NCAA.com's Andy Katz spoke with Drexel coach Zach Spiker, and Spiker revealed an idea that is "floating around" regarding the Big Five schedule and including Drexel.
Spiker said that the idea is not his, but that he would "100%" support it. The idea is this: Instead of the traditional Big Five schedule, there would be a City Six tournament on the season's opening weekend. The previous season's RPI would reportedly be used in determining the opening matchups.
On its face, the idea has a lot of merit. It would allow Drexel to take a bigger role in the long tradition of Philadelphia college basketball. It would help to create some early season buzz in the sport. More importantly, and perhaps the biggest reason this has a chance to actually come to fruition, it would alleviate the scheduling issues faced by the schools, particularly Villanova. By moving from the current four-game round robin set up to an early season tournament, the king of the City Six could be decided in three games instead of four (although logistics would still need to be figured out), opening up an extra date for each of the schools to schedule. And getting it done on the first weekend of the season would allow for more time to work with to get that extra date scheduled.
All things considered, it's hard to imagine any of the schools being opposed to this. The constraints on scheduling caused by the round robin format would be eliminated. It would provide a great opportunity to showcase the tradition of Philadelphia college basketball, with a more focused spotlight. And it could provide an early-season boost for the sport as a whole.
It remains to be seen how seriously this idea is being considered at the moment, and there would be logistical issues that would have to be ironed out. But it would be great for the schools (with Drexel and Villanova arguably gaining the most), it would be great for the city, and it would be great for the sport. It will be interesting to see if this idea gains traction and comes to fruition.
Full blurb on the idea from Katz here: http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...g-five-change-ucf-injuries-ucla-adversity-and
Spiker said that the idea is not his, but that he would "100%" support it. The idea is this: Instead of the traditional Big Five schedule, there would be a City Six tournament on the season's opening weekend. The previous season's RPI would reportedly be used in determining the opening matchups.
On its face, the idea has a lot of merit. It would allow Drexel to take a bigger role in the long tradition of Philadelphia college basketball. It would help to create some early season buzz in the sport. More importantly, and perhaps the biggest reason this has a chance to actually come to fruition, it would alleviate the scheduling issues faced by the schools, particularly Villanova. By moving from the current four-game round robin set up to an early season tournament, the king of the City Six could be decided in three games instead of four (although logistics would still need to be figured out), opening up an extra date for each of the schools to schedule. And getting it done on the first weekend of the season would allow for more time to work with to get that extra date scheduled.
All things considered, it's hard to imagine any of the schools being opposed to this. The constraints on scheduling caused by the round robin format would be eliminated. It would provide a great opportunity to showcase the tradition of Philadelphia college basketball, with a more focused spotlight. And it could provide an early-season boost for the sport as a whole.
It remains to be seen how seriously this idea is being considered at the moment, and there would be logistical issues that would have to be ironed out. But it would be great for the schools (with Drexel and Villanova arguably gaining the most), it would be great for the city, and it would be great for the sport. It will be interesting to see if this idea gains traction and comes to fruition.
Full blurb on the idea from Katz here: http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...g-five-change-ucf-injuries-ucla-adversity-and