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The Pac-12 is discussing argumentation adjustments to its hoops play successful the aftermath of COVID’s resurgence and the imaginable for disruption to the regular season, according to a source.
Several teams already person been impacted:
— The Washington men were incapable to play 3 games earlier this period due to the fact that of a COVID outbreak.
— The UCLA men and women are presently connected intermission aft canceling aggregate games.
— The Arizona women canceled a day with Texas implicit the weekend.
— The USC men won’t play Oklahoma State this week and person paused squad activities.
All the impacted programs are believed to beryllium largely, if not fully, vaccinated.
“We request to get this done earlier the adjacent league games,” the root said, referring to the onset of conference-only play adjacent week.
It shouldn’t beryllium a analyzable process: The Pac-12 tin simply particulate disconnected the due COVID policies it deployed past play and contiguous them for support by the diversion directors and different cardinal field officials.
A fewer tweaks mightiness beryllium required, but the COVID policies astir apt to beryllium enacted for some the men and women include the following:
1. The threshold for competition
Last year, the league established a minimum roster count: Teams were considered disposable to play if they had astatine slightest 7 assistance players and 1 coach.
Below that subordinate count, the affected squad was fixed the enactment to play. If it declined, the crippled was rescheduled oregon declared a nary contest.
Those subordinate and manager minimums could beryllium implemented for the remainder of this season.
2. The attack to make-up games
If games cannot beryllium played connected schedule, they apt volition beryllium canceled, not postponed.
Last year, teams were obligated to instrumentality each tenable steps to reschedule, and the round-robin lineup included windows for make-up games. The accent was connected playing arsenic galore games arsenic imaginable arsenic safely arsenic possible.
But erstwhile the Pac-12 finalized the 2021-22 league schedules a fewer months ago, determination was nary specified happening arsenic the omicron variant and the likelihood of COVID disruption appeared low. No windows for constitution dates were included.
In immoderate cases, it mightiness beryllium imaginable to descent games backmost by 2 oregon 3 days — from Saturday to Monday oregon Tuesday, for illustration — but those instances would astir apt impact question partners.
Games that cannot beryllium played arsenic primitively scheduled astir apt won’t beryllium made up.
With this contented specifically and others generally, league officials are successful connection with peers successful the Power Five astir champion practices.
Many leagues crossed the state person been impacted by COVID successful a mode cipher anticipated erstwhile the schedules were acceptable originally.
3. Canceled games being declared nary contests
The archetypal program this play was to state a forfeiture if immoderate squad was incapable to play a league crippled due to the fact that of COVID.
That could change, with canceled games being deemed nary contests — conscionable arsenic they were past season.
How mightiness that interaction Washington, which was incapable to play Arizona and UCLA earlier this month? The archetypal crippled was rescheduled for Jan. 25, but the second was declared a forfeit per the established policy.
The league could see changing UW’s forfeit to a nary contention if that argumentation is adopted for the remainder of the season. The determination would beryllium made by the diversion directors.
4. Requirement for the league title
Last year, the Pac-12 implemented the pursuing look for determining the regular-season champion:
A squad needed to play 3 much games than the mean fig played by the full league successful bid to beryllium eligible for the rubric and the No. 1 effect successful the league tournament.
That argumentation could beryllium implemented for 2021-22, arsenic well.
A 5th constituent indispensable to navigating different COVID play is extracurricular the Pac-12’s control: The minimum fig of games required to enactment successful the NCAA Tournament.
Currently, the fig is 25. But with dozens of teams affected already — and the imaginable for galore much to brushwood problems — the NCAA could little the minimum request oregon waive it altogether.
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