11-24-2020, 06:10 PM
Considering the MBB opener was cancelled, I hope the WBB staff are actively looking for potential alternative opponents for the first 5 games.
There are enough teams (normally, I haven't looked to be sure everyone is playing) around that there may be teams available even at the last 48 hours or maybe even less. SJSU, Santa Clara, etc. Even having two games with nearby non-conference opponents should be on the table.
True, neither team would have a chance to scout & prepare, but the chance for some opponent to play a top-10 team should be appealing, while Stanford (and the PAC-12) has an obvious reason to get Stanford 5 games as quickly as possible.
The conference might decide that nearby PAC-12 opponents could play early if both teams wind up having both week's games cancelled by opponents. (In such a case, a normal game date between the two would be freed for some other make-up game.) This makes really good sense to me. For instance, if the two Washington state schools were unable to play on the Dec 4-6 weekend, then Cal & Stanford could play, maybe twice. (Actually SJSU is free that weekend, having already played Cal.)
The PAC-12's paired schedule seems well designed to have this kind of flexibility -- The nearby opponent is free for two games if both games of a week are cancelled at any point in the season.
A question would be what would happen to the scheduled Dec 13 and Feb 28 dates? Are they cancelled and available for other games, or maybe the Dec 13th game could be played as a non-conference third game (if Cal-Stanford played two games on Dec. 4-6); or vice versa, the early games could be considered as provisional conference games if the later games can't be played or the dates are needed for make-up games.
If I were the PAC-12, I'd be discussing this with the coaches to get this figured out as a planned last-minute option. Avoiding missed games seems important for getting teams into the NCAA tourney, and for them to do better against teams that may have less experience.
An advantage the PAC-12 has is that since fans aren't attending, they can move the games around as needed, possibly at the last minute, without causing fans&parents to cancel flights or hotels.
Personally, I worry about the conference tournaments. If one player plays with undetected COVID in the first or second round game, how many teams are impacted, out of that tourney AND the NCAA tourney? I would schedule the last game of the PAC-12 tourney 15 days before the first game of the NCAA tournament, or I'd consider forgoing the PAC-12 tourney, with the regular season champion crowned.
Hmm... or the NCAA could compress the schedule of the tournament to start a week or 10 days later than normal (giving the 14 day buffer between last conference tourney game to first tournament game). Maybe that is part of their single-site concept.
There are enough teams (normally, I haven't looked to be sure everyone is playing) around that there may be teams available even at the last 48 hours or maybe even less. SJSU, Santa Clara, etc. Even having two games with nearby non-conference opponents should be on the table.
True, neither team would have a chance to scout & prepare, but the chance for some opponent to play a top-10 team should be appealing, while Stanford (and the PAC-12) has an obvious reason to get Stanford 5 games as quickly as possible.
The conference might decide that nearby PAC-12 opponents could play early if both teams wind up having both week's games cancelled by opponents. (In such a case, a normal game date between the two would be freed for some other make-up game.) This makes really good sense to me. For instance, if the two Washington state schools were unable to play on the Dec 4-6 weekend, then Cal & Stanford could play, maybe twice. (Actually SJSU is free that weekend, having already played Cal.)
The PAC-12's paired schedule seems well designed to have this kind of flexibility -- The nearby opponent is free for two games if both games of a week are cancelled at any point in the season.
A question would be what would happen to the scheduled Dec 13 and Feb 28 dates? Are they cancelled and available for other games, or maybe the Dec 13th game could be played as a non-conference third game (if Cal-Stanford played two games on Dec. 4-6); or vice versa, the early games could be considered as provisional conference games if the later games can't be played or the dates are needed for make-up games.
If I were the PAC-12, I'd be discussing this with the coaches to get this figured out as a planned last-minute option. Avoiding missed games seems important for getting teams into the NCAA tourney, and for them to do better against teams that may have less experience.
An advantage the PAC-12 has is that since fans aren't attending, they can move the games around as needed, possibly at the last minute, without causing fans&parents to cancel flights or hotels.
Personally, I worry about the conference tournaments. If one player plays with undetected COVID in the first or second round game, how many teams are impacted, out of that tourney AND the NCAA tourney? I would schedule the last game of the PAC-12 tourney 15 days before the first game of the NCAA tournament, or I'd consider forgoing the PAC-12 tourney, with the regular season champion crowned.
Hmm... or the NCAA could compress the schedule of the tournament to start a week or 10 days later than normal (giving the 14 day buffer between last conference tourney game to first tournament game). Maybe that is part of their single-site concept.