-If you’re reading this at some point between midnight on Monday night and midnight on Tuesday night, then you’re in the midst of 24 straight hours of college basketball on ESPN. In reality, it’s more like 28 hours if you count what was on Full Court and ESPNU before that. This is the second year in a row ESPN has kicked off the season this way. It’s the only time you’ll ever see a games at 6am and 8am on the East Coast.
REVIEWING THE FIRST WEEKEND
-Dayton and Creighton probably played the best game of the weekend. Both teams are probable NCAA Tournament caliber teams and they did something that you don’t see much of these days, and that is schedule each other in the season opener. It was close all the way through as the two exchanged blows for 39 minutes. Dayton wound up pulling away to win 90-80, but the game was still in doubt until about the final minute. Dayton also did something very well that I thought they’d struggle with this season, and that’s hit their freethrows and shoot the ball well from the field. Although Creighton lost, they still learned more about themselves and have a much better feel for playing in intense games against strong competition than everyone else who scheduled teams that they knew they would overwhelm. Both teams are better off for it. Chances are it was easier for them to stay focused and motivated in practice for the weeks leading up to the season because both knew that their first game would be a tough one.
-About 98% of everything else that has happened so far has gone according to plan. We’ve seen to very surprising upsets, though, and another near upset. It started with Rider knocking off Mississippi State over the weekend. I certainly did not see that one coming. Rider shot an unbelievable 62% from beyond the arc. Mississippi State jumped out to an 11-2 lead, but were outscored 86-63 from that point on. For a team that finished the season so strongly and had so much coming back, it was odd to see them struggle like they did against what appeared to be an inferior opponent.
-I’m writing this just as Cal State Fullerton has knocked off UCLA in double overtime. The game was exciting, but that doesn’t mean it was the best played game you’ll ever see. Both teams shot below 40%, and it wasn’t because of intense defensive pressure either. CS Fullerton didn’t get a whole lot of love at media day and was picked to finish just 7th in the Big West. This upset win should definitely get them some attention, though.
-The other near big upset happened last night as Miami, OH nearly took down Kentucky. The Redhawks led by as many as 18 in the first half. Miami plays a very regimented type of game where the focus is on fundamentals more so than athleticism. As a result, they typically pass and shoot the ball very well and are not overly susceptible to turning the ball over. Generally when they get an 18 point lead, they keep it. At that moment I thought we were going to see Kentucky go down in a major upset in the first week of the season for the third year in a row. That’s not what happened, though. Kentucky was able to come back and make it a close game at halftime. Midway through the second half, they were able to take the lead. It seesawed back and forth after that, and we saw an incredible finish in the last twenty seconds. Miami’s Kenny Hayes hit a deep three from the top of the key to tie the score at 70-70 in the final seconds, but John Wall took the inbounds and hit a shot at the buzzer to give Kentucky a come from behind 72-70 win. He had 19 points in the game. Patrick Patterson and Demarcus Cousins also had great games as both finished with double-doubles. The Redhawks were an incredible 15-26 from beyond the arc, and really put up a tremendous effort despite not having near the athleticism that Kentucky has. It was especially surprising given that Miami lost their first game to Towson, who is…shall we say….not in possession of four players who will likely make the NBA.
-SAINT MARY’S will square off against SAN DIEGO STATE in the middle of the night. These are two teams that barely missed the NCAA Tournament a season ago (it’s my belief that SDSU should have been in, but that’s another story), but both teams have lost quite a bit from last year and look to be in a sort of rebuilding mode. Winning this game is a good way to get this season off to a nice start and speed up the building.
-We will also get a look at SIENA on Tuesday morning as they take on NORTHEASTERN. Siena is a strong team that is just outside the top 25 in both polls. They’ve made the second round of the NCAAs for two consecutive years and return four starters from last year’s team. They should make quite a bit of noise this season and be solidly in the picture come March. They got off to a slow start last season, though, and do not want a repeat of that this year.
-The finale of this marathon gives us two very interesting games. First, MICHIGAN STATE hosts GONZAGA. Michigan State advanced all the way to the national championship game last year and has high expectations again this year. Gonzaga appears to be solid, but lost several contributing players from last year’s team. I expect them to have a solid year, but they face a huge challenge today. Obviously, a win would really catapult them back into the top 25.
MEMPHIS and KANSAS will face off in Saint Louis as well tonight. Memphis had quite the offseason in which they had to forfeit all 38 wins from their 2007-2008 Final Four year, lost their head coach, and lost two of the top recruits in the country. It will be interesting to see how they match up against the top ranked team in the country with such a new look. Like Gonzaga in the first game, a win would really catapult Memphis back into the national scene
OTHER NOTABLE ACTION
-TEMPLE AT GEORGETOWN. Both teams managed wins in their openers. Temple has won the Atlantic Ten Tournament the past two years, but could be looking at a rebuilding year this year. We’ll see how well they can do early on at Georgetown today.
