STF's Preseaon Bracket (1st Half)

And you thought brackets only came around in March? Not here at STF, we eat, sleep and breathe college hoops, so it's always bracket time. Hell, I organize my chores in bracket form these days. So here is our attempt at a preseason bracket, one that will look silly in about three weeks. Actually, with all of the upsets that we've seen this year so far, this bracket might look like crap by this evening.

But still, I find these brackets fun to make, even if they take significantly more time then you may think. And it's always fun to look back at this thing in March to see that two of your #3 seeds are fighting for their NIT lives and that Gardner Webb is stuck at the 2 line because Kentucky is pulling their RPI down.


STF PRESEAON BRACKET (1st Half)

(Auto Bid)

EAST

1 North Carolina (ACC)
16 Columbia (Ivy)

8 UConn
9 VCU

5 Oregon
12 Bradley

4 Texas
13 Southern Miss

6 Kansas State
11 Florida

3 Washington State
14 Boston U (America East)

7 Clemson
10 Illinois

2 Louisville (Big East)
15 Holy Cross (Patriot)


South

1 Memphis (Conference USA)
16 Arkansas Pine Bluff (SWAC)/ Scared Heart (NEC)

8 Kentucky
9 Stanford

5 Michigan State
12 Providence

4 Marquette
13 Old Dominion

6 Xavier (A 10)
11 Missouri

3 NC State
14 Jacksonville (A Sun)

7 USC
10 Villanova

2 Tennessee (SEC)
15 High Point (Big South)

(Link to 2nd Half)

STF's Preseason Bracket (2nd Half)

STF Preseason Bracket (2nd Half)

(See 1st Half)

(Auto Bid)

Midwest

1 Kansas (Big 12)
16 Oakland (Summit)

8 Ohio State
9 Washington

5 Syracuse
12 Vanderbilt

4 Duke
13 Miami (OH)

6 Texas A&M
11 Maryland

3 Gonzaga (WCC)
14 Tennessee Tech (Ohio Valley)

7 Miss State
10 Pitt

2 Indiana (Big Ten)
15 Texas A&M CC (Southland)

West

1 UCLA (Pac 10)
16 Morgan State (MEAC)

8 St. Joe's
9 BYU (MWC)

5 Davidson (SoCon)
12 Seton Hall

4 Southern Illinois (MVC)
13 New Mexico State

6 George Mason (CAA)
11 Western Michigan (MAC)

3 Arkansas
14 Weber State (Big Sky)

7 Arizona
10 Utah State (WAC)

2 Georgetown
15 Cal Poly (Big West)

Hoopnight 11/9/2007

Hoopnight is your daily preview of games to watch for the upcoming evening. Just a warning, this is going to be difficult to do this week. Very little TV coverage is being devoted to hoops until next week.

Don't Miss
Temple at Tennessee
Tennessee is a popular Final Four pick already this season, and they will be fun to watch. Temple may not be as worthy an opponent as they once were, but will put up more of a fight than a directional school or other such typical opening game cannon-fodder.

Watch If You Had Good SAT Scores
Harvard at Stanford
Stanford was a consensus top-25 team a month ago. With the Brook Lopez class-skipping debacle, most pundits have lowered expectations for the Cardinal. Can they use the early season to learn how to play without the suspended phenom? And seeing Tommy Amaker coaching the Crimson ought to be worth a look.

Tivo it and Watch Friday Night Lights
North Dakota State at Florida
Florida begins its quest for a threepeat tonight. John Wooden does not look particularly nervous.

STF Road Trip
Navy at Longwood
I live about an hour up the road from Farmville, VA. Since the Lancers have completed the NCAA gauntlet and will begin their first full season as a DI independent, I wanted to commemorate the event with photos. I'll be in attendance to watch the newbies take on Navy, who swept them in a two-game series last season.

STF Super Awesome Team Previews: #1 North Carolina

#1 NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

Team: North Carolina Tar Heels

Conference: ACC

Last Season Recap: 31-7, 14-5 ACC (including tourney), ACC Champions, Elite Eight—UNC had the talent and style of play to tire almost any team into submission, but a lack of on-court leadership led to inconsistent play throughout the season, and against Georgetown the shooting went cold at the worst possible moment, leading to one of my more painful moments as a Heels fan.

What's to Love: This is, top to bottom, the most talented and deepest team in the nation. Hansbrough is expected to be a National Player of the Year contender. Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson, both high school All-Americans, will get a lot more minutes this season in the absence of Brandan Wright. Terry's size at the swingman position will be missed, but Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green are both solid defenders who can play the position. And while Ty Lawson is expected to be the best point guard in the ACC this year, UNC is blessed to have two more good point guards, Bobby Frasor and Quentin Thomas, behind him. With the Heels at least 2 deep at every position and Roy Williams' fast paced offense, this team can run you ragged for 40 minutes every night. And to top it all off, Brandan Wright isn’t shooting free throws anymore. As great an inside player as he was, watching him shoot free throws was reason to run from your television.

