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Bob Huggins and Mark Turgeon not fans of late start times for NCAA Tournament games

Bob Huggins

AP

AP

Dayton, the No. 11 seed in the East Region, defeated No. 6 Providence in the last of 16 NCAA tournament games played on Friday. However, much of that contest was technically played on Saturday.

The game didn’t tip until just before 11 p.m. on the East Coast. Two teams from the eastern part of the country, playing in a city in the Eastern Time Zone didn’t tip until just before 11 p.m.

Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon and West Virginia head coach Bobby Huggins, who each had games in Columbus before the Dayton-Providence matchup, both voiced their displeasure for late start times, according to Dan Martin of CSNBaltimore.com.

“Now you’ve got to remember this, it’s all for the betterment of the student-athlete,”Huggins sarcastically said. “I’ve heard that. Yeah, it is. It is.”

Turgeon didn’t sound too fond about starting games late either.

“Yeah, my opinion is it’s not good. It’s not good for anybody, I don’t think,” he said. “Not good for the players. Not good for the fans. I’ll probably get in trouble for saying that. But I wish we could start earlier. Long day as it is sitting around being nervous.”

This isn’t a new topic for college coaches. Remember back in November at the Legends Classic in Brooklyn, Michigan head coach John Beilein ripped ESPN for pushing back the start time of a 9 p.m. game in order for a college football game to end.

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