Illinois vs Baylor (Exhibition), Friday, October 23rd, 7:00pm CT, B1G+

#26      
RollChief
ChiefGritty said:
Can some august scholar here remind me about what changed about the rules for preseason exhibitions in college basketball and when?

One day there was a "secret scrimmage" and all of a sudden there's a proper CBB preseason.

I'm sure you'll all be shocked to hear I don't approve.
Click to expand...

Starting this season, 2026–27: The NCAA increased the allowance from two to three total preseason exhibitions/scrimmages, in any combination. These games don’t count toward the team’s record or regular-season game limit. The change took effect August 1, 2026.

The verdict is still out for me, the downside is someone gets injured but the upside is you can get a much better understanding of how guys react in certain situations. They've been in a "closed environment" in Ubben so it seems like this allows a real litmus test on individual player/role fit without sacrificing your record, instead of figuring it out the hard way against our first real test that counts. They're going to do "secret scrimmages" anyway, which has the same injury risk in principle (Petrovic got injured last year against Florida), so may as well do it in front of fans to take advantage of the full simulated experience (while also giving the fans a taste).
 
#27      
RockfordIllini
RollChief said:

Starting this season, 2026–27: The NCAA increased the allowance from two to three total preseason exhibitions/scrimmages, in any combination. These games don’t count toward the team’s record or regular-season game limit. The change took effect August 1, 2026.

The verdict is still out for me, the downside is someone gets injured but the upside is you can get a much better understanding of how guys react in certain situations. They've been in a "closed environment" in Ubben so it seems like this allows a real litmus test on individual player/role fit without sacrificing your record, instead of figuring it out the hard way against our first real test that counts. They're going to do "secret scrimmages" anyway, which has the same injury risk in principle (Petrovic got injured last year against Florida), so may as well do it in front of fans to take advantage of the full simulated experience (while also giving the fans a taste).
Click to expand...
Believe Goode broke his foot in a secret scrimmage too. With Kansas maybe?
 
#28      
ChiefGritty
RollChief said:
The verdict is still out for me, the downside is someone gets injured but the upside is you can get a much better understanding of how guys react in certain situations.
Click to expand...
The effects are pretty clear: the teams make more money, and the quality of play increases when the real action starts (versus going in cold).

My position is that both of those things are bad.
 
#29      
Ill... INI 27
Mirk is allowed more recovery time, deep bench and newcomers get extra minutes. Coaches observe experience under game situations and can experiment.

Fans get preview and schools,vendors get extra income.

Not sure of downside. Injuries happen in practice, off court and in games so yes ,possible I suppose.

I think net gain is strong. And I am old, lol.
 
#31      
skyIdub
ChiefGritty said:
Can some august scholar here remind me about what changed about the rules for preseason exhibitions in college basketball and when?

One day there was a "secret scrimmage" and all of a sudden there's a proper CBB preseason.

I'm sure you'll all be shocked to hear I don't approve.
Click to expand...

I’m a May scholar.

I may or may not scholar. Depends on my mood.
 
#33      
Altuve27
I like that we’re playing quality opponents in these exhibitions. That gives the coaching staff a good look at the new players under game conditions.
 
#34      
Sedino
ChiefGritty said:
The effects are pretty clear: the teams make more money, and the quality of play increases when the real action starts (versus going in cold).

My position is that both of those things are bad.
Click to expand...
Could you expand on why teams making more money and increased quality of play are bad things?
 
#35      
RabidDawgClassic
ChiefGritty said:
The effects are pretty clear: the teams make more money, and the quality of play increases when the real action starts (versus going in cold).

My position is that both of those things are bad.
Click to expand...
giphy.gif
 
#36      
grue2
RollChief said:

Starting this season, 2026–27: The NCAA increased the allowance from two to three total preseason exhibitions/scrimmages, in any combination. These games don’t count toward the team’s record or regular-season game limit. The change took effect August 1, 2026.

The verdict is still out for me, the downside is someone gets injured but the upside is you can get a much better understanding of how guys react in certain situations. They've been in a "closed environment" in Ubben so it seems like this allows a real litmus test on individual player/role fit without sacrificing your record, instead of figuring it out the hard way against our first real test that counts. They're going to do "secret scrimmages" anyway, which has the same injury risk in principle (Petrovic got injured last year against Florida), so may as well do it in front of fans to take advantage of the full simulated experience (while also giving the fans a taste).
Click to expand...
I think a pre-season game against Cincy is far better than a warmup game against a Q3/Q4 team. Against the Q3/4 team, physical size/speed advantages allowed players to be sloppy. This showed how quick opponents can be.

I don't like the lengthening of the season by adding a pre-season. We already have a pre-season. It is called the non-conf schedule.

I really do not like the summer league idea. Let the players heal (and maybe even take a couple of classes without distraction). Three additional months of stress on the body vs. 3 months of healing is a huge difference. NBA players often opt out of Team USA for "I need time to heal." NBA teams pulls players out of summer league as soon as they see what they need. They are not risking injury. The NCAA should learn the lesson. That said, I expect a summer league. The NCAA makes more money and loses nothing if a player gets injured. If they create a summer league, I hope the BIG decides to abstain.
 
Back