What's Not to Love: Last year, the Heels were clearly not playing up to their talent, as inconsistent play led to losing winnable games all season. In particular, Carolina did not always play well late in close games. Some of the experts believed it was because they had too many players in their on-court rotation (at least ten players played 10 minutes per game, and 12 played at least six minutes). I think it was because the Heels had no true on-court leader. Both Lawson and Hansbrough appear poised to take that position.
This team also needs to become more consistent on defense if they want to prevent losing close games late.

Do not underestimate the losses of Wright, Rayshawn Terry, and Wes Miller--they accounted for about 30% of UNC's minutes last year.

Key Player: Wayne Ellington. One of UNC's biggest weaknesses, especially in the collapse against Georgetown, was the inability to hit outside shots when inside guys were double teamed. Ellington showed potential last year, and if he can consistently hit the three, then opposing defenders will be forced to respect the perimeter and leave things open inside for what the Heels do best.

Deon Thompson, UNC's only true first-time starter this year, will play a key role in determining how far this team will go.

Best Case: Tyler Hansbrough is player of the year; no injuries mean that opponents must deal with two good players at every position; Tar Heels finally play consistently behind the on-court leadership of Hansbrough and Ty Lawson; Ellington hits his threes; the team is able to play solid defense for 40 minutes.

Worst Case: Duke's Jon "Scheyerface" and NC State's Sidney “Black Santa” Lowe haunt UNC’s collective nightmares, steal the ACC Championship away from the Heels; a savvy point guard on an athletic team beats UNC in the Sweet 16.

STF Prediction: Barring injury, anything less than a title would be a disappointment...ACC double (reg. season and tourney), NCAA Tournament Champions.

Welcome To Gardner-Webb's Scheduling Nightmare

Want to know how unexpected Gardner-Webb's victory over Kentucky was even for thier own athletic department? The Runnin' Bulldogs scheduled a game in Connecticut for November 20th, the same Connecticut team that GWU will be playing in New York five days earlier at the semifinals of the 2K Sports Classic on November 15th. So that means the the Bulldogs could possible play the Huskies twice in five days. At least they will be getting paid a ton of money for the two trips, because the win actually presents a scheduling nightmare for GWU, which will now play at home to North Greenville on Nov 13, then travel to NYC for the tournament on Nov15-16, then travel all the way back to North Carolina for a meeting with Radford on Nov 17. Somehow, I think the Bulldogs would take the upset of Kentucky for some possible jetlag anyday.

(Big hat tip to reader Rob for pointing this out)

Morning Recap 11/9: Huskies Back In Form

NO UPSETS TONIGHT




Score of the Night -- UConn 82 Buffalo 57

There's the UConn people were expecting to see this season. After looking very much like their 2006 disappointing selves, the Huskies rebounded for a blowout win over Buffalo. Equally exciting to Huskies fans must have been the breakout performances by AJ Price - career high 24 points - and Stanley Robinson - 10 points 13 boards. The Huskies now move on to New York to play play America's favorite underdog-that-sounds-like-a-law-firm, Gardner-Webb.


Other Scores

Oklahoma 71 San Francisco 55

Say what you will about the Sooners' competition in this bracket, at least they handled their business against San Francisco. Outstanding performance by 6'10" freshman Blake Griffin, as he scored 18 and hauled in 13 boards in his debut.


Denver 76 East Central 75 (OT)

Hey now, East Central Elementary School might have some players! That, or Joe Scott really has a rebuilding project at Denver.

Hoopnight 11/8/2007

Hoopnight is your daily preview of games to watch for the upcoming evening. Just a warning, this is going to be difficult to do this week. In fact, the majority of the country can't even see the one televised game in this bunch.

Don't Miss
Buffalo at UConn (2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer) ESPNU
Why is this a don't miss? Because the Final Four of the CvC could be verrry interesting if the preseason woes keep up. Plus, what else are you going to do in Connecticut on a Thursday night?

Watch If You Have The Time Live in Norman, Oklahoma
San Francisco at Oklahoma (2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer) Not Televised
Even ESPNU won't touch this one. Second-year coach Jeff Capel will get to show off his team for... the populace of Norman, I guess. At least those who don't have Bingo night. I do love the name Longar Longar, though, so that's something.

Fancy a Game of Parcheesi?
Ohio Valley at Morgan State/East Central at Denver
Two Non-Division I programs at two Low-Majors, neither on television. Next week will be better, right?

Word on the Court: 11/8/2007

What to know what is buzzing in college hoops? Word on the Court will provide links to the biggest and most interesting stories in the world of college basketball.

You might not get ESPNU on your local cable network, but that's no excuse for missing the Podcast. Andy "Glock-9" Glockner and other experts give you the quick n' dirty rundown three times a week. Check out Kyle Whelliston's mid-major predictions on the 11/7 edition.

Also from the WWL, go behind the scenes of the msot recnet Mag cover shoot, featuring the likes of Derrick Rose and Tyler Hansbrough.

