Hoop, Line And Sinker

A weekly column on men's college basketball.

Monday, December 10, 2018

18 Nov5 - Rigging The System (PRESEASON)

Volume XXIII, No. 1 - 18 Nov 5: PRESEASON - [] Top 25 Ballot

Rigging The System

Last year on the court, Villanova set NCAA records for three-point shooting on the way to its second National Championship in three years. Jay Wright's program is well established as perennial powerhouse (but whether the VU/Wildcats will be full-fledged Final Four-contenders this season isn't so assured). Loyola(Illinois) became the new "America's Team" with its Cinderella run to the Final Four (and it may have enough of a nucleus returning to at least be in the national conversation all year long). Bill Self/Kansas set a new NCAA standard by winning their FOURTEENTH-CONSECUTIVE REGULAR SEASON TITLE (in the B-Major BIG 12, no less) while Mark Few/Gonzaga pushed their nearly two-decade dominance of the Mid-Major WEST COAST to SEVENTEEN OF EIGHTEEN REGULAR SEASON TITLES (including SIX STRAIGHT TiTo> CROWNS). 1BC CONFERENCE USA was able to pull off a 32-Splash NCAA win for the FOURTH-STRAIGHT YEAR (and has made changes to its scheduling for this season in hopes of upgrading to a multi-bid MM league). Maryland-Baltimore County broke the 0-for-135 hex to become the FIRST 16-SEED EVER TO BEAT A 1-SEED in the NCAA tournament (at the hands of Virginia [which now owns the TWO WORST UPSET LOSSES OF ALL TIME to go along with the famous Division-II {Chaminade} upset of Ralph Sampson's #1 squad in 1982 {which subsequently gave us the MAUI INVITATIONAL}]). Wichita State's jump from the Mid-Major MISSOURI VALLEY to the B-Major AMERICAN didn't quite result in the Carpetbagger title it hoped for (although the Wheatshockers only missed out by an endplay loss in one huge showdown game); and while the move did provide them with a desired No.4 seed come tournament time, that also meant they had changed from being "The Hunter" as a Mid-Major upstart to "The Hunted" as a B-Major Fat Cat and fell victim to their own first-round 32-Splash upset at the hands of C-USA/Marshall.

- - - - - -

In the off-season off the court, in a reaction to the Shoe Scandal that hung over last year, the NCAA came up with some changes that will allow "elite" players a semi-professional status. An "approved" list of agents can now represent players. Players can now make themselves eligible for the NBA draft and return to school if they are undrafted. If they complete two college seasons in good academic standing, the remaining portion of their scholarships will be valid for up to 10 years for them to return and complete their degrees. In addition, all payments from Apparel companies to coaches/staff must be reported to the NCAA. (It won't fix "The Problem" of fairly compensation players who are the reason College Basketball makes the huge money it earns for schools and coaches [but not players]; but anything is an improvement.)

Not much went on as far as teams changing conferences. North Dakota has moved from the BIG SKY to the SUMMIT (filling the spot vacated by IUPUI last year [and joining its other Dakota siblings together in the same league]). Liberty and South Carolina Upstate swapped conferences between the BIG SOUTH(SCUp) and ATLANTIC SUN(Libty) (as part of a re-alignment that had to do with which schools played football among those two conferences). More controversially, Hampton has made the move "up" to the BIG SOUTH from the MEAC (abandoning its HBCU roots for "greener pastures"?)
     Two new teams have joined Division-I (and have begun the four-year reclassification process to become fully eligible): The {California Baptist} Lancers have joined the WAC while the {North Alabama} Lions have joined the ATLANTIC SUN.
     On paper all told, it's a big upgrade for the A-SUN (not counting new-to-D-I {North Alabama}); a bump up for the SUMMIT and the MEAC (addition by subtraction); a slight drop for the SKY; and a full downgrade for BIG S; (and don't forget the WAC drops by adding {California Baptist}).

In this year's coaching shuffle, nothing too major happened this off-season. Chris Mack left Xavier to replace interim coach Scott Padgett at Louisville (filling the void left when Hall-of-Famer Rick Pitino was fired last year in the wake of the Shoe Scandal). Danny Hurley left Rhode Island for Connecticut (replacing Kevin Ollie, fired for his own violations). Tom Crean(ex-Indiana) takes over at Georgia (replacing fired Mark Fox). Mike Davis moves from Texas Southern to Detroit (while Johnny Jones[ex-LSU] replaces him at TexasSo). Some veteran coaches return to C-Hoops at lesser stops: Tubby Smith(ex-Memphis) takes over at High Point; Mark Gottfried(ex-N.C. State) takes over at Cal State-Northridge. Veteran coach Tim Floyd retired from UTEP; veteran coach Larry Eustachy is out at Charlotte; star-players-turned-coaches Jeff Lebo (resigned at East Carolina), Mark Price (fired at Charlotte) and Reggie Theus (fired at CSN) all are gone. Former star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway takes over at his alma mater, Memphis.

