Today, being the unofficial opening night for college basketball (there is no official college basketball opening night, as @DanWolken pointed out earlier this week), my excitement level is quite high.
After spending weeks merely predicting and prognosticating it’s finally time to see what is going to happen on the court.
Which kids are going to produce and take their talent to another level? Which teams will put it all together and perform at a consistently high level throughout the season?
We are about to receive some hints towards the answers to these questions.
1. UNC and Michigan State square off in front of the POTUS on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego tonight. What is also interesting about this game is that it will be outdoors. And it counts. I assume both of these Hall of Fame coaches have had some outdoor practice sessions lately. I can’t wait to see Harrison Barnes. There should be no sophomore slump here. I expect Barnes to be the best player in the country this year and to see early signs of that tonight. Michigan State has been slept on heavy in the preseason. They are absent from both top 25 polls. I don’t see that being the case for too many more weeks. Can they stay close to UNC tonight? I think not.
2. Purdue opens its season tonight versus Northern Illinois. No, this isn’t any kind of classic match-up or anything, but it will be the first time in Purdue’s last 42 games that Robbie Hummel laces ‘em up for the Boilermakers. Not only that, Hummel will be making his comeback in the newly $100-million renovated Mackey Arena. Simply getting out of the gym healthy tonight will be a success for Hummel. But, I’d expect some points, rebounds and assists from him too in a win over a likely overmatched Northern Illinois squad.
3. Of course, I love to watch the most talented basketball players play basketball; no matter who they are playing against. So there are a few games that closely resemble likely blowouts, but have me wanting to take at least a peek. Connecticut plays Columbia, a great academic institution, but I am really just interested in seeing Andre Drummond for the first time. Kentucky, Terrence Jones & co. beat Morehouse by 85 in an exhibition contest a few days ago. Does that mean they will beat Marist by 70? I’m interested to see Ohio State and how Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, and particularly, Deshaun Thomas, look as second-year players. They face off against a Wright State team that looks to be in rebuilding mode. And I’m anxious to see Florida and their four dynamic guards finally share the court in a meaningful game. Jackson State gets the pleasure of guarding them tonight.
4. America’s possible Cinderella this year goes into Cameron Indoor to play perhaps America’s most hated, or maybe most loved, I can’t call it. Belmont returns 4 of 5 starters from a team that went 30-5 last year. From the Duke perspective, we get to see who the go-to guys will be and how Austin Rivers performs on the big stage.
5. Finally, we have a nice opening night match-up with Vanderbilt versus Oregon. Both teams have upped the expectation level from a year ago, just on different levels. Vandy, a consensus preseason top 10 pick, will be without big man Festus Ezeli for a while, but has plenty of offensive firepower to work with. Oregon has hopes of second-year improvement from coach Dana Altman’s team. NCAA Tournament bid contention would fulfill Ducks fans’ expectations.
What are you looking forward to in tonight’s games?
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