While everyone's focusing on the hot teams and surprising upsets, Gheorghe: The Blog reflects on the sorry (but hopeful!) lot of a College of William & Mary fan.

There's blood in the water, so why even play exhibition games? Parsing the WAC gives us a few very good reasons.

Basketball doesn't have the equivalent of Sabermetrics - yet. But Basketball Prospectus is breaking new ground on statistical analysis for hoops. Writer Kevin Pelton shows us how to spot a break-out player on the rise.

And here's what you really want to know - How is Lexington dealing with the fallout from the Gardner-Webbageddon?

We'll preview tonight's slate of games in a couple of hours in Hoopnight.

STF Super Awesome Team Previews: #2 Memphis Tigers

#2 Memphis Tigers




Team: Memphis Tigers

Conference: Conference USA

Last Season Recap: 33-4, Lost to Ohio State in the Elite Eight

Key Players Returning: Most teams would be happy with with two, maybe three, key players coming back. The Tigers have seven, yes, seven players returning who played a significant role in the last two trips to the Elite Eight. G Chris Douglas-Roberts is the leading scorer for the Tigers and is a D Wade type slasher who has no regard for his body. Guards Antonio Anderson , Willie Kemp, Andre Allen and Donteal Mack will rotate guard positions, each providing a certain role while adding to the extreme depth of this team. In the post, Joey Dorsey and Robert Doizer are the best post defensive combo in the country. They are quick, athletics big mean who can run floor, block shots, rebound and shut down anyone… as long as they aren't named Greg Oden.

What's to Love: Hands down, this is the fastest and most athletic team in America. Along with Rose, Douglas-Roberts and Anderson, the Tigers have extreme depth with Willie Kemp Doneal Mack and Jeff Robinson coming off the bench. This team could press you the entire game and still remain fresh with the number of bodies they throw at you. Memphis can sub seamlessly without skipping a beat. Even if Memphis is trailing teams at halftime, look for many of their opponents to simply run out of gas by by the end of the game.

What's Not to Love: The low post scoring and weak conference schedule are issues, but we are more concerned about how this team will handle expectations. Calipari’s teams were slight surprises in making the Elite Eight the past the past two seasons, despite their superb records. But no more, if this team doesn’t make it to San Antonio, the season is a bust.

Key Player: Derrick Rose - Depending on what you hear, Rose may actually be Superman. If not, he's at least superhuman. We knew going into the season that Rose had all the tools to run the athletic, fast breaking style that the Tigers like to play. But wow, after the first two games, who knew that Rose had that kind of offensive game? And the dunks? Rose may have that Carmelo specialness to lead Memphis to National Championship.

Best Case: The speed and athleticism simply wears teams down, Rose’s playmaking ability has a Nash like effect on a talented Tiger team, Dorsey improves the post scoring, the nine-man rotation doesn’t cause any chemistry issues, defense and athleticism lead to the Tigers cutting down the nets in San Antonio.

Worst Case: The weak conference schedule leaves this team primed for an upset in March, playing time leads to severe chemistry issues, the team is put on probation for whatever the hell Calipari is doing in China.

STF Prediction: All the ingredients are in place for the Tigers year to do something special. Anything short of the Final Four will be a disappointment. National Runner-Up.

All Your Mascots are Belong to Tribe

Washington Post scribe extraordinaire Dan Steinberg sent this item to us just this morning:

Apparently, several of our favorite college mascots are celebrating Bar Mitzvahs.

While it is not evident that Testudo the Terrapin, Ramses the Ram, Sebastien the Ibis, and Otto the Orange have fulfilled the tenets of the Jewish faith prior to their celebration of adulthood, we here at STF feel that we can safely sort out who will not be dancing the Horah any time soon:

Due to religious differences: Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Providence Friars, Penn Quakers, Holy Cross/Valparaiso Crusaders, Central Michegan Chippewas.

Differences with Religion in general: Demon Deacons, De Paul Blue Demons, Duke Blue Devils.

Made of Pork: Arkansas Razorback.

Presumably enjoys a bit of shellfish now and again: UNC-Wilmington Seahawk, Vanderbilt Commodore.

One thing's for sure, college basketball is inclusive of any religious viewpoint you might espouse, including azure satan-worship.

Mazel Tov to you!

Let The Party in Boiling Springs Begin!

Here is all that you need to know about last night's stunning victory by Gardner-Webb at Kentucky....

