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Bracketology 2021: Early observations heading into 2020-21 season

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: Led by committee chairman Mark Hollis (3rd from L), the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: Led by committee chairman Mark Hollis (3rd from L), the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /
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Bracketology
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /

With a unique upcoming NCAA Basketball season, here are some early Bracketology topics to think about.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic became a national story in March, the entire sports world has been massively affected. But when it comes to specifics, nothing has been impacted more than Bracketology in NCAA Basketball.

It started last season during “Championship Week” when the conference tournaments and eventually the season came to a screeching halt. There weren’t automatic qualifiers to the 2020 NCAA Tournament and after discussion, the Selection Committee decided not to release any brackets, due to the lack of results and overall fairness.

It sucked for those who love “Bracketology”, as well never found out the fates of mid-major powers Dayton and San Diego State, who each at the time were fighting for a 1 seed. There were many programs on the bubble, who could’ve gone either way on Selection Sunday.

After an offseason filled with news and stories, there seems to be momentum for the 2020-21 season in motion, with a preferred start date of November 25th. There are some changes though, including the number of maximum regular-season games going from 31 to 27, with the various conferences still determining how they’ll operate their respective non-conferences.

Between the various “bubble” events being sorted out and schedules having yet to be released, there are plenty of storylines in the coming weeks. One of them regards to Bracketology and how it’ll be impacted for 2020-21.

Between the behind the scenes efforts and some early looks at the teams and conferences, here’s a look at five key storylines to watch in Bracketology.

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