ASU Basketball: Pac-12 Expected To Play 20 Conference Games
After weeks speculating on a possible return for basketball, the Pac-12 voted to allow winter sports to play before Jan. 1. College basketball already announced a Nov. 25 start date, but it feels even more real now that the Sun Devils are involved.
It was unclear how many basketball games will be played. We saw a few different numbers being thrown around, like a possible 18-game schedule. But Jon Rothstein is reporting the Pac-12 is intending to play a 20-game conference schedule.
With two league games being held in December.
The 20-game schedule seemed destined to happen based on the reports, but it had to be confirmed first. The NCAA Division I Council is scheduled to convene again in mid-October to address any college basketball concerns and vote on any possible changes.
There were a lot of hurdles to clear, just to get to this point—the biggest being the health and safety of the athletes and coaches.
But the Pac-12 recently announced a partnership with Quidel Corporation. They will provide rapid, same-day testing for all of its schools and scholarship sports. Hopefully, this paves a way to clear one of the last remaining hurdles - getting all members of the Pac-12 conference back to action.
States like California, Oregon, and Colorado still have strict COVID-19 policies on both the state and county level. Pac-12 schools have been in constant contact with policymakers to get their athletes back on the field as soon as possible.
Discussions with the state of California and Oregon should leave you feeling optimistic that their athletes will return to play. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has already expressed how state guidelines don't interfere with the Pac-12's decision to resume play and hold conference games.
Colorado, on the other hand, is a different story. Boulder County recently issued a local ordinance for anyone ages 18-to-22 to meet in groups of any size, whether outdoors, indoors, on or off-campus. This will stop the University of Colorado from holding any sort of practice for the next couple of weeks.
The Pac-12 and their schools will continue to work through these hurdles. With start dates coming up in a few weeks, expect these issues to be resolved sooner rather than later.
