Can College Basketball Finally Defeat COVID-19?

No sport has been more negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic than college basketball.

With the NFL season finally about to end, it’s time to slowly return our attention to college basketball in anticipation of March Madness. Yes, it’s time for college basketball’s new one-month regular season.

Thanks to the NFL’s constant expansion, college basketball’s biggest weekly draw — ESPN’s Big Monday — finally kicked off on January 24. When Big Monday started as a concept, it was the first January Monday of the New Year, giving college basketball a solid 2+ month runway into its biggest event.

This year, it doesn’t seem like many people care. The ratings for college basketball games are not terrible but remain low with the exception of occasional big games, continuing a decade-long downward spiral that was only temporarily halted by the one-year phenomenon of Zion Williamson.

Still, college basketball faced more of a headwind from COVID-19 than most, as the sport struggles through its 3rd consecutive year upended by the pandemic.

Other sports, of course, dealt with pandemic-related issues. Those, though, were minor in comparison. Pro and college football had the easiest road to haul, with only one season impacted, and the 2021 seasons for both went off without…