'Bubbleville': Mohegan Sun Will Host 45 College Basketball Games in 11 Days

Mohegan Sun, a resort casino in Uncasville, Conn., will be the home to nearly 45 games for nearly 40 college basketball teams when the season starts on Nov, 25, CBS Sports's Matt Norlander reports. 

The resort will host games for an 11-day period—Nov. 25 to Dec. 5—that includes 40 men's and women's teams that will participate in multi-team events and standalone games. 

The 45-game slate of matchups is almost complete. However, according to Norlander, the organizers are waiting on one team to confirm a game in order to lock in Oregon and Missouri matchups on Dec. 2 and 3. If the game falls through, another team is going to have to be arranged. 

Notable teams participating in Bubbleville include UConn (both men and women), Baylor, Villanova, Virginia, Arizona State, Oregon and Florida. Iona, now coached by Rick Pitino, will be playing as well. 

However, The Gaels first four games are in jeopardy due to a positive COVID-19 test from a member of the team's support staff, according to Adam Zagoria. As of now, Iona will play its first game at Mohegan on Nov. 29. 

The Gazelle Group, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Mohegan Sun worked together over the past three months to put college basketball's "bubble" together, recruiting teams and establishing the proper safety measures in a COVID-19 environment.  

Gazelle Group president Rick Giles told CBS Sports that he appreciates all of the teams who have chosen to play at Mohegan Sun.

"It's been a bumpy ride for everyone in the college basketball scheduling world and we have maintained a spirit of cooperation and loyalty to each other that is really gratifying—and that you don't always see," Giles said. 

Fans will not be allowed to attend games, as Connecticut has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in several cities across the state. According to Connecticut's Health Department, the state has 84,741 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday. 

Uncasville, located in New London County, is the fourth-highest county in Connecticut for confirmed COVID-19 cases behind Fairfield (26,552), Hartford (20,037) and New Haven (19,559). 

Nearly 125 programs were engaged in conversations with Mohegan Sun. Roughly 5,000 COVID-19 tests will be delivered over the next two weeks. Organizers have plans in place for games if teams hit COVID-19 barriers. 

Every game will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena. There were tentative plans to build a second court for games but that will not happen, according to Norlander. Mohegan Sun will include two practice courts for teams. 

All games played in Mohegan Sun can be watched on TV or digital broadcast through ESPN, Fox Sports and FloSports.