Reports: ACC eyes more nonconference games
The Atlantic Coast Conference is lowering its 20-game guys’s basketball schedule to 18, providing groups two more spots for marquee nonconference games in a quote to improve a league getting a decreasing haul of NCAA tournament quotes, a person familiar with the decision stated Wednesday.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of privacy since the ACC hasn’t formally revealed the move, which was initially reported by CBS Sports.Editor’s Picks 2 Related The modification for this fall follows commissioner Jim Phillips has been vocal about investing the past two seasons analyzing the dilemma of the ACC getting fewer bids– down to 4 this year, its lowest haul considering that 2013– regardless of having groups regularly playing deep into March. Going to 18 games might make room for schools to include quality nonconference matchups to assist their schedule strength– and therefore the ACC’s stature, supplied of course the league wins its share of measuring-stick games, unlike last year.The league transferred to a 20-game slate for the 2019-20 season with its ESPN-partnered launch of the ACC Network. At the time, the ACC was coming off a 4th straight season with a minimum of 7 NCAA quotes– including a record nine in 2018 and 2019– while having three No. 1 seeds in 2019 and winning 3 of 5 national titles(Duke in 2015, North Carolina in 2017 and Virginia in 2019 ). Things have been tougher considering that the COVID-19 pandemic, accompanying the retirement of big-name coaches such as UNC’s Roy Williams, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. Or in 2015 with the unforeseen departure of Virginia’s Tony Bennett weeks before tipoff.The league had 7 quotes during the bubbled 2021 competition in Indiana, then fell to 5 for three straight seasons before sliding to 4 this year, its very first as an expanded 18-team basketball conference.
By comparison, the ACC had just 12 teams the last time it got simply 4 quotes in 2013. And yet, the league likewise had both UNC and Duke in the Final 4 in 2022, Miami there in 2023, N.C. State in 2024 and Duke again in April.The ACC’s move follows a comparable change for the Huge 12, which revealed in March
that it would drop from 20 games to 18 after its coaches had actually expressed issues about a grinding schedule without any time for rest. The SEC, which got a record 14 quotes from its 16 groups in 2015, plays 18 games while the Big 10 plays 20.