Dick Vitale thinks the non-conference slate being shortened has hurt the perennial powerhouses in college basketball.
At the moment, North Carolina isn’t in great tournament shape, Duke might not even get in and Kentucky has no shot of playing in March Madness. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
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The legendary basketball commentator told FanSided the following, according to Outkick:
The top three teams in recruiting last year were Kentucky, Duke and Carolina. When they got in conference they’ve all been struggling because they couldn’t have those cupcake games part of their season, play five or six games guys get familiar with one another. You learn a little bit about college basketball, get acclimated to what they are going to face.
I actually said the exact same thing to my dad the other day. The coronavirus pandemic resulted in fewer non-conference games, which was bad news for teams with a bunch of one-and-done talent.
Those players need as many reps as they can get heading into the meat of their schedules. None of the teams got it thanks to the pandemic.
Teams loaded with veterans and older talent have more or less been fine. Young teams, such as Duke and Kentucky, struggled mightily.
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Of the three teams mentioned above, UNC is the only one that has a great shot at making the tournament. All three have major tournament talent, but the wonky scheduling and lack of practice going into the season threw a major wrench into everything.
2020-2021 is the year of veteran squads, and that’s why the traditional powers are struggling. It’s really that simple.