ON THE HEELS OF THEIR decision of pushing back high school football and volleyball for Class 6A and 5A schools last week, the University Interscholastic League announced on Saturday its decision on how the 2020-21 high school basketball season, a decision that will greatly alter how games will be handled.
The biggest impact will be in the number of games played during the regular season as teams will be limited to only 27 games between the start of the girls (November 6) and boys (November 13). It will be a huge contrast for teams such as the Dickinson boys’ team, which played a combined 37 games on its way to reaching the 6A semifinals that were ultimately postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
A limited regular season will happen due to the UIL quashing all tournaments and showcases for the upcoming season, eliminating such events as the Clear Creek ISD’s Peggy Whitley Classic and Carlisle/Kruger Classic and the McDonald’s Invitational.
The UIL also canceled the regional tournament playoff format, which has usually been played at one site the weekend before the state tournament.
With the revised schedule, the girls’ basketball regional semifinals will be February 22 of 23 followed by the regional finals on February 26 or 27. The boys’ basketball regional semifinals will be March 1 or March 2, with the regional finals being held on March 4, March 5 or March 6.
One constant that remains the same will be the site of the state finals. San Antonio’s Alamodome will host the girls’ state tourney March 4-6. The boys’ state tournament will be March 11-13.
