"As much as February and March get most of the attention, NCAA tournament résumés begin their construction the moment the college basketball season begins. November and December matter. They matter plenty. Those are the games that shape the narrative for the rest of the season and are referenced when the selection committee is making many of its most difficult decisions."
"Note: This isn't a ranking, but rather a chronological list. Holiday events were generally left off -- except for the first women's Players Era Championship. The Thanksgiving event in Las Vegas could be one of the best two days regular season women's college basketball has ever seen. Duke, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA will all be there. That's three No. 1 seeds and a No. 3 in the preseason Bracketology."
NCAA tournament résumés begin forming at the season's start, with November and December non-conference games carrying outsized importance. Those early contests shape narratives and factor heavily into selection committee decisions. Recent examples include UConn losing a No. 1 seed after non-conference stumbles and Tennessee's lighter non-conference slate contributing to seeding consequences after a 3-5 SEC start. Several programs intentionally load difficult early schedules: UCLA faces multiple top-15 teams early and Duke plays four top-20 opponents in the first two months. Major early events, including the Players Era Championship and a stacked Las Vegas Thanksgiving slate, will further influence résumés.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]