NCAA Network

As dozens of people may have noticed this week, college basketball season has officially started.  Seriously, DOZENS of people!!  It is the only major sport that doesn’t start off with a bang.  The MLB has Opening Day, Week One of the NFL regular season is always a big deal and gives us several big match-ups, Opening Night in the NBA isn’t the greatest, but it doesn’t go virtually unnoticed either, and the opening of college football is anticipated for months in advance.  College basketball, as popular as it is, seems to go virtually unnoticed for the first week or two. 

 A big reason for that might be the overall approach that the majority of major programs have of wanting to ease in to their seasons.  As a result, the first week of the season treats us to a slate of games and match-ups that are, for the most part, crappy.  I’ve always said that Hostess would be a great corporate sponsor for the first week of the season because of all the cupcakes that the better teams like to schedule.  Nevertheless, it is college basketball season.  Technically speaking everyone is at zero.  Practically speaking that is not the case, but nevertheless the committee is still watching and the possibility exists that a team that no one expects anything out of will step up, shock everyone, make a name for themselves, and ultimately begin to make a case for themselves.  The one thing that I can attest to is that there is no preseason.  These games, as uninteresting as they may appear, do count.    

 

 

 COACHES VS CANCER CLASSIC

 -A perfect example of teams easing into things would be the Coaches vs Cancer Classic, which tipped off this past Monday.  As expected, North Carolina, Ohio State, California and Syracuse all breezed past the two opponents that they faced.  Murray State did step up on California to make it a game and trailed by as few as six points within the last five minutes, but could not pull off the upset.  For those of you that like to look at what’s under the radar, Murray State is a team to watch.  They return four starters from a team that won 11 of their last 13 before losing in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last year, and are the preseason favorites to win the league this year.  Another thing about them is that other than a game at Western Kentucky, they will likely be favored to win just about every game for the rest of the season (depending on who they face in the Bracket Buster).  They should be able to rack up quite an impressive record before the season is over.  It’s just unfortunate that it doesn’t look as if they’ll get too many shots at teams that will be strong contenders for NCAA Tournament spots.  Even with an impressive record, it’s hard to impress the committee regarding an at-large bid (if they were to need one) if they’re not able to beat at least some notable teams.  That is why the game against Cal, even though it was the season opener, did have significance for a team like Murray State.    

 -The four host teams, Cal, UNC, Ohio State and Syracuse, will all meet in NYC next week.  The organizers of this tournament did something that, in my opinion, is grossly unfair, and that was guarantee those four schools spots even if they were to lose one of the opening round games.  In other words, had Murray State won, Cal would still be going to MSG.  The chances of those teams not winning their first two games are small, but it did happen in a similar tournament back in 2007 when Gardner Webb took down Kentucky in the 2K Sports Classic.  It would have been outrageous had Kentucky been allowed to advance to the finals instead.  What this tournament has done is no less outrageous. 

 Oh well.  It didn’t matter anyway. 

 

TONIGHT’S (Nov. 13^th) NOTABLE MATCH-UPS…..

 The non-exempt season begins tonight!!

 -BRADLEY AT BYU.  This is one of the few games that is actually intriguing.  BYU should once again be one of the better teams in the MWC and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see them in the rankings before the season is over.  Bradley was inconsistent last year, but really looked good in the last few weeks of the season winning five out of seven before losing in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.  Bradley did lose their leading scorer, but they return their next three leading scorers from last season.  They should still be tough out on the perimeter this year and it will be interesting to see how they match up against BYU.  Most people don’t realize this because it is so early, but this game (and all games, for that matter) could end up having NCAA Tournament implications depending on what kind of season each team ends up having.  Winning this game would certainly be a good way either team to kickstart things. 

 -NORTHERN IOWA AT DENVER.  Northern Iowa is clearly the better team.  They’re another team that I think we’ll see in the rankings before the season is over.  They’re on the road today, but they should still win this one rather easily. 

 -PENN AT PENN STATE.  Penn State won the Postseason NIT after just missing the NCAA Tournament last year.  With three starters coming back along with much of their bench they should be a dangerous and exciting team again this season.  Penn used to be good, but the bottom has fallen out these past two years.  They’ve gone from first to worst in the Ivy League.  This is the type of game that they would have been expected to win in the past, but at least for now the tables have turned. 

 -DREXEL AT SAINT JOSEPH’S.  Saint Joseph’s has been inconsistent the past several years.  They’re a team with a lot of question marks, and seem to have been for the past couple seasons.  Some nights they look like they can take down Duke.  Other nights they lose to teams at the bottom of their conference.  This is one of those Philadelphia match-ups that are always fun.  Whoever wins this should walk away with some early confidence. 

 -STANFORD AT SAN DIEGO.  It’s not every day that the Torreros get to host a team like Stanford.  This should be interesting. 

 -NEW MEXICO STATE AT SAINT MARY’S.  Right now, I’d say these teams don’t eve feel like bubble teams, and like a lot of teams there are simply more questions than answers, but both have the potential to be pretty good.  We should know a little more about each of them after tonight. 

 -UMASS AT UCF.  Both teams are building up their programs, but I don’t think either one is to the point of being an NCAA Tournament team just yet.  Still, it’s one of the more interesting games taking place this weekend. 

