Izzo confident in 2020-21 season: 'I don't even think it's a question'

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo isn't sure how the upcoming college basketball season will unfold, but he has no doubt play will resume in 2020-21.

"I know we're going to play," Izzo said Thursday, according to The Athletic's Brendan Quinn. "I don't even think it's a question. I'm not sure how the parameters will work - whether there's a vaccine, whether there's a bubble, whether we just play 26 conference games round-robin, but I think we'll find a way."

NCAA president Mark Emmert recently spoke about implementing a bubble setup for NCAA championships. The NBA, NHL, and WNBA have all been operating their respective leagues successfully under such measures.

Izzo envisions using multiple bubbles to complete at least a portion of schools' non-conference schedules. The Hall of Famer believes the isolated setup can be established before the New Year because most classes will be online only from Thanksgiving to Christmas, leaving campuses as another bubble option.

"I don't know what it would be, but I would picture it as bubbles - multiple bubbles," Izzo said. "Like, if there were non-conference games, instead of us (just playing one game in the Champions Classic), the four teams go to one city, we all get the same hotel, we're all quarantined and tested, and instead of one game, we all play each other on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Maybe in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, we go to Atlanta and play three ACC teams or something like that. I think there could be all kinds of bubbles."