Opting Out of the Big Ten Tournament? Gard said Options are on the Table
MADISON, Wis. – Greg Gard is like many other head coaches around the country in the sense that he’s trying to only worry about the next opponent on the schedule. Unfortunately, that’s not a reality this season.
No.14 Wisconsin is preparing to play at Maryland tonight but has no guarantees beyond that as coaches, administrators and players try to prepare for the unknown.
“We don’t know how it’s going to change from January 25th to February 15th and things going forward,” Gard said.
Wisconsin has already seen firsthand what the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has done to its 2020-21 season. Not only were the nonconference schedules shortened to a maximum of seven games, but the Badgers had one game canceled, another rescheduled and needed to quickly add two opponents.
Since Big Ten play began, Wisconsin has had four games either rescheduled or moved to accommodate Penn State having paused team activities to contain an outbreak. The Nittany Lions resumed play last week but three other teams – Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska – are currently on pause because of positive tests. Michigan’s situation is different because its pause is due to the new variant strain of the coronavirus.
“That is of concern,” Gard said of the variant. “It’s obviously something everybody is watching very closely.”
The shutdown of three programs has led Big Ten coaches to seriously contemplate the next two months of its season. The 14 league coaches were on a call with each other and the league office Monday to discuss the new COVID strain and potential schedule adjustments for the final six weeks of the regular season.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said on his radio show that the conference has started asking schools about changing games as teams look to make up ones postponed due to the pandemic. With 12 games currently postponed that need to be scheduled, teams could face some one-day prep games much like an NCAA tournament situation.
“The Big Ten has suggested here these last few weeks, can you change this game? Can you move this here? Would you be willing to play here?” Holtmann said. “They’ve tried to accommodate everybody about prep time. Those suggestions I don’t think will be suggestions much longer. It’s like when I ask my daughter and suggest she empties the dishwasher, she takes it as a suggestion but if it doesn’t get done it doesn’t turn into a suggestion anymore. I think the Big Ten is basically going to say you’re playing on this date at this time because they’re trying to accommodate as many games as possible.”
Holtmann added there were discussions of the Big Ten tournament being moved from Chicago. Multiple national reports have mentioned Indianapolis because local health guidelines could allow families in attendance.
“We’re really monitoring and walking through this day to day, not knowing how this is going to look in a month,” said Gard, declining to get into specifics from the call. “Are we going to miss more league games? Is there going to be more pauses, more cancelations? When we get towards the end, how does that impact the conference tournament? Does the conference tournament hold value?”
In the latest bracket projections, the Big Ten is in a position to put 11 teams in the NCAA tournament. For those schools not on the NCAA bubble, Gard rhetorically asked if schools could opt out of playing in the postseason tournament to minimize exposure.
“If you are a team like Gonzaga, is it worth playing your conference tournament?” Gard said. “If you’re a Baylor, is it worth knowing the risk you inherit every time you travel? Not that the risk doesn’t exist here, but every time you take a step outside the box you increase the odds. There’s a lot of unknowns right now and we have to keep all options available and navigate through it as those situations present themselves.”
Wisconsin has managed to avoid any positive COVID tests on its roster, let alone deal with an outbreak since the beginning of the season. While it’s not a foolproof plan, senior forward Micah Potter has attributed it to the conference’s strict testing policy and the team policing one another to make sure no one is being reckless, knowing one mistake could cause another ripple effect.
“I know as a team, ever since this summer, we’ve been very strict,” Potter said. “We’ve held each other accountable and ourselves accountable. If we aren’t safe, if we don’t act safe and protect each other, it could really change the course of the season.”