- - - - - -

The NCAA Selection Committee has revamped its rating process, replacing the old RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) - - (YEA!!) - - with the new NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool). Basically, they've kept "strength of schedule" as a criterion but replaced ("winning percentage" and "opponent's strength of schedule") with ("location", "scoring margin", "offensive and defensive efficiency" and "quality of wins and losses"). What does that mean? How you win should be a bigger part of the picture as opposed to just how much you win, as before. We'll see whether it makes much of a difference in better seeding (and, in the Hoops Contest, a better performance for the Selection Committee's "expert pick" entry). (As I've said before, having expanded to 68 teams, it's no longer a question of a quality team being left out as much as choosing among undeserving teams to fill out the bracket.)

In conjunction with the NCAA's switch (or maybe just by happenstance coincidence), several conferences have made changes to their scheduling (or tournament format) in order to improve the chances of more of their member teams receiving NCAA bids (and better seeds to boot).
     For several years now, the BIG 10 has left the date undetermined (Saturday or Sunday) of some games on the final weekend of the regular season until the race develops in order to move the more attractive matchups for better TV exposure. This year, the BIG 10 has upped its regular season schedule from 18 to 20 games (7 double-ups plus 6 singletons).
     CONFERENCE USA has gone that one better: the final four games of the regular season race haven't even been determined (and won't be until February 16th) - - those will be scheduled according to the standings in groups [1-5; 6-10; 11-14] in order to boost the strength of schedule of the top five teams (and hopefully get more than one NCAA bid for the league). (I get it. Despite having won a first-round 32-Splash game FIVE TIMES IN SIX YEARS; they've haven't had multiple bids since 2012 [presumably because the bottom teams drag down the league overall] - - nakedly ambitious and also an unfair representation of your conference affiliation; fairer would be to cut back to 10 teams, go full home-and-away, and suffer the consequences of an honest evaluation. The Mega-ACC could have elevated the ratings of its top teams past the BIG 12 if it had followed the same scheme and cut the bottom-feeders from doubling-up on their schedules.)
     All the WEST COAST did was reduce its schedule from 18-game/full home-and-away to 16 games to let teams increase their strength of schedule with two more out-of-conference games higher than in-conference WCC opponents. On top of that, it restructured its tournament format so that (A) the top two teams only have to win two games to advance to the NCAAs while (B) the bottom four teams (in a 10-team league) have to win five games to advance -- UGH.
     The SUMMIT has initiated two head-to-head conference CHALLENGES this year: one with the WAC and one with the BIG SKY.

