Thanksgiving and football. It's safe to say that the Cowboys and Lions are giving turkeys and pilgrims a run for their money when it comes to the identity of Thanksgiving.
While there is nothing better to do on Thanksgiving than watch football, it isn't the most exciting sporting event of the weekend.
Thanksgiving weekend also marks the unofficial start to five months of college basketball. It gives us the first opportunity to see how good teams actually are:
Jayhawkin'
It was no Texas Western-Kentucky upset, but don't ask me how Oral Roberts beat Kansas two weeks ago. But the more important Jayhawks game took place Saturday night when Kansas downed then-No. 1 Florida and proved this team is for real.
I had the Jayhawks as my top team in the preseason, and it wouldn't surprise me if Kansas is a consensus No. 1 team by Christmas.
Sophomore Julian Wright is the best player on that team, but don't tell that to Brandon Rush, who is supposed to be the go-to guy. The competition between the two will only make Kansas a more complete team. And if freshman Darrell Arthur looked good against the defending champions Saturday night, it's scary to imagine what this guy can do in the Big 12.
Dominating James
Before Kansas upset Florida Saturday night, I could not shut up about No. 8 Marquette's upset of Duke on Nov. 21—if you want to call it an upset. The Golden Eagles are right up there with the Jayhawks when it comes to the most exciting teams to watch. Sophomore guards Dominic James and Jerel McNeal can drive, shoot and apparently dunk (see James' dunk off of an alley-oop in traffic Nov. 20 against Texas Tech).
And if you want more, they even play defense, as they held Coach K's Blue Devils to 62 points. UW head coach Bo Ryan is going to have his hands full when drawing up a game plan to beat Marquette Dec. 9.
A constructive loss
Speaking of the Badgers, don't be too worried about their loss over the weekend. Missouri State is a very good mid-major team, and Ryan's squad wasn't quite a top-10 team yet. There is no doubt that if the team gels together and gets some consistency, the Badgers can win the Big Ten. But right now the coaching staff is still figuring out the roles of junior Greg Stiemsma and sophomore Marcus Landry after returning to the team.
With games against No. 8 Marquette and No. 2 Pittsburgh coming up, the Badgers are going to have plenty of opportunities to find out who they are before the Big Ten season comes around.
Overrated?
When I saw No. 1 Ohio State ranked in the top five in the preseason and picked to win the Big Ten, I winced. With top recruit Greg Oden not set to play until January, I couldn't see how they could possibly be one of the top five teams in the nation. Well, right now freshmen Daequan Cook and Mike Conley are doing their best to prove the doubters wrong and are showing that the Buckeyes' freshman class is better than North Carolina's (although tonight's matchup between the two teams will decide that). If Ohio State is indeed the No. 1 team in the nation right now without Oden, the Badgers could be fighting an uphill battle come January.
Underrated?
Gonzaga is a premiere basketball program with a head coach in Mark Few that has the best winning percentage in college basketball—so why doubt the Zags? Sophomore forward Josh Heytvelt is a much better player than J.P. Batista ever was for the Bulldogs and while senior Derek Raivio has never really lived up to the hype, he's a good complement to sophomore Jeremy Pargo in the backcourt. So how do they get over the loss of Adam Morrison to the NBA? Check out freshman Matt Bouldin, who has the jump shot and shaggy hair to fill in for the departed Morrison. They upset then-No. 2 North Carolina before falling to Butler in the NIT championship, but this team will be better than most think.
Cinderella
So it's November, but as I just mentioned, Butler beat Gonzaga to win the Preseason NIT and they beat Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga while doing it. Somehow they only received a No. 17 ranking after surging to their 7-0 start but that is probably because they followed their NIT victory with a mediocre 83-80 win over Kent State. If I had a guess, Butler is a mid-major built for giant-killing tournament victories. They probably will fall out of the top 25 within a few weeks, but look for them to re-emerge in March as a legitimate Cinderella. How they were picked to finish sixth in a weak Horizon League blows my mind.
To discuss Butler's chances of busting brackets in March, e-mail Adam at hoge@dailycardinal.com.
