Q&A: Gophers coach Richard Pitino on Nov. 25 start date for season
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Gophers men’s hoops coach Richard Pitino talked with KSTP Sports’ Darren ‘Doogie’ Wolfson about the NCAA’s decision to approve a season start date of November 25.
***Click the video box on this page to watch our chat with coach Pitino***
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.