-CLEMSON AT LIBERTY. This is another game that’s part of the 24 hour marathon. It would have been more interesting had Seth Curry remained at Liberty. Nevertheless, it’s still a big game for the Flames. It’s not every day they get to play at home on national television against a ranked team.
-ARKANSAS VS LOUISVILLE. This game is also being played in Saint Louis. Arkansas won their first game easily, but today won’t be so easy. Louisville is deep. Arkansas is not. Louisville typically does not start off strong. Even though they’ve been to back to back Elite Eights, they haven’t played like a top 25 team in November and December the past two years. It will be interesting to see how they look today. If they don’t win, or do win but don’t look impressive doing it, Louisville fans will no doubt be in a frenzy of worry. They were last year. They were the year before that as well. Losing games early does put pressure on Louisville later on in the season, but they always seem to make up for it by the time conference play rolls around.
-IOWA STATE AT DRAKE. It’s never easy to go on the road against an in-state opponent. Drake doesn’t appear to be world-beaters by any means, but it will still be a difficult game for Iowa State to win and improve to 3-0.
-NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE. Another early season rivalry game. New Mexico won their first game easily, but should get a tougher test today…..I think. I thought NMSU would have a halfway decent year, but they were blown out by Saint Mary’s in their first game. A win against a big rival would be a great way for them to bounce back.
PRESEASON NIT (winners of each game advance to the semis at MSG)
-CHARLOTTE AT DUKE. This game appears to be a mismatch, but Charlotte is an improved team this year. It’s also not all that common for them to get a shot at one of the heavyweights from the state of North Carolina either, so this is a huge deal for them. That doesn’t mean they’re going to win because there is the little issue of playing at Cameron Indoor against a very good Duke team, but don’t expect them to just lay down.
-HOFSTRA VS CONNECTICUT. UConn struggled in the first half against Colgate, but ended up winning without too much trouble. Hofstra appears to be better than Colgate, but it still isn’t likely that they’ll take down the Huskies. Still, a trip to the semis in Madison Square Garden is on the line, so it’s a great opportunity for the Pride to not only pick up a notable win, but give them the chance to take on some other big teams and build their resume. As early as it is in the season, winning now for a team like Hofstra who typically doesn’t get a lot of chances at impressive wins once conference play begins is hugely important.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT LSU. Western Kentucky desperately needs to do well in this tournament. In my opinion they are a top 25 caliber team. The only problem is that they get so few chances to prove it, especially once conference play begins. Succeeding in this tournament will get them the quality wins they need to make a case for themselves come March. I sound like a broken record, but these games do matter even though it’s early, ESPECIALLY for a team like the Hilltoppers. They did not look like a top 25 caliber team in their first game, where they struggled against Wisconsin Milwaukee. They have a much tougher opponent tonight. Getting to MSG would be a huge deal for WKU. It would get them the exposure and opportunities at quality wins that they need to make a case for themselves. They were a second round team last year who lost at the buzzer, and they return pretty much everyone, so they should be very strong.
-TCU AT ARIZONA STATE. This appears to be the biggest mismatch of the quarterfinals, but TCU did win their first game convincingly against CS Northridge, so if nothing else they should be able to play with some confidence. Arizona State struggled with Texas State for the first part of the first half, but had little trouble the rest of the way.
GAMES BROUGHT TO YOU BY HOSTESS
-UNC Asheville at Tennessee
-Longwood at Old Dominion. Old Dominion is off the radar now, but they should have a very strong team this year. Winning today won’t prove that, but they’ll get their chances a little later on.
-UNC Greensboro at Virginia Tech. The Hokies shouldn’t have any trouble improving to 2-0.
-Saint Francis NY at Boston College. The Eagles will improve to 2-0 with a win
-Bowling Green at Xavier. Both teams are 1-0, but Bowling Green will likely be way overmatched in this one.
-Northern Illinois at Illinois
-Fairfield at Maryland. Fairfield has won their first two games, but hasn’t faced a challenge like this yet.
-Louisiana Monroe at Oklahoma
-Tennessee Martin at Missouri
-Florida A&M at Creighton. Creighton lost their home opener against a very good Dayton team, but they did show in that game that they are a strong team and will likely have a strong year and be in the NCAA Tournament discussion come March.
-Idaho State at BYU. BYU looked good in their first win against Bradley. They’ll face a much weaker opponent tonight.
