Report: Myrtle Beach Invite Joining Orlando “Bubble”

With the official vote on when the college basketball season will officially start scheduled later today by the NCAA Division I Council, the last reported news was the Council was being sent a recommendation of November 25th as the start date. Given that comes three days after the Myrtle Beach Invite is currently scheduled to conclude, the Nebraska Cornhuskers schedule is in a bit of a limbo for their early season tournament.

Yesterday CBS’s Jon Rothstein gave some clarity for Huskers, reporting that ESPN plans to move the Myrtle Beach Invitational to Orlando in an effort to follow the NBA model. The success the NBA has had in creating a COVID-19 free bubble for their regular season finale and playoffs thus far has led many to speculate of copying the model by the NCAA to some degree. With Disney owning ESPN, it makes perfect sense that a litany of big time ESPN early-season events including early-season tournaments would be hosted in the popular theme park city that is also home to the 2017 National Championship UCF Knights football team.

The new dates are still to be determined, but the Myrtle Beach Invitational is one of eight early-season events and tournaments that are being planned for Orlando. The others include the Champions Classic, the Jimmy V Classic, Preseason NIT, Orlando Invitational, Charleston Classic, Wooden Legacy, and Diamond Head Classic. Other Big Ten teams impacted by this include Michigan State (Champions Classic and Orlando Invitational), Rutgers (Jimmy V Classic), and Penn State (Charleston Classic.