• Overlooked because of the shocking nature of the victory is the fact now Gardner-Webb, not Kentucky, will be traveling to New York next weekend to play in the semifinals of the 2K Sports Tournament. I'm guessing the folks at MSG weren't planning on luring that GWU contingent to the Garden. While it my not be ideal for the folks at MSG (who are probably too busy harassing people to notice) hoop fans are excited because they will most likely get to see Gardner-Webb trying to take down another big time opponent (most likely UConn) in the Garden next weekend. How many people from Kentucky do you think used up vacation to plan a trip to NYC for next weekend?
• Everyone this morning is going to compare this game to App State beating Michigan. Not trying to knock the GWU win, but this isn't nearly as big as the App State win because Kentucky can still have a very successful season despite this loss. Still embarrassing for UK, but they can move on. But you've got to think that some of the football madness has rubbed off on to basketball court, as we are not a full week into the season and we've already seen the GWU upset as well as Division II Findlay and Grand Valley State knocking off Big Ten powers.
• Some quick facts on Gardner-Webb... GWU is a small college in Boiling Springs, North Carolina with of just over 3,500 students.....GWU finished seventh in the Atlantic Sun last season and lost to North Carolina by 53....GWU has only been a member of Division I for eight seasons..... GWU spent close to $630,000 on basketball last season compared to Kentucky's budget of $6 million....the win over Kentucky was the school's first over an SEC opponent and first against a Top 25 team.
• GWU dominated this game throughout. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead, lead by as many as 18 and UK never got it any closer than 7. This was no upset where a team got fluky and pulled off a 2-point win at the buzzer, this was a beatdown.
• If you are a mid-major guy, this has to be one sweet morning. One of the smallest schools that absolutely no one was talking about being a sleeper walks into storied Rupp Arena and just manhandles Kentucky, one of the most blue-blooded teams in college basketball.
• For the second consecutive night, there was an excellent college basketball game on that I was forced to "watch" on Gamecast because I don't get ESPNU. Wonderful. Meanwhile, ESPN showed "The Contender", a show I thought went off the air three years ago.
• As expected, they aren't taking it so well in Kentucky (A Sea of Blue) (Kentucky Sports Radio Blog)

Morning Recap 11/8: Stunner in Lexington

STUNNER IN LEXINGTON




Score of the Night -- Gardner-Webb 84 Kentucky 68

Wow. I'm speechless. I am without speech. It's one thing to loss an early season game to mid-major team, it's another to be blown out at home to a team that finished seventh in the Atlantic Sun last season. GWU killed Kentucky all night with eight treys and continuous backcourt passes that seems to just befuddle the Wildcat defense. The Wildcats were never really in the game, getting only as close as seven in the second half. GWU was lead by a balanced attack, with 22 point from Grayson Flittner, 21 from Thomas Sanders and 15 from Aaron Linn. If I'm a Kentucky fan, I want to know where the defense was and what happened to Joe Crawford (4 points)? More on this game in the next post.


Other Scores

UConn 69 Morgan State 65
If I'm Jim Calhoun, I'm thanking GWU for blowing out UK last night, because no one is going to talk about how bad the Huskies played at home to the Morgan State Ham Fighters. Jerome Dyson had a nice game with 20 points, but UConn fans have to be concerned with the eight combined points from AJ Price and Hasheem Thabeet.

Michigan State 61 Michigan Tech
Luckily for Spartans fans, this is the last Divsion II score that they will struggle with this year.

Hoopnight 11/7/2007

Hoopnight is your daily preview of games to watch for the upcoming evening. Just a warning, this is going to be difficult to do this week.

Don't Miss
Morgan State at UConn (2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer) ESPNU
Time to see what Jim Calhoun was up to in the offseason. Rudy Gay ain't walking through that door, but neither is Jake Voskuhl, so let's call it even.

Watch If You Have The Time
Gardner-Webb at Kentucky (2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer) ESPNU
Ashley Judd won't waste her time showing up at this one, but maybe ol' Kige will put in an appearance. (Call us, Kige - we're serious) Besides, G-W aren't your garden variety Bulldogs. They're the Runnin' Bulldogs. Nuff Said.

Tivo It and Watch reruns of The Daily Show
Slippery Rock at Penn State (Exhibition, Big Ten Network)
At this rate, the Big Ten is going to want to cancel the remaining preseason. With Ohio State and Michigan State both dropping exhibitions to Division II teams, this should have the Fighting JoePa's quaking in their black shoes. Fun fact - in official press releases, SRU's athletic department refers to their team as The Rock.

Big East Tourney To Expand

The Big East announced today that it will be expanding it's postseason tournament from 12 teams to 16 teams in 2009.

“Our Presidents performed a very thorough review of the tournament format,” said Commissioner Michael Tranghese. “After extensive deliberation, it was decided that inviting all teams to participate would provide a special opportunity to every men’s and women’s basketball student-athlete.”

Finally, this country's desire to see South Florida blown out at Madison Square Garden will be met.

(Via Big East Basketball Report)

Stats Heaven

Man, do I feel like a doofus. I spent twenty-some-odd bucks on a certain popular basketball guide. It's a nice guide, and one of our STF writers contributes to it, but it's a book. Paper! of all archaic things to be lugging around in one's man-purse.

I've seen the future, and it should come as no surprise that it comes to us via basketball savant Kyle Whelliston. You may remember a nice stats engine that used to be on the blog site for MidMajority.com. Well, that basic (but beautiful) service has been moved to BasketballState.com, where it has been expanded and improved in amazing ways. The platform is so flexible, and the database so deep, that it blows anything else I've seen out of the gym.

