Basketball practices can start Monday, games Nov. 25, per vote by NCAA

While we don’t know the dates and opponents for Arkansas basketball, we now know they will start practice Monday (12 hours a week) and games can start Nov. 25.

There was a clue the Razorbacks had an idea it was coming.

Just say when ?️ pic.twitter.com/qHJvsDTj8V

— Arkansas Razorbacks Basketball ? (@RazorbackMBB) September 16, 2020

Over the last couple of weeks, discussions had centered around waiting until the Nov. 21-25 range to begin the season.

NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said last week on a webinar with athletic directors and other college sports officials that Nov. 25 was under consideration due to campuses around the country ending their fall semesters.

“By Thanksgiving week, the date of Nov. 25, 76% of all Division-I schools will have either finished their fall semester completely or released the general student body for in-person instruction,” Gavitt said on the webinar.

With general students home for the entire month of December and the early part of January, it provides at least a six-week window for the college basketball season to get underway.

The opening day of the 1920-21 season will be Nov. 25 (the day before Thanksgiving), which is just 15 days behind the original start date.

The schedule will be four fewer games than the originally-scheduled 31 games and they must play at least 13 regular-season games to be eligible for postseason NCAA tournament play.

Practices can start with 12 hours a week, beginning Monday (Sept. 21) and there will not be any scrimmages against another team or exhibition games this season.

This date will allow the Hogs to start putting together the schedule, including a tournament in Las Vegas less than a week before the new start date that could be moved back.