Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

SEC basketball to start in late December

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Sep 25, 2020 4:34 PM ET

The Southeastern Conference unveiled planned start dates for men's and women's college basketball conference seasons set to occur amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Men's teams will begin league schedules on Dec. 29 and 30, while women's programs will start conference seasons on Dec. 31.

Men's teams will play an 18-game schedule over 20 play dates. The two idle weeks account for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and an open date.

The women's conference slate contains 16 league games over 18 play dates.

Both men's and women's teams can begin non-conference play on Nov. 25 per an NCAA Division I Council vote held earlier this month that set the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as the beginning of the 2020-21 basketball season.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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