- - - - - -

A healthy number of veteran players return from last year's best teams: Kansas State returns all five starters from its Elite 8 team while Sweet 16 Nevada and Syracuse both have four starters returning. 32-Splash Tennessee returns all five starters as well. Meanwhile, the decimated rosters of Kansas, Duke and Kentucky have reloaded and then some.
     Last year was great for the SEC, but this year should be even better: five returning starters at Mississippi State and reloaded LSU look to be well in the mix with Tennessee's five starters, retooling Auburn and reloaded Kentucky. After coming through what were supposed to be challenging seasons last year, both reloaded Kansas(BIG 12) and fortified veteran Gonzaga(WEST COAST) should dominate start to finish this year. On paper, reloaded Duke seems like the favorite ahead of Scarlet Letter Virginia, veteran Syracuse and fortified North Carolina. Michigan State should have less resistance in repeating in the BIG 10 this year. The same goes for Nevada in the MOUNTAIN WEST. The PAC-12 is a huge question mark with five returning starters at Washington, reloaded Oregon and reloaded NCAA UCLA all looking better than decimated Arizona. The BIG EAST and AMERICAN both appear well down from last year with last year's headliner teams all having decimated rosters (with only Villanova[BIG E] seemingly having reloaded). Expect the ATLANTIC 10 to recede while CONFERENCE USA, the IVY LEAGUE (especially five returning starters at Harvard), MID-AMERICAN (with 32-Splash Buffalo back for more) and COLONIAL (five returning starters at Northeastern) all are on the rise. Look for South Dakota State to make it FOUR-STRAIGHT TOURNEY CROWNS (now that solid gMatt Mooney made the GT-jump from South Dakota to Texas Tech). (Bucknell's long-time dominance of the PATRIOT - - FOUR-STRAIGHT TITLES/two-straight TiTo crowns - - appears to be over this year.)
     Individually, returning star power isn't that deep: headliner xLuke Maye(North Carolina) and solid fGrant Williams(Tennessee) are the highest profile returnees from B-Major powerhouses; stars Graduate Transfer fReid Travis (Kentucky; ex-Stanford) and regular transfer cDedric Lawson (Kansas; ex-Memphis) are the top proven talents joining new teams; star bJon Elmore(Marshall) looks to repeat last year's 32-Splash campaign while superstar xMike Daum(South Dakota State) as well as stars bD'Marcus Simonds(Georgia State) and bGarrison Matthews(Lipscomb) all hope to improve on last year's NCAA cameos; star bShamorie Ponds(St. John's) and headliner fEthan Happ(Wisconsin) hope for NCAA success after shining on disappointing squads last season.
     While Duke (fR.J. Barrett, fZion Williamson, tCam Reddish, gTre Jones), Kansas (gQuentin Grimes, pDevon Dotson, fDavid McCormack), North Carolina (fNassir Little, gCoby White) and Kentucky (fKeldon Johnson, gAshton Hagans) all landed multiple one-and-done Golden Child players as usual, so did Oregon (7-2 cBol Bol [former NBA player Manute's son], fLouis King) and, most surprisingly, Vanderbilt (pDarius Garland, fSimisola Shittu). More intriguingly, two GCs landed outside B-Major-land: fJordan Brown(Nevada) and cCharles Bassey(Western Kentucky). It'll be hard for anyone besides cBassey to get the solo spotlight.

- - - - - -

Things get started right away (Tuesday) with the annual GC "Debutante Ball" that the CHAMPIONS CLASSIC (this year in Indianapolis) has become. John Calipari and eventually Mike Krzyzewski have perfected getting GC-led squads to a championship level. Bill Self has made his run with players growing into star leaders as veterans; it may not be instant success for him to mold a group of so much new talent this season. Mike Izzo may find more postseason success this season with a less star-focused roster. Even in All-Star mode, Kansas should have too much for Michigan State; Kentucky has some veterans that should help them have more structure this early in the season compared to all-GC Duke.
     Florida State should be able to separate from Florida at home (SUNSHINE, Tuesday). Buffalo can make itself the "It" 1BC team if it can follow last year's 32-Splash finish with a road win at retooling B-Major West Virginia (Friday). If Western Kentucky can steal a road win at B-Major Washington (Tuesday), look out; otherwise, the Hilltoppers may stay in a Mid-Major mentality all season. UNC-Greensboro has a similar opportunity visiting LSU (Friday).
     South Dakota State needs to beat Grand Canyon (WAC/SUMMIT, Tuesday) if it wants to get to Anti-Spoiler territory come March. The same goes for both teams when Montana hosts Georgia State (Friday). Host Harvard and guest Northeastern can set the tone for a big season with a city-rival win (Friday).
     Other traditional first-week clashes have less than usual appealing matchups. Look for Texas to handle Arkansas "at home" at Ft. Bliss in the ARMED FORCES CLASSIC (Friday). In this year's VETERANS CLASSIC double-header at Annapolis, only Maryland has a chance to have a promising season (while Wichita State, Providence and host Navy all appear to be going nowhere). The PAC-12 CHINA GAME (Friday in Shanghai) only offers California "hosting" Yale. The annual MID-AMERICAN/HORIZON double-header between the NEO schools (Akron, Cleveland State, Kent State, Youngstown State) is in Cleveland this year (CVC, Saturday).
     Most everything else all week is warm-up games for preseason tournaments. Last year, in the wake of the damage done by Hurricane Maria, the PARADISE JAM was relocated to Lynchburg,VA (Liberty) and the PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF was relocated to Myrtle Beach/Conway,SC (Coastal Carolina). This year, P-JAM has been able to return to St. Thomas, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS; but P-RICO has remained in Conway as the "new" MYRTLE BEACH INVITATIONAL.

This year, we're on the road to MINNEAPOLIS!!!