Did you know Wimp Sanderson coached Alabama in the Sweet 16 in six different years? I do, because I asked the site's Tournament Wiz. I also know what schools he played against and how the games came out. The suspense is probably killing you. He lost all six times.

It does cost to get some of the in-depth features, but the early-season price is less than what I paid for my other guide, and I'm getting a lot more out of the deal. If I could go back in time, I'd skip the bible and go for the website. Anyway, check it out for yourself - even if you don't pay for the extra, there are fantastic team capsules and more available for free. Leave it to Kyle to give hoops fans what we didn't even know we needed.

[Basketball State]

STF Super Awesome Team Previews: #3 UCLA Bruins

#3 UCLA BRUINS


Team: UCLA Bruins

Conference: Pac-10

Last Season Recap: 30-6, Pac-10 Champs, Final Four - Do you think that Ben Howland ever has nightmares of Joakim Noah (I know I do)? If not for the Florida Gators, the Bruins might have been trying for a three peat this season, as the Gators ended the Bruins run in the Final Four once again last season.

Key Players Returning: A remarkable amount of talent returns from a squad that has been to back-to-back Final Fours. Leading the charge is lightning quick PG Darren Collison, who is a preseason All-American. G Josh Shipp is an excellent shooter and defender who’s main concern will be staying healthily. F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute not only has not most complex name in college basketball, but he is athletic wing men and one of the best defenders in the country with an improving offensive game. C Lorenzo Mata is an experienced low-post player with some offense. But the real reason that people are once again thinking National Championships at Pauley is super freshman F Kevin Love, who may be the inside presence needed to push the Bruins over the top.

What's to Love: No team returns as much talent and experience as the Bruins. Not only are four starters returning (PG Darren Collison, G Josh Shipp, F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, C Lorenzo Mata) but all four have two Final Fours under their belts. Honestly, did anyone think that was possible in this jump-to-the-NBA day and age? Add Love to that mix, and this Bruins team could be better than the '06 and '07 teams.

What's Not to Love: The only major issue for this squad is how will they handle the loss of team leader Arron Afflalo. Afflalo was the focal point of the offense last season and the unquestioned team leader, often having the ball in his hands in the closing seconds. Do Collison and Shipp have the guts to take that big shot?

Key Player: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - Word is that Luc has developed a jumper and is going to be more of an offensive threat this season. This is very, very bad news for the Pac-10 and everyone else. Luc is already the Bruins' best defender, but if he develops an offensive game equal to his athleticism, the Bruins are cutting the nets down in San Antonio.

Best Case: Love is the lowpost threat lacking in the recent years, LRMAM hits that jumper and averages about 14 to 16 a game, Collison lives up to the All-American billing, having a field day with Love in the lowpost, D remains tops in the nation.

Worst Case: New NCAA rule declares that Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer still have another year of eligibility left.

STF Prediction: Close once again, just not enough scoring in the long run…..Pac-10 champs, Final Four.

Big Ten Bitchslapped By Division II Once Again

Finally, I understand the logic of The Big Ten Network. Create a channel that no one gets so that when Big Ten teams continue their trend of losing to Division II schools, it goes as close to unnoticed as possible. Just four days after Michigan State dropped a home exhibition game to Grand Valley State, another team from the Bracket Sub-Basket Division, formerly known as Division II*, has knocked off a Big Ten power in their own building. The University of Findlay, a small school in rural Ohio, knocked off big, bad Ohio State in Columbus 70-68 in another exhibition match last night. Add the two football defeats by Michigan and Minnesota to DI-A or D II schools, and you can see why people think that the Big Ten might by a tad overrated in both football and basketball.

I’m fully aware that both the Michigan State and Ohio State losses were in exhibition games, but that does not take away from the fact that A) the starters played a majority of the game for both MSU and OSU and B) as long as there is a score being kept on the scoreboard, there is no excuse not handle to your business at home to a DII school. Ever.

*This division may have been made up in my head

Morning Recap 11/7: Tigers Caught Looking Ahead

Tigers Get a Scare From the Spiders




Score of the Night -- Memphis 80 Richmond 63

If this is the first time that you are seeing this score, it's extremely deceiving. The Tigers may have had their bags already packed for New York, and the Spiders gave them all they could handle. This was a 62-59 game with six minutes left until the Tigers eventually wore out the undermanned Spiders. Richmond zoned the Tigers into the ground, a problem which could resurface for the Tigers on their road to San Antonio. The bright spot for the Tigers was once again the play of Derrick Rose, who had 21 points and showed great leadership in willing the team through a game they clearly weren't ready to play. The PG version of Kevin Durant?


Other Scores

Kentucky 67 Central Arkansas 40

The Billy Gillispie era took off without a hitch, as the Wildcats manhandled the Bears. The Cats held the Bears to a horrid 20% and Joe Crawford added 20 points off the bench.

