Gonzaga paused team activities following two positive tests and won't play again until at least Dec. 15GETTY IMAGES
The men's basketball game featuring the two top-ranked teams in the country in Baylor and Gonzaga was canceled on Saturday due to positive COVID tests, and the "more glaring takeaway is whether playing December and January games amid a nationwide surge of coronavirus is worth it," according to Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY. Also on Saturday, No. 5 Illinois and No. 23 Ohio State canceled games. Since the season began on Nov. 25, "more than 50 games have been postponed or canceled." One Power Five coach said that the "inconsistency of the season has become a major headache to coaches and players who have to travel, watch film and prepare for opponents -- only to have those games canceled or postponed or be given a new opponent their team is unprepared for." ESPN's Jay Bilas said that there is an "obvious reason to keep playing: money." Bilas: "I'm not in the camp of people who say, 'no don't have the season.' Because this is a multi-billion dollar industry with people's livelihoods riding on this." Still, Bilas continued, "This certainly does go against the narrative that the NCAA has been putting forth for the last decade -- it's hard to make any rational claim that (college basketball players) are just amateurs who shouldn't make any money" (USA TODAY, 12/6). Through the "first 11 days of the season, approximately 21% of college basketball games have been postponed or canceled" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 12/7).
ANOTHER BLOW TO HOOPS FANS: The cancellation of Baylor-Gonzaga is an "unfortunate development for basketball fans, as the matchup was slated to pit the top two teams in both major polls." Baylor’s schedule has "already seen major upheaval due to the virus, as this marks the Bears’ fourth game that has been scrapped," including three due to coach Scott Drew's positive coronavirus test (WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD, 12/5). CBSSN's Clark Kellogg added, "Attempting to thread this needle of competing and playing college basketball in the midst of a pandemic, we know there are going to be bumps in the road. ... Every now and then, a boulder will show up. This was a bit of a boulder from the standpoint of how deflating and disappointing it is." CBSSN's Seth Davis: "Not only was this a potential foreshadowing of a national championship game, but Bankers Life Fieldhouse is the most likely, at this point, site of the 2021 Final Four. The NCAA's hoping to have the whole tournament in the state of Indiana, and these teams have been in Indianapolis all week and this still happened. ... What can we learn here so we can have that tournament, because the NCAA really needs to have that tournament" ("Inside College Basketball," CBSSN, 12/5).
