NCAA Basketball: 10 teams that will be hurt most from fan-less games

Which NCAA Basketball will be most negatively affected by the possibility of not having fans next season?

The word “if” continues to inject itself into all discussions regarding both collegiate and professional athletics as an unfortunate yet necessary header, still plaguing the sporting world following the coronavirus outbreak, as hypothetical situations and proposed ideas unfortunately serve as the only things pumping blood into the industry. Amidst it all, NCAA Basketball players, coaches, and fans remain entirely blind to next year’s college basketball scene and any potential adaptive features coming with it.

But once peaking a cubicle over at the NBA’s plans for their Orlando “bubble,” one might expect the NCAA to make a quick copy of Adam Silver’s notes and look to conduct their upcoming basketball season by a similar design, more specifically, a design that involves teams playing without fans. Although things may improve over the next few months, as “unexpectedness” continues to serve as the theme for this problematic year, at least entertaining a fan-less basketball season still feels worthwhile given the circumstance.

Fall athletics might help serve as a “test bunny” before winter sports such as basketball come into season, but even this timely advantage feels somewhat flimsy following the Ivy League’s recent decision to cancel all its athletic programs during the autumn season. If other conferences follow, then an immediate jump from no sports at all to full-attendance venues lies before college basketball, which quite frankly feels incredibly difficult and highly unlikely, henceforth allowing us to arrive at these fan-less expectations for college basketball.

If things indeed play out by this design, every program poises to suffer to some extent, as all teams fuel their efforts via the energy exerted by their fans surrounding them. But unfortunately for these ten teams, their fans typically offer them an even larger edge than all others at the division one level, leaving them as likely candidates to feel the impact potentially brought upon by a fan-less college basketball environment to a further extent.