Hoopnight 11/6/2007

Hoopnight is your daily preview of games to watch for the upcoming evening. Just a warning, this is going to be difficult to do this week.


Don't Miss
Richmond at Memphis (2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer) ESPNU
This one... won't be pretty. What will be pretty is watching Derrick Rose again.

Watch If You Got The Time
Central Arkansas at Kentucky (2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer) ESPNU
Billy Gillispie era gets off to its official start in Lexington. You can bet your sweet ass that Kige is watching.

Tivo It and Watch The Office
Maine vs, UT-Martin (2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer)
It's more of the Coaches vs. Cancer beat-down tonight. This one, surprisingly, is not being televised. So yeah...

Lower than Low-Major

Ah, good times. I've been writing for Chicago Sports Weekly for several months now, but I started during baseball season, so I didn't have a chance to dig into college basketball until now. Today, my expose about the Chicago State Cougars, and their surprising decision to leave the Mid-Continent (now Summit) League and go independent for this season, has been posted on the website.

Read it here.

I always root for teams like this. Whether it was a short-sighted athletic department or just good old money woes that drove the Cougars into the frigid waters of independenthood, the coach and the kids deserve our respect. And I, for one, will be keeping an eye on their progress this season.

Preseason Primer: Reasons to Love College Basketball

Obviously, you wouldn't be here if you didn't know this stuff already, but it's always fun to reflect on the great things about college basketball just before the season starts. If you know someone who doesn't get it - show them the list. And, if I forgot one of your favorites, drop it in the comment field.

The Buildings: The Pit (New Mexico) - Allen Fieldhouse (Kansas) - The Palestra (Penn) - Trask Coliseum (UNCW) - Cameron Indoor Stadium (Duke) - Pauley Pavilion (UCLA) - Assembly Hall (Indiana) - The Dean Dome (UNC)

These legendary arenas give strength to fans and players, and sap the will of opponents. There are so many more - add yours below.

The Fans: Rowdy, knowledgeable, and passionate. Alumni get most of the good seats nowadays, but it's the jumping, hollaring, and high-fiving that provide home-court advantage. Do the Cameron Crazies or Missouri's Antlers sometimes go out of bounds? Yes. But we usually laugh anyway.

The Cheerleaders: I'm a nice midwestern boy, so I guess I like my sex appeal in a demure wrapper. The combination of cute + sexy + in love with their school = Perfect.

The Tweeners: There are so many great players who never make it in the NBA because they don't fit the size template. But in college ball, we get to watch skinny PFs and 6'8" centers and 5'10" guards do what they do best. Think about that while you enjoy baby-faced Stephen Curry and so many others this season. If your taste runs more to Projects, check out UNC-Asheville's 7'7" Kenny George or Old Dominion's 7'3" Aussie Sam Harris.

The Coaches: Roy Williams and his "aw shucks" routine, Jim Boeheim looking like someone just ran over his cat, Bobby Knight looking like he'd happily run over Boeheim's cat if Myles Brand were standing behind it. Old-school cats like John Chaney, Lou Carnesecca, and John Thompson. Dick Davey's sweaters. There are some real characters in this game, and we treasure them.

The Nicknames: There are so many awesome nicknames in college basketball. If you want a complete list, regardless of division, check here. Here's my top 25:

1. Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons
2. Cal-Irvine Anteaters
3. St. Bonaventure Bonnies
4. TCU Horned Frogs
5. Campbell Camels
6. St. Louis Billikens
7. Vermont Catamounts
8. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
10. San Francisco Dons
11. Centenary Gentlemen
12. Canisius Golden Griffins
13. UMKC Kangaroos
14. New Mexico Lobos
15. Evansville Purple Aces
16. Youngstown State Penguins
17. Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners
18. Delaware Blue Hens
19. Southern Utah Thunderbirds
20. Idaho Vandals
21. Marist Red Foxes
22. Texas Longhorns
23. Cal-Santa Barbara Gauchos
24. Vanderbilt Commodores
25. Florida A&M; Rattlers

(honorable mention goes to the independent Presbyterian Blue Hose, who are in the process of becoming DI this season)

The Enthusiasm: There's not a lot of chit-chat or runs to the concession stand in college hoops. Fans stand and scream or, in the case of St. Joe's, flap. The Austin Peay Governors might rally to the cry of "Let's go Peay!!" but most true fans will hold it until halftime rather than miss a play. The kids on the floor are deeply invested in every possession, or they get a trip to the bench. Even more so in the Ivy League, where there is no conference tournament to shift focus from the regular season title.

The Tournaments: I know, I just said that tournaments shift focus from the regular season. It's true, and it's one of those dichotomies that cannot be solved. Because tournaments are fun. Brackets are extremely fun. There's something to be said for that thrill of deeply-held belief in fans of even the worst teams - that maybe, just maybe, we can still do this. They mostly don't, but the chance keeps everyone on their toes, and that's great.

