Daybyday

The long wait for college hoops fans is finally over. After a spring without March Madness and an ensuing several months of uncertainty, college basketball returns just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

As with college football, the schedules of teams are in constant flux adapting to COVID-19 concerns. Some of the game’s best coaches like Tom Izzo and Jim Boeheim have tested positive over the offseason and forced temporary shutdowns of their team. As recently as this week, Scott Drew, the coach of No. 2 Baylor, tested positive for COVID-19, forcing his Bears to withdraw from this week’s 2k Empire Classic and eliminating a possible matchup with No. 3 Villanova.

While some of the best players from 2019 have left for the NBA, there’s still plenty of stars like Iowa’s Luka Garza, Arizona State’s Remy Martin or Kentucky’s Olivier Sarr returning that fans should be familiar with to go with a new class of talented freshmen led by players like Cade Cunningham at Oklahoma State and Evan Mobley of USC.

Expect the usual suspects to vie for the title as teams like Villanova, Kentucky and Gonzaga all bring back talented rosters, but there could be a few unfamiliar programs in the Final Four such as a load Illinois team or Creighton.

MORE: Watch select NCAA basketball games with fuboTV (7-day trial)

When does college basketball start in 2020?

• Start date: Wednesday, Nov. 25
• March Madness: March 18-19 (Round 1)
• Final Four: Saturday, April 3

The 2020-21 season tips off at a variety of campuses and tournament site locations, but the NCAA Tournament recently announced that the entire event will be held in one central location, Indianapolis, rather than spread across the country at various sites like in years past. 

College basketball schedule 2020

Wednesday, Nov. 25