Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo Syndication: Detroit Free Press
By Drew Lerner on

It seems there’s one thing uniting college basketball coaches this March: late start times.

The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament have a fair share of very late tip-offs. The latest games don’t begin until after 10 p.m. ET, ending well after midnight on the East Coast.

This is the reality of a 68-team tournament. If networks want to air all of the games and give fans a reasonable chance to catch the ending of each, start times need to be staggered and spread out until the late hours of the evening.

Coaches, naturally, aren’t the biggest fans of late tips. A late game means less recovery time and travel schedules that aren’t ideal. And this weekend, two prominent coaches shared their feelings on playing late games.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo looked borderline disgusted when he learned that his Spartans will take the court at 8:40 p.m. ET on Sunday night after his first round win over Bryant on Friday.

As a moderator introduced Izzo during his postgame press conference, he mentioned the Spartans will play their next game at 8:40 p.m. ET, which was news to the head coach. Upon hearing his team’s tip time, Izzo gave an eye roll that would make Aubrey Plaza proud.

“What time was that game?” Izzo asked the moderator.

“8:40, breaking news,” he replied.

“At least it’s an hour earlier,” Izzo grumbled, referring to the late start the Spartans had on Friday.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin was similarly peeved about the late hour after the Bruins’ loss to Tennessee in the second round on Saturday. Meeting with the press well after 12 a.m. ET, Cronin was pretty terse.

When prompted by the moderator for a statement, Cronin replied, “I don’t really have one. It’s 12:30.”

Then, asked by a reporter, “At what point do you start looking forward rather than backward,” Cronin replied, “Right now, guys, it’s 12:40 a.m. and our season just ended. That’s it. You’re going to ask me about next year. Right now my biggest concern is how bad the seats are on the Allegiant flight, on that terrible plane that we’re going on to fly home tomorrow.”

Cronin’s feelings are understandable. When your season ends and you’re sitting in front of the press as the clock approaches 1 a.m., you probably don’t have much to say. Of course, Cronin has had plenty to say to the press throughout this season in general.

Late games, unfortunately for the teams involved, are simply a reality of college basketball’s postseason. If teams want the over $1 billion per year financial windfall that the tournament generates, late night games are a necessity.

Of course, that won’t stop coaches from complaining.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

View all posts by Drew Lerner