-- Ron
Key games this week:
Tuesday (ELECTION DAY):
@Buffalo-StFrancisPA, @Washington-WeKentucky, @Temple-LaSalle(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), @Hartford-CConnecticutSt(CT)(CT6), @Harvard-{MIT}(Boston/CambridgeMA), @NCA&T-UNCGreensboro(GreensboroNC),
INDIANAPOLIS-A CHAMPIONS CLASSIC DblHdr @ IndianapolisIN/BANKERS/
-(@Kansas-@MichiganSt, @Kentucky-@Duke),
SUNSHINE SHOWDOWN 1Off on-campus
-(@FloridaSt-Florida[FL]),
Tuesday-Sunday week:
HALL OF FAME-F-CT TIP-OFF 2x4 3rd/Semis @ UncasvilleCT/MOHEGAN/; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: Michigan, GeoWashington; HolyCross, StonyBrook;
   B: Providence, SCarolina; Siena, NorfolkSt),
(new)BAHAMAS-C JUNKANOO JAM RndRob3 @ BiminiBAHAMAS; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(SanJoseSt, CMichigan, CalStBakersfield, WeberSt),
Tuesday-Mon 19 Nov:
(new)CENTRAL NEW YORK CLASSIC RndRob3,WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Colgate, SUNY-B, NJIT, Cornell),
Tuesday-Tue 20 Nov:
NYC-B 2K EMPIRE CLASSIC 2x4 3rd/Semis @ NewYorkNY/MSG/; Cons 3rd/Semis @ CheneyWA/EaWashington/; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: Syracuse, Connecticut; MoreheadSt, MOKansasCity;
   B: Oregon, Iowa; @EaWashington, GreenBay),
BROOKLYN-B LEGENDS CLASSIC 2x4 3rd/Semis @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/; Cons 3rd/Semis @ DetroitMI/Detroit/; WarmUp2 on-campus
-(A: StJohns, California; BowlingGreen, Hampton;
   B: Temple, VCU; LoyolaMD, @Detroit),
CBE CLASSIC 2x4 3rd/Semis @ KansasCityMO/SPRINT/; WarmUp2,RndRob4 on-campus
-(A: TexasTech, USC; Stetson, RobertMorris;
   B: Nebraska, MissouriSt; SELouisiana, MSValleySt),
GOTHAM CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(@NotreDame, Duquesne, William&Mary, Radford, ILChicago),
Tuesday-Wed 21 Nov:
CAYMAN ISLANDS CLASSIC 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ GeorgeTownCAYMANISLANDS; Cons 3rd/Semis @ JohnsonCityTN/ETennesseeSt/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Main: Clemson-Akron, Georgia-IllinoisSt; Creighton-BoiseSt, StBonaventure-GeorgiaSt;
   Cons: @ETennesseeSt-ChicagoSt, SamHoustonSt-JacksonSt),
(new)VANCOUVER SHOWCASE RndRob3 @ VancouverCANADA; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Washington, TexasA&M, Minnesota, SantaClara, UCIrvine; Omaha, SavannahSt),
Tuesday-Fri 23 Nov:
BAHAMAS-A BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ ParadiseIslandBAHAMAS; Cons RndRob2 @ SpartanburgSC/Wofford/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Main: Virginia-MidTennessee, Butler-Dayton; Florida-Oklahoma, Wisconsin-Stanford;
   Cons: @Wofford, CharlestonSo, CoppinSt; MiamiFL, HoustonBaptist),
Tuesday-Sun 25 Nov:
[F/RAM] JOHN BACH CLASSIC RndRob3 @ NewYorkNY/Fordham/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(@Fordham, FLInternational, YoungstownSt, @Columbia),
Tuesday-Sat 1 Dec:
BROOKLYN-A NIT SEASON TIP-OFF 2x4 3rd/Semis @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/; RndRob2,4 on-campus
-(A: Tennessee, Louisville; Louisiana, Southern;
   B: Kansas, Marquette; Vermont, BethuneCookman),
Tuesday-Thu 20 Dec:
(new)WAC[0-0]/SUMMIT[0-0] CHALLENGE on-campus
-(Tue: @SDState-GrandCanyon, @NewMexicoSt-NDState;
   Tue week: @OralRoberts-{CalBaptist};
   Sat 1 Dec: @UTValley-Denver, @SDakota-CalStBakersfield, @PurdueFW-MOKansasCity;
   Wed 5 Dec: @TXRGValley-NDakota;
   Thu 6 Dec: @Seattle-Omaha;
   Thu 20 Dec: @WeIllinois-ChicagoSt),
Wednesday-Wed 21 Nov:
