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NCAA basketball season set to open day before Thanksgiving

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Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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Drake’s Liam Robbins, left, heads to the basket as Illinois State's Matt Chastain defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference men's tournament Thursday, March 5, 2020, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
NCAA basketball season set to open day before Thanksgiving
Posted at 5:27 PM, Sep 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-16 20:27:40-04

The NCAA men's and women's basketball seasons will begin Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.

The Division I Council voted to push the start date back from the originally scheduled Nov. 10 as one of several precautions against the spread of coronavirus.

The later start date coincides with the decision most schools made to send students home from Thanksgiving until January out of concern about a potential late-fall and early-winter flareup of COVID-19.

Closed campuses could serve as a quasi bubble for players and provide a window for nonconference games.

The maximum number of regular-season games has been reduced from 31 to 27.

The minimum number of games for consideration for the NCAA Tournament was cut from 25 to 13.

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