Obviously, the NCAA tournament is the greatest post-season ever invented. We here at STF will not stoop to argue this point with the less enlightened. The fact that a team can get hot and rise above their hierarchical status at the right time is part of sports, and it's a part we celebrate unreservedly in College Hoops. Nothing beats that frenzy of activity in the first week of the NCAAs - filling out brackets, perusing rosters for teams you can't quite place on a map, and screaming your guts out for some tiny U. that's playing a hated rival, or because you picked them as your "upset special". And when your team runs that six-game gauntlet and collapses on the floor as champs, let me tell you, it is magical. My team hasn't done it since 1988, but I'm sitting here with goosebumps just thinking about it.

Here's to college basketball. And to you, STF readers, and fans of the game!

STF Super Awesome Team Previews: #4 Kansas Jayhawks

Team: Kansas Jayhawks

Conference: Big Twelve

Last Season Recap: 33-5 (14-2) Kansas lost to another tradition-rich team in the West Region Final, falling in a low-scoring game to UCLA after putting away Niagara, Kentucky, and Southern Illinois to get to the brink of the Final Four.

Key Players Returning: Tough-as-nails point guard Russell Robinson, Smoove B shooting guard Mario Chalmers, future NBA player Brandon Rush, and sophomore big man Darrell Arthur. Dervish Sherron Collins plays big minutes off the bench, and Sasha Kaun is a defensive presence in the middle.

What's to Love: Options, options, options. Kansas is dripping with talent, to the point where the superlative Sherron Collins is still coming off of the bench for the Jayhawks.

What's not to Love: Options, options, options. Nobody takes the game over when Kansas is in the doldrums. Bill Self has been waiting for Brandon Rush to be that guy. If he can't or won't, it's time to turn to Mario Chalmers.

Key Player: Guard Mario Chalmers. He's not nearly the star he could be, because he has deferred his game to the likes of Julian Wright and Brandon Rush, but Chalmers makes it look effortless when he wants to. Now is the time for him to really want to.

Best Case: A national championship, twenty years after the one brought home by Danny and the Miracles. As previously mentioned, someone has to be Danny in this scenario. Since Mr. Manning is sitting on the Kansas bench these days, maybe he can show them how it's done.

Worst Case: Kansas is too good to fall in the first round again, but the hot-potato to avoid the big shot routine could doom them to a disappointing exit in the Sweet Sixteen.

STF Prediction: I grew up in Lawrence, and went to KU. Fair disclosure. That said, I've never warmed to Bill Self the way I did Roy Williams, and I was openly campaigning for the job to go to Mark Turgeon back when it was open. Self teaches brutal defensive basketball and toughness, which I love, but the offense needs to find a way past other defensive-minded clubs. I like to think that can be done this year, of course, so I predict another Final Four banner in Allen Fieldhouse. The championship might take another year or two, but a FF will keep fans off Bill's jock for a while. Unless Mark Mangino wins a football championship, and then all hell will break loose.

Morning Recap 11/7: Rose is for Real

WELCOME TO THE DERRICK ROSE SHOW



Score of the Night -- Memphis 102 UT-Martin 73

Forget OJ Mayo, Derrick Rose is the freshmen that you should be watching this season. In his first collegiate game, Rose was phenomenal for the Dorsey-less Tigers, scoring 17 points along with 5 boards and 5 assists. 8 of those points came off dunks that brought the fans at FedEx Forum to their feet. Man, this performance would have been even better if I actually got to watch it live!

As good as Rose was, he didn't even have the best performance of the game. That would go to UT-Martin's Lester Hudson, who scored 35 points for the Skyhawks, who actually led this game 23-19 at the 9 minute mark. Then, the Tigers woke up and went on an 18-1 run, and that was about it for the Skyhawks.

Other Scores

Richmond 44 Maine 42

Our official 2007 tipoff game is a barnburner! I guess you can it that, but overall this was a sloppy game that was finally over when Richmond's David Gonzalvez hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to give the Spiders a 4 point lead. The Spiders will now move on to play Memphis tonight at 9pm. But let's not kid ourselves here, the Spiders are predicted to finish 12th in the A10 and Maine is expected to finish at the bottom of America East. This was not an impressive victory. The Spiders are what we like to call "cannon fodder" for the Tigers' run to MSG.

Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament tips off College Basketball Season

As Marco noted earlier today, College Basketball is tipping off with more of a whimper than a bang. But it matters to us, if not to the mainstream media, so we'll give you a quick look at the first two games of the tournament:

The way this goes is that we get four big-time Top 25 teams, and each wolf gets thrown in a pen full of putative sheep. See the brackets here.

Today we get what I call the Memphis invitational. The Maine Black Bears play the Richmond Spiders at 4pm Eastern, in an excellent nickname matchup. Then, in the evening, Tennessee-Martin will take on the Memphis Tigers at 7pm on ESPNU. Throughout the rest of the week, we will see similar games with Kentucky, UConn, and Oklahoma playing at home, with the clear intention of having a mini-Final Four after the "cupcakes" are devoured. The final games will be played in Madison Square Garden next weekend.