LAS VEGAS-C-MAIN EVENT 2x4 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/T-MOBILE/; Cons 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/COX/; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: MississippiSt, ArizonaSt; LongBeachSt, Iona; McNeese;
   B: UtahSt, StMarys; UTValley, Hartford),
CANCUN CHALLENGE 2x4 3rd/Semis @ CancunMEXICO; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: PennSt, WrightSt; JacksonvilleSt, WeCarolina;
   B: SMU, Bradley; SoMississippi, NFlorida),
BAHAMAS-B ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS SHOWCASE 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ NassauBAHAMAS; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Montana-IncarnateWord, MiamiOH-NDState; Pepperdine-Towson, FLAtlantic-GeorgiaSo),
GULF COAST SHOWCASE 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ EsteroFL; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Tulane-SDState, TXSanAntonio-UCIrvine; ColoradoSt-Louisiana, Toledo-@FLGulfCoast),
Thursday-Wed 21 Nov:
HAWAII-A MAUI INVITATIONAL 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ LahainaHI; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(Main: Gonzaga-Illinois, IowaSt-Arizona; Duke-SanDiegoSt, Auburn-Xavier;
   Evansville, UTEP, EaMichigan, TexasSo, {Chaminade}),
Friday:
@Clemson-NCCentral, @Auburn-Washington, @LSU-UNCGreensboro, Buffalo-@WVirginia, @Montana-GeorgiaSt, @BYU-UTValley(UT), @NewMexicoSt-UTEP, @Harvard-Northeastern(BostonMA),
ARMED FORCES CLASSIC 1Off @ ElPasoTX/FT.BLISS/
-(@Texas-Arkansas),
VETERANS CLASSIC DblHdr @ AnnapolisMD/Navy/
-(Providence-WichitaSt, @Navy-@Maryland[MD]),
PAC-12 CHINA GAME 1Off @ ShanghaiCHINA
-(@California-Yale),
Friday-Sunday:
HAWAII-C [H]RAINBOW CLASSIC RndRob3 @ HonoluluHI/Hawaii/
-(NTexas, Portland, @Hawaii, {HumboldtSt}),
Friday-Tue 20 Nov:
[NK]NORSE BASKETBALL CLASSIC RndRob3 @ HighlandHeightsKY/NoKentucky/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(CoCarolina, @NoKentucky, Manhattan, UNCAsheville),
Friday-Fri 23 Nov:
PARADISE JAM 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ LynchburgVA/Liberty/StThomasUSVI; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(KansasSt-EaKentucky, NoIowa-Penn;
Missouri-KennesawSt, OregonSt-OldDominion),
[M]TERRAPIN SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(Marshall, @Maryland, Hofstra, MtStMarys, NCA&T),
[GT/YELLOW JACKET] DEEP SOUTH SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(@GeorgiaTech, ECarolina, TXRGValley, Lamar, PrairieViewA&M),
ROUNDBALL/HARDWOOD SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Arkansas, Indiana, TXArlington, MontanaSt, UCDavis, TexasA&MCC),
[R/SCARLET KNIGHT] HUB CITY CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Rutgers, EaMichigan, BostonU, Drexel, FairleighDickinson),
Saturday:
@Lipscomb-TennesseeSt(NashvilleTN),
CVC-NEO MAC[2-0;1]/HORIZON[0-2;1] CLASSIC DblHdr @ ClevelandOH/Cleveland St/
-(@ClevelandSt-@KentSt[OH][NEO], @Akron-@YoungstownSt[OH][NEO]),
Saturday-Mon 21 Nov:
(new)BAHAMAS-D BIMINI JAM RndRob3 @ NorthBiminiBAHAMAS; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(AirForce, MDBaltimoreCo, SDakota, HighPt),
Saturday-Sat 24 Nov:
PUERTO RICO TIP-OFF(new)MYRTLE BEACH INVITATIONAL 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ ConwaySC; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(WeKentucky-Valparaiso[BG], WVirginia-Monmouth; WakeForest-StJosephs, UCF-CalStFullterton),
CHARLESTON[SC] CLASSIC 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ CharlestonSC; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(VirginiaTech-BallSt, Alabama-Northeastern; Purdue-AppalachianSt, WichitaSt-Davidson),
