NCAA: What Could 2021 Bring As The Sporting World Makes Tentative Future Plans Amid Coronavirus
It’s fair to say that the coronavirus pandemic has not only brought the world as we know it to a grinding halt, with casualties worldwide breaking the 50,000 barrier, it has also left many sports fans directionless amid the cancelation of just about every major sporting event for the foreseeable future.
In many ways the loss of the act of spectating sports, either live at an arena or via a big-screen TV in your lounge, has been more pronounced than we could have ever predicted and it’s a loss that is being keenly felt from the top leagues all the way down to the lower reaches of the sporting pyramid.
Perhaps the best way of getting through these tough times is looking to the future, a time when things will hopefully return to something like normality, and with that in mind we thought we’d take a look at how things could pan out in 2021 when it comes to college basketball.
Most of those in the know running sports betting websites are backing the Virginia Cavaliers to come out of the blocks fast in the 2021 season, whenever it may tip-off.
The Cavs finished the last season with eight straight wins and this end of season form puts them, in many eyes, ahead of the likes of Gonzaga, Michigan State and Kansas when it comes to the 2021 Championship.
It’s clearly had to predict how things pan out in a league that won’t start, according to most, until March 2021 but looking forward will at least make the pain of waiting so long a little easier to swallow, especially if are a hardcore sports enthusiast.
Michigan odds have slipped in part due to the fact that point guard Cassius Winston and finding a suitable replacement will be a tough job for coach Tom Izzo.
Gonzago will also lose top seniors before 2021 rolls around with Killian Tillie on his way and the likes of Filip Petrusev and Corey Kispert may be on their way to the NBA, all of these departures are sure to have some sort of affect on one of the NCAA’s top sides and replacements will be needed but how easy will it be to find them in these troubling times.
The Kentucky Wildcats face a similar series of losses with Nick Richards, Ashton Hagans and Immanuel Quickley all tipped to leave the college game early for the bright lights of the NBA before the 2021 campaign. Fortunately the Wildcats do have a host of talents coming through that should, at least in part, mitigate these losses.
As perverse as it may seem, some sides may well be, in some small way, thankful that 2020 came to a grinding halt, offering something of a fresh start and a chance to move onwards into a new season.
Among those sides we’d count the North Carolina Tars who’s 14-19 record meant they didn’t qualify for postseason action but in 2021 things could be looking up, especially if they manage to persuade Cole Anthony to hold off on a move to the NBA.