To the organizers of the event, I say "Caveat Emptor", especially in the wake of Grand Valley State beating Michigan State in an exhibition game over the weekend. Brackets can be busted in November as well as in March. Given the cause, I think we can agree that whoever makes it to MSG, we'll be rooting for a great tournament and big crowds.

Still, hoops season is upon us! Let's tune in and root for someone, because the games count!

What? No Vitale for 25 Hours? College Hoops Start Goes Unnoticed

If you are a regular reader of this blog, I'm going to guess that you're a pretty passionate college basketball fan and therefore aware that the season actually tips off tonight. But I'd be willing to bet my Dwight Schrute bobblehead that 80 to 90 percent of regular sports fans have absolutely no clue that college basketball technically starts today, and that a Top 5 team (Memphis) and some traditional powers (Kentucky, UConn) are in action this week.

While there are only a handful of games and very few are expected to even be competitive, college hoops is still officially tipping off tonight, barley making a blip on the national radar. This includes ESPN, the leading provider of college basketball games. Want to watch Derrick Rose and Memphis tip off the season tonight? You better be one of 68 people with ESPNU, because that is the only place that you can catch college hoops until Monday, November 12th. This is of course in contrast to ESPN's countdown to the start of the college football season, where ESPN football crew was live for 25 straight hours, nearly killing Rece Davis. Cmon WWL, you're trying to tell me that Vitale sleeps? Not getting past this guy. Just stick him on TV and you've got yourself some college hoops tip off coverage.

Look, I know that the start of college basketball pales in comparison to the NFL and college football at this time of year and I don't want this to come across as sour grapes. All that I'm asking for is somekind of official start date recognized by the NCAA as well at the major media. Maybe a a four team tip-off tournament on this starting date with a few four high profile teams to bring some attention to the season tipoff. Actually, who cares right now.....college basketball is finally here. And don't care who notices, as long as I finally have some games to write about.

STF Super Awesome Team Previews: #5 Georgetown Hoyas

Team: Georgetown Hoyas

Conference: Big East

Last Season Recap: 30-7 (13-3) The Hoyas might have beat Ohio State and gone to the championship game if Roy Hibbert could have stayed out of foul trouble. This team took care of business after losing to Old Dominion at home in November, losing a few tough road games, but winning the rest. Had a great run to the Final Four.

Key Players Returning: Hibbert. The 7'2" Center returns for one last shot at the title. Jeff Green was the only starter to leave, taking his game to the NBA's Celtics. Patrick Ewing, Jr. is not nearly as good (nor as big) as his father, but he might earn some more playing time following that development.

What's to Love: Well, for starters, I love saying "Hibbert" in the voice of Ernie from Sesame Street. But, beyond that, there's just something bad-ass as all get out about this team. They reflect their coach well, and don't seem to have problems with sharing the ball, which is key to a championship run.

What's Not to Love: Jeff Green left for the NBA. That second scorer void must be filled, and point guard Jonathan Wallace's 11.4ppg is as close as the Hoyas can get right now. Louisville is willing and able to spoil the ride for Georgetown.

Key Player: 6'8" Forward DaJuan Summers was a bit of an enigma last season, sometimes scoring in double figures, sometimes as low as two. He earned his playing time last season, but this year the Sophomore needs to become more consistent. If he can become Hibbert's reliable buddy in the frontcourt, this team can go right back to the promised land.

Best Case: The team learns how to play well with or without Hibbert, and Hibbert makes that a moot point by staying in tough games. Summers gets steady, and a couple of dynamite freshmen make their mark, and the Hoyas go to that elusive championship game.

Worst Case: Nobody can fill Jeff Green's slippery shoes. No third scorer emerges to take the pressure off of Hibbert and Wallace. The Hoyas are out in the second round.

STF Prediction: The baseline expectation for the Hoyas would seem to be a return to the Sweet 16, at least. But I don't think you'd find too many basketball fans who would balk at putting them in the Final Four today. Big expectations have a way of tripping some teams up in the NCAAs (but we'll talk about my Jayhawks tomorrow), but JT3 and Hibbert with the gang are enough for another Final Four.

Lute Olsen Taking A Leave of Absence

Some pretty significant breaking news from the world of college hoops on the eve of the start of the season. Arizona's legendary coach Lute Olsen has announced that he will be a taking an immediate leave of absence from the basketball team.

"For the past 25 years, I have always given 110 percent to the team and this job," Olson said. "In light of this personal matter, I feel it is in the best interest of the team and the University of Arizona to take a leave of absence."

Newly hired assistant Kevin O'Neill is taking over for Olsen during his absence, which can last anywhere from five days and five months and wouldn't be too surprised. While Lute has ruled out any health reason, I can't seem to dig up anything on what could be the cause of this leave, or how long we can expect to see Olsen away from the court. We'll keep an eye on this and provide any new details that we can find.