BROOKLYN-C-THANKSGIVING CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus; Feature @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(StLouis, Pittsburgh, Troy, CArkansas, {NAlabama}),
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC 2x4 3rd/Semis @ NicevilleFL; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: Baylor, Mississippi; WeMichigan, Southern;
   B: Cincinnati, GeoMason; Nicholls, NCCentral),
JAMAICA CLASSIC 2x4 3rd/Semis @ MontegoBayJAMAICA; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: Georgetown, LoyolaMarymount; AustinPeay, CConnecticutSt;
   B: SFlorida, OhioU; Campbell, FloridaA&M),
MABC-A [BY]COUGAR CUP RndRob4 on-campus
-(Houston, @BYU, Rice, NorthwesternSt, AlabamaA&M),
[P]PILOT CLASSIC RndRob3 @ PortlandOR/Portland/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(@Portland, TexasSt, CalPolySLO, SCUpstate),
Saturday-Wed 28 Nov:
LAS VEGAS-B-THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL 2x4 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/; RndRob2,4 on-campus
-(A: NCarolina, Texas; TennesseeSt, StFrancisPA, TheCitadel;
   B: MichiganSt, UCLA; LAMonroe, Presbyterian),
Saturday-Sat 1 Dec:
[NCS]WOLFPACK CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(@NCState, NTexas, Mercer, Maine, StPeters, EaShore),
Sunday-Wed 21 Nov:
[SA/JAGUAR] GOLDIE & HERMAN UNGAR CLASSIC RndRob3 @ MobileAL/SAlabama/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(SEMissouri, @SAlabama, Chattanooga, Jacksonville),
Sunday-Fri 23 Nov:
[K/WILDCAT] OHIO VALLEY HARDWOOD SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Kentucky, TennesseeSt, VMI, NDakota, Winthrop),
Sunday-Sat 24 Nov:
(new)FT. MYERS TIP-OFF 2x4 3rd/Semis @ FtMeyersFL; Cons 3rd/Semis @ NiagaraFallsNY/Niagara/; RndRob2 on-campus
-(A: LoyolaIL, Richmond; IUPUI, StFrancisNY;
   B: BostonCol, Wyoming; @Niagara, GramblingSt),
Sunday-Sun 25 Nov:
[OS]BUCKEYE CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(@OhioSt, Samford, PurdueFW, ClevelandSt, SCState),
- - - - - -
Monday week:
@NCarolina-Stanford, @Niagara-StBonaventure(NY)(BIG4),
CHARLES HELLENY TIP-OFF CLASSIC 1Off on-campus
-(@SoIllinois-Buffalo),
Monday week-Wed 21 Nov:
[B]BEAR TIP-OFF CLASSIC RndRob3 @ ProvidenceRI/Brown/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(ArmyWP, MALowell, @Brown, SacredHeart),
Monday week-Sun 25 Nov:
(new)BATTLE IN THE BLUE RIDGE RndRob3 @ AshevilleNC; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(EaIllinois, ArkansasSt, @UNCWilmington, @GardnerWebb),
MABC-B [O]GOLDEN GRIZZLY HOOPS CHALLENGE RndRob3 @ RochesterMI/Oakland/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(NoIllinois, OralRoberts, JamesMadison, @Oakland),
Monday week, Mon 26 Nov:
SOUTH TEXAS SHOWDOWN HomeAway on-campus
-(Mon week: @TexasA&MCC-TXRGValley[TX];
   Mon 26 Nov: @TXRGValley-TexasA&MCC),
Monday week, Sat-Tue 22-25 Dec:
HAWAII-B DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC 8Bracket 2nd/Qtrs @ HonoluluHI/Hawaii/; WarmUp1 on-campus
-(TCU-Charlotte, RhodeIsland-Bucknell; UNLV-@Hawaii, Colorado-IndianaSt).



Top 25 - 18 Nov 5: PRESEASON - [] Column
  1. Gonzaga
  2. Nevada
  3. Tennessee
  4. Kansas
  5. Kentucky
  6. Duke
  7. Kansas State
  8. Virginia
  9. Syracuse
  10. North Carolina
  11. Florida State
  12. Michigan State
  13. Loyola(Illinois)
  14. Clemson
  15. Auburn
  16. Mississippi State
  17. Louisiana State
  18. Oregon
  19. Buffalo
  20. Marshall
  21. Penn State
  22. TCU
  23. Washington
  24. St. John's
  25. Western Kentucky
Worth keeping an eye on:
Georgia State, Harvard, Lipscomb, Montana, Northern Colorado, North Texas, St. Francis(Pennsylvania), South Dakota State.