difficult.

“I think you hit the two key words, college student,” Barnhart said. "That is part of the equation. We never forget that. They’re still going to class. They’ve still got school. Some of them are online, some of them are in classes, so that’s a hybrid. So we’ve got to pay attention to being a college student. That is still a part of this process that we will have to factor in."

“I think there are some opportunities in the season as well. Certainly when classes are in full session, a true bubble is just not a reality for college sports. But during late November and into December when most of our schools are going to be in virtual learning environments and/or after exams in the traditional holiday break, that is potentially an opportunity to create regionalized and very controlled environments in bubble-like scenarios for non-conference or conference games," Gavitt added.

As Gavitt mentioned, a bubble isn't necessarily doable throughout an entire season, but it is something the NCAA is closely monitoring and could use in some modified form throughout the season and school year.

“We’ll have decision points along the way, including getting to a potential bubble-like situation, if that’s the only way to run the tournament safely and responsibly to determine a national champion," Gavitt said.

“It might be still in the same format. I hope we can go and do what we’ve done, have all the original sites, and we’re marching our way through March Madness and get a Final Four," Barnhart said. "It could look very different. We’ve watched the bubbles and we’ve said, ‘That’s working. That’s not working.’"

With a 'lost season' a year ago, the NCAA and everyone involved in college basketball are fully expecting a season and will do whatever it takes to put it together, while maintaining the health and safety of everyone involved.

“I will tell you from the committee’s perspective, we’re fully committed to finding a way to whatever end to make sure that this tournament gives us a chance to play college basketball on the highest stage," Barnhart said.

“We are going to have a tournament that’s going to be special. We have our preferences about how we’d like to have it be. But if we have to adjust to the virus, we will adjust accordingly," Gavitt added. "We’re going to end up with about four or five different contingencies and they’re going to be exercised in a timely fashion, when or if they’re needed to be. Our best hope is that we have the tournament as scheduled, with some fans in attendance, and have 68 teams and crown a national champion in that way.

“But at the appropriate time and place, if we need to adjust, we will. We’ll be flexible. We’ll be nimble, and we’ll deliver what the country is desperately looking for again, and that’s just an incredible March Madness tournament in 2021.”

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