NCAA Basketball: 5 takeaways from AP Preseason Top-25 for 2020-21
There will be an incredible number of non-conference matchups to watch
For those who haven’t been following, the NCAA Basketball scheduling has been a complete and utter mess in the past couple of months. Most previously agreed upon multi-team events (MTE) and matchups were cancelled, leaving everyone back to square one.
For many mid-majors, this has come at a disadvantage, as many of the bigger programs created their own “bubble” events at their campus. The big bubble down in Orlando sponsored by ESPN was taken down due to testing and protocol issues. It’s unfortunate that this is happening but one consequence that has happened on a positive note is the matchups that have been confirmed at the top.
Teams such as Gonzaga, Baylor, Villanova, and Kansas made great efforts to schedule big games in the limited non-conference matchups available. Especially the Bulldogs, who need big names in the non-conference to make up for the WCC slate. Coach Few’s team is slated to take on Kansas on Thanksgiving, with future matchups against Iowa, Baylor, Auburn, and Tennessee.
Baylor and Villanova could meet up against each other on Thanskgiving as well, as long as they beat their first opponents in the Empire Classic. The Bears not only faces the other top preseason teams, but also Arizona State, and No. 8 Illinois. Villanova also takes on Virginia in a non-conference battle, while the traditional Champions Classic matchups (Duke vs Michigan State and Kentucky vs Kansas) are still on as planned.
dark. Next. Favorites from each conference for 2020-21 season
We’ll only have a month of non-conference mathups but based on what we know now, there will be multiple top-10 matchups each week to look forward to. Particually when mentioning Gonzaga, we’ll have a great chance to compare programs when discussing who will be the true contenders to win it all this season.