A crazy year? This season has to top ’em all
Thishas been the most unusual college basketball seasonof all time.
Start with the pandemic. The pauses. Limited attendance or no fans at all. Jawdropping scores. Various blue bloods struggling to win games. And it will be topped off with an NCAA tournament played entirely in one state- Indiana.
With that in mind, here are 16 crazy things that have happened in this crazy college basketball season (so far)in random order:
1. After an 18-day layoff,
Michigan State managed to score just 37 points in a 30point loss at Rutgers on Jan. 28 after having beaten the Scarlet Knights by 23 on Jan. 5.
2. DePaul did not play its first game until Dec. 23, nearly a month after the seasonofficially began.
3. In its first season of Division I basketball, Bellarmine is tied for the lead of the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 10-2record.
4. Boston University and Holy Cross played a game on Jan. 5 in which both teams wore masks. Boston Universitywon 83-76.
5. Belmont is 24-2 overall and 18-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference and may not make the NCAA tournament if the Bruins don’t win theconference tournament.
6. Alabama not only leads theSEC at 13-2, but scored 115 points against Georgia and 105points against LSU.
7.Texas teammates Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones got into a confrontation during a timeout and had to be pulled away from each other as the Longhorns blew a 19-point lead and lost toWest Virginia on Feb. 20.
8. North Carolina players Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe were caught on video at a maskless party after the Tar Heels beat Duke. The players were suspended and UNC’s game two days later against Miamiwas postponed.
9. With COVID-19 cancellations limiting North Carolina home games, the school used Twitter to advertise for an opponent to come to the Dean Dome between Feb. 1618. Northeastern accepted, andlost 82-62 on Feb. 17.
10. Both the Vanderbilt and Duke women’s basketball teams discontinued their seasons not long after starting. Duke played four games. Vanderbilt played eight.
11. After canceling its entire season, the Ivy League will for the first time allow graduate students to play in 2020-21.
12.On Dec. 19, coming off a 17-day COVID-19 pause, Louisvillelost 85-48 at Wisconsin. On Feb. 20, coming off an 18day COVID-19 pause, Louisville lost 99-54 at North Carolina.
13. Kansas State suffered its worst loss in program history, trounced 107-59 by Baylor, on Jan. 27 in Waco. Baylor led at one point 41-7. And Kansas State wasn’t even coming off a COVID-19 pause. Plus, Baylor had beaten K-State 100-69 in Manhattanon Dec. 19.
14. Just 8-5, Iona canceled the remainder of Rick Pitino’s first regular season as coach because the Gaels donot have enough available players, thanks to COVID-19 testing and contact tracing. Iona does hope to play in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament, startingMarch 8.
15. After Duke’s Jalen Johnson opted out of the rest ofthe season on Feb. 15, Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim criticized the freshman, saying that the Blue Devils were a better team without him, before admitting he had not seen Johnson play with Dukethis season.