Fansided

Princeton coach Mitch Henderson wonders if NCAA Tournament will turn on a bag of chips

By Mark Carman

A view of the March Madness logo prior to the game between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Dakota State Bison during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
A view of the March Madness logo prior to the game between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Dakota State Bison during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson likes Gonzaga’s chances but also wonders if the tournament will turn on something ‘different.’

The Ivy League did not play basketball this season but that does not mean Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson is lacking interest in the NCAA Tournament.

“No travel, no home atmosphere, no regional pull. This is going to be wild,” Henderson told FanSided.

Henderson has a couple of interesting ideas on how to make the game even more ‘wild’ by getting more action throughout the course of a game plus more game-winners.

“I’d love to see the ball advanced to half court on timeouts towards the end of the game and I think quarters would help with this parade to the free-throw line with 10 minutes left in the game,” Henderson said. “There are really good players and really good teams and we want to see them play and we are marching towards this disruption of play because of replay. You need to create, I think, more exciting moments during games.”

The NCAA Tournament will be unique because of the coronavirus protocols

I’m in! There is nothing worse than having a game taken over by overzealous officials who want to prove a point each trip down the court, or by a team who simply can’t play defense.

Four quarters of college basketball makes a lot of sense as does advancing the ball with timeouts late in games. A 20-foot shot with a hand in your face that may or may not go in is much more entertaining than a 65-foot heave at the buzzer. The NBA model makes sense for the NCAA as well.

Meanwhile, the Gonzaga model makes sense for college basketball. Henderson likes their chances to run the table and be the first team since 1976 Indiana to finish undefeated.

“I love watching them, I don’t see any issues,” Henderson said. “I thought they got really challenged in that BYU championship game. They have a togetherness, they have played one of the most amount of games in the tournament. They can shoot it, they’re young, but they look like they know exactly who they are.”

There is one variable out there in 2021 that we have never had at an NCAA tournament in the past that could alter the tournament and the Zags’ chances.

“You could go down to the lobby for a bag of chips and that might be it,” Henderson warned. “The storylines here are going to be different. How is covid affecting somebody’s physical playing ability and then also their ability to participate? I think whoever can find some rhythm getting served cold food being in hotels that will be a big factor, the selflessness of the group.”

College kids staying in a hotel away from campus and home for weeks on end could go a variety of ways. March Madness is here.

Mitch Henderson is working with Xfinity xFi’s #DefinitelyNotWatchingBasketball campaign that shines a light on all the things people do while they’re definitely not watching basketball in March.

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