 

 EXEMPT TOURNAMENTS

 -ATHLETES IN ACTION CLASSIC (Washington, Wright State, Portland State, Belmont).  This is a Round Robin tournament that Washington is hosting.  The Huskies are clearly the favorite to win, but the teams they are playing are all dangerous.  Wright State is not at full strength for this game, but is still a good defensive team and should make quite a bit of noise in the Horizon League.  Belmont has always done well in the Atlantic Sun, and Portland State has won the Big Sky the last two years.  If anything, these are the types of opponents that can really end up boosting a school’s RPI because they end up winning so many games. 

 -BASKETBALL TRAVELERS TOURNAMENT (Oregon, Winston Salem State, UC Davis, Colorado State).  This is a Round Robin Tournament that Oregon is hosting.  They had a very disappointing season last year, and this tournament isn’t going to really tell us whether or not they’ve improved all that much. 

 -DUEL IN THE DESERT (Texas Tech, South Dakota, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Oregon State).  Texas Tech will be undermatched in all three games of this Round Robin Tournament. 

 -HISPANIC FUND CLASSIC (Kent State, Samford, UW Green Bay, UAB).  Kent State is hosting this Round Robin tournament, and is capable of beating all three teams.  It’s a good opportunity for all four of these teams to springboard their seasons and build some momentum, especially for Kent if they’re able to win all three games at home.  An interesting aside, Samford and UAB do not play on a regular basis despite the fact that both are located in Birmingham, but will face each other on the final day of this tournament.  Too bad it’s one time zone and four states away from their home city.

 

 GAMES BROUGHT TO YOU BY HOSTESS….

 Essentially, I think there is a reasonable chance that half of these teams could be in the NCAA Tournament discussion.  I bet you’re smart enough to figure out which half. 

 -Western Illinois @ Arizona State

 -Alcorn State @ Arkansas.  Arkansas is in for a long season due to some recent off the court troubles, but they should win this one.

 -Norfolk State @ Baylor

 -Dartmouth @ Boston College

 -Presbyterian @ Clemson

-William & Mary @ Connecticut

 -UNC Greensboro @ Duke

 -Liberty @ George Mason.  Keep in mind, Liberty is without Seth Curry, who transferred to Duke. 

 -New Orleans @ Georgia.  Mark Fox makes his debut with the Bulldogs. 

 -SIU Edwardsville @ Illinois.  Welcome to div1 SIUE!!!

 -Howard @ Indiana.  Indiana won just five games a year ago, but should be much improved.  Then again, as bad as they were a year ago they could improve and still not be any good. 

 -Hofstra @ Kansas.  Hofstra could make some noise in the Colonial, but will likely be overwhelmed today. 

 -Morehead State @ Kentucky.  Morehead State will challenge Murray State for the OVC title.  They will likely not challenge Kentucky today, though.  John Calipari makes his debut at Kentucky, along with a stellar recruiting class for this one. 

 -Louisiana Monroe @ LSU

 -Centenary @ Marquette.  After being placed on probation by the NCAA, Centenary will move down to div2 after this year.  After today, they’ll likely wish they were already there.

 -Charleston Southern @ Maryland

 -Jackson State @ Memphis.  Memphis is Calipari-less, but they won’t feel the effects of that just yet. 

 -Florida Gulf Coast @ Michigan State.  Seriously??

 -Tennessee Tech @ Minnesota

 -Alabama State @ Mississippi.  Very few teams have been plagued with injuries quite like Ole Miss has these past two years.  Hopefully this year they can stay healthy. 

 -Northwest Missouri State (nondiv1) @ Missouri.  Why bother??

 -Northern Illinois @ Northwestern.  The Wildcats made some noise last year and could do so again this year. 

 -Wofford @ Pittsburgh

 -Cal State Northridge @ Purdue

 -Lehigh @ Richmond.  Richmond has been down for several years, but they did finish rather strong and have a nice group coming back.  They could be a dangerous team in the Atlantic Ten this year.

 -Saint Peter’s @ Seton Hall

 -Alabama A&M @ South Carolina.  Darren Horn did a great job turning SC around last year.  If he keeps it up they’ll be dancing this year. 

 -Austin Peay @ Tennessee.  Somewhat interesting due to the fact that APSU is an in-state opponent, but Tennessee is still way undermatched. 

 -Angelo State (nondiv1) @ Texas A&M. 

 -Georgetown @ Tulane.  Kind of an odd road game for the Hoyas, but they location shouldn’t effect the result all that much.

 -Idaho @ Utah.  Utah lost a lot from last year, but they should still end up having a big year. 

 -Texas Southern @ UTEP.  UTEP will likely be one of the better teams in Conference USA and should contend for a spot in the NCAAs.  They just can’t afford to stub their toes in a game like this.  An early bad loss is still a bad loss. 

 -Fairleigh Dickinson @ Villanova

 -Oral Roberts @ Wake Forest.  Oral Roberts has had some good teams in the past, and should be good within the Summit League this year.  Wake Forest is not in the Summit League, though. 

 -Mississippi Valley State @ Washington State.  Ken Bone’s debut with the Cougars. 

 -Youngstown State @ Xavier.  The Musketeers lost three starters and their head coach from last year’s Sweet Sixteen team.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one, though. 

 

 More to Come in regards for the rest of the weekend, and throughout the entire season…..