For yours truly, the positive about MLB ending (apart from the fact that I predicted Texas in 5) is the College Basketball season getting started. It goes as a decent pace annually, then out of nowhere, here comes Championship Week, and then March Madness. After Final Four weekend, it's over, I'm sad, but then I'm happy again since Major League Baseball gets going. Though that actually starts before the Final Four these days. Unlike in football, the collegiate game starts after the pro level. No big deal; the 2023-2024 season gets underway on Monday, November 6th, 2023.
As is the custom, the big events before the turn of the year are the Championship Classic AND the CBS Sports Classic.
The Championship Classic, slated for Tuesday, November 14th, features (per tradition) Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, and Kentucky. Those schools combine for 19 National Champions in the modern era of the game (23 overall I believe), and a ton more Final Four appearances.
The CBS Sports Classic, slated for Saturday, December 16th, features (per tradition) Kentucky, Ohio State, North Carolina, and UCLA.
There will be several early season Tournaments that may or may not affect one's participation into the postseason. Aside from that, most of everyone will play non-conference games prior to the all but exclusive conference games from around the New Year through the end of February into the beginning of March. While the regular season concludes on Selection Sunday (March 17th, 2024), the week leading up to that date will feature conference tournaments; most will conclude the Saturday before & a couple on that Sunday. That's mainly the Big conferences; some of the others could wrap up early in the week or even a week plus before.
The Postseason gets started on 03/19 & 03/20 with the first four (on TruTV). The main part of March Madness gets underway on Thursday, March 21st, 2024. The first two rounds take place on TBS, CBS, TNT and TruTV from 03/21 - 03/24, and the following week, the Regionals take place from 03/28 - 03/31 on TBS & CBS.
The NCAA Tournament will conclude the following weekend featuring the winners of the games played on March 30th & March 31st. The Final Four starts on April 6th, and it concludes on April 8th with the National Championship game starring the winners of the 04/06 games. TBS has exclusive coverage of the tourney's final three games.
A couple big notes from this season. It's the first season since 1976-1977 without Jim Boeheim on the Syracuse sidelines, I believe he is slated to do some work for ESPN during the season. Looks like he needed to coach another 3 years to get to 50 years as the HC. In terms of major programs, Tom Izzo & Mark Few are now the longest tenured head coaches.
Finally, while several do not watch the game for the announcers, this will be the first season since the beginning of the 1990s without Jim Nantz working the Final Four. Back when, the 39-season CBS Sports vet would become the face of the CBS Sports; however, his basketball duties decreased while he rose in the NFL. Plus his PGA duties overlap, which helps result in Jim calling one regular season game (Big 10 senior week, used to be the NCAA Hoops season premiere that led into Army/Navy; sometimes both). Ian Eagle, who had been the biggest fill in (while Nantz was working PGA), is expected to replace him full time. In hoops, not in golf or the NFL right now (Nantz will still do NFL game and the PGA & the Masters, and I think he plans to be present for the trophy celebration. That was mentioned a long time ago, so who knows if it'll still be valid).
I have no idea who'll win this year. I might just wait and pick someone when I fill out my bracket
