Now that Nov. 25 has been announced as the official start date for the college basketball season, programs are scurrying around chaotically trying to cobble together some semblance of a schedule. Obviously, considerations of health and safety are going to be paramount in 2020-21.
Assuming those important health and safety questions are answered satisfactorily, we can then turn to the matter of trying to schedule entertaining nonconference games that will require minimal travel. Below are suggested matchups that have two key advantages.
First, these teams are all ranked highly in Bart Torvik's 2020-21 preseason projections. Second, these games would be exceedingly easy to play, with every player involved returning safely to campus at the end of the evening.
These are the nonconference games we'd like to see at a time of heightened geographic sensitivities:
Creighton vs. Kansas
You'll remember Creighton as possibly the last team you saw in action last season. The Bluejays were on the floor against St. John's in a Big East tournament game that made it to halftime on March 12 before being halted. That was a CU team that went 13-5 in the Big East and might have been on its way to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Marcus Zegarowski, Mitch Ballock and Damien Jefferson have returned and would stand toe-to-toe with Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji. The two programs are located an easy drive up (or down) US-75 from each other.
Houston vs. Texas
The Cougars and the Longhorns were Southwest Conference foes back in the day. They've played each other 64 times and each team has won 32 games. It's a balanced rivalry, or it would be if they played more often: UH and UT haven't glimpsed each other since a chance meeting in the 2013 College Basketball Invitational. In 2021, it's conceivable they could play each other during the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. Shaka Smart effectively brings everyone back from a team that recorded a 10-point victory at Texas Tech, and Kelvin Sampson has won 80% of his conference games over the past three seasons.
Rutgers vs. Villanova
Fun fact: Jay Wright very nearly became the Rutgers coach in 2001, but Villanova moved heaven and earth (and its previous coach) over the course of a single weekend to grab the then 39-year-old Hofstra head coach. Fun fact No. 2: Rutgers and Villanova haven't faced each other in a nonconference regular-season game since 1950. High time to end that. The pandemic scuttled what would have been the Scarlet Knights' first NCAA tournament appearance in 29 years, and Wright brings back seven of his top eight players by minutes from last season.
Iowa vs. Northern Iowa
National player of the year candidate Luka Garza returns for the Hawkeyes along with fellow starters Joe Wieskamp, Connor McCaffery, CJ Fredrick and Joe Toussaint. Meanwhile, Northern Iowa is the defending regular-season champion in the Missouri Valley Conference. In pre-pandemic times, the Panthers and MVC rival Drake used to alternate between playing Iowa one season and Iowa State the next. Let's hope the Hawkeyes and Panthers find a way to make it happen in 2020-21.
Richmond vs. Virginia
Chris Mooney has been working that "tremendous shooting accuracy with zero offensive rebounding" voodoo at UR for 15 seasons now, and the Spiders return virtually their entire rotation from a team that had a good shot at making the 2020 NCAA tournament. As for the Cavaliers, they're located a mere 70 miles away and are, in a manner of speaking, the reigning national champions. They might even "repeat" in 2021. Yet these two teams haven't glimpsed each other since 2008? Tony Bennett has never once coached UVA against Richmond? This state of affairs cannot continue. The Spiders and the Hoos should seize this geographically aware moment and play.
Loyola Chicago vs. Illinois
These two programs had a nice series going in the 1980s but have played only three times since 1986, with the most recent matchup in 2011. That's too infrequent for a couple of storied programs just a couple of hours away from each other. Hopes are high in Champaign this season with both Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn back for another go, and Porter Moser appears to have his strongest group of Ramblers since the 2018 Final Four team. The time is right for a rematch between two teams that met in the 1963 Elite Eight, a game Loyola won handily on its way to a national title.
Missouri vs. Saint Louis
On paper, this would appear to be the best SLU team since Rick Majerus and Jim Crews combined to lead the program to three straight NCAA tournaments between 2012 and 2014. The Billikens were close to achieving bubble-team status in 2020, and Travis Ford's team returns almost everyone from that rotation. As for Missouri, Cuonzo Martin's team is also long on experience and the Tigers have the makings of a potent nucleus in Xavier Pinson, Dru Smith and Mark Smith. Despite the fact that these programs should be natural in-state rivals, they haven't played each other in 20 years. The series should be restarted. Show me!
San Diego State vs. UCLA
The Aztecs and the Bruins have played once this century, so a SoCal showdown in 2020-21 is long overdue. SDSU remained undefeated all the way to late February in 2020, and, while Malachi Flynn and two other starters have departed, Brian Dutcher has shown his program is capable of exceeding expectations. For his part, Mick Cronin has most of his players back from a team that might well have reached the NCAA tournament. UCLA also adds Kentucky transfer Johnny Juzang.
Multiple-team events
Not content merely to demand head-to-head matchups, we here at Geographically Aware HQ have also come up with intriguing possibilities for MTEs. This was trickier, because the threshold was set at hosting four teams that are not only in close proximity to one another but that also represent four different conferences.
(Obviously the Big 5 has been blending minimal travel with representatives from multiple conferences forever in Philadelphia, and we certainly hope that can continue. Listed below are additional possibilities.)
Here's what we'd like to see in the area of multiple-team events, again listed in order of average projected ranking based on Bart Torvik:
Mostly Jersey, with a dash of Philly: Villanova, Rutgers, Princeton, Monmouth
See "Rutgers vs. Villanova," above, but also note that we could be looking at four 2021 NCAA tournament teams. Granted, Princeton will have to knock off defending regular-season champion Yale in the Ivy, and Siena might have something to say about Monmouth's chances at the MAAC's automatic bid. Nevertheless, these could turn out to be the best of times for hoops in or near the Garden State. In that same spirit, don't look past Saint Peter's this season.
On (or kind of near) the banks of the Ohio: Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton, Northern Kentucky
Naturally, Cincinnati and Xavier have their own series going strong, one that hopefully can continue in 2020-21. But all of these teams are within a relative stone's throw of one another, and all four programs have appeared in the NCAA tournament within the past three times the event has occurred. In fact, Cincinnati played its home games at Northern Kentucky in 2017-18 while Fifth Third Arena was being renovated.
Inside and outside the Beltway: Maryland, George Mason, Georgetown, American
If one of these four can't play, substitute Howard, George Washington, Loyola Maryland or UMBC. Few metros can boast the degree of college basketball abundance that graces the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore corridor. This year, the Terrapins will ride Aaron Wiggins, Eric Ayala and Darryl Morsell. Georgetown will pin its hopes on returning seniors Jamorko Pickett and Jahvon Blair, and grad transfers Jalen Harris (Arkansas) and Chudier Bile (Northwestern State).