Between Midnight Madness, the preseason poll and the first official practice, one could argue a few different dates signify the start of the college hoops season. However, this Friday the actual, count-toward-your-record games begin.
One hundred and twenty-five games are scheduled, including a Michigan State-Connecticut showdown in Germany, a Kentucky-Maryland clash at Jay-Z’s new Brooklyn Barclay’s Center, and intriguing matchups in Marquette-Ohio State and Florida—Georgetown. Those are the headliners, all of which will tip off sometime Friday evening.
However, the season will officially start at 12 a.m. when Maryland-Eastern Shore and Hawaii face off in the always-riveting Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic. I definitely don’t have plans to take a two-hour catnap Thursday night around 9 p.m., wake up at 11:30 p.m., buy Chipotle and watch that midnight tip.
Excited as I am that college basketball is here, even I can’t pretend Friday’s games will have much of an impact on the season (if any at all). After all, the college hoops season ultimately comes down to a glorious three-week stretch in March, and plenty of people won’t pay attention until then. Nonetheless, please allow me to try to convince you why you should tune in tomorrow and stay engaged until March Madness.
We’re just a couple weeks away from the early-season tournaments, most notably the Maui Invitational and NIT Season Tip-Off. These bracket-style events have proved to do more in recent years than tease us with the March Madness feel.
Each of the last four national champions has won some kind of early-season tournament or invitational. Yeah, I know Kentucky’s Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament championship last season comprised victories over lowly Penn State and Old Dominion. But it strengthens my point, so we’re just going to roll with it.
Two seasons ago an unranked Connecticut team won two games against top-10 opponents to claim the Maui Invitational. The momentum from Maui propelled the Huskies into the national-title-contender conversation, and they won 11 straight games in March en route to a national championship.
The previous season, Duke won two games at New York’s Madison Square Garden to claim the NIT Season Tip-Off. In spite of the expectations that came with the Blue Devils’ top-10 ranking, Duke delivered at MSG.
Whether a team comes out of nowhere like Connecticut or is a favorite like Duke, it can gain valuable tournament experience in these late November events, and in recent years the results have given us an idea of which teams may have success in the 68-team bracket.
As much as I look forward to the early-season tournaments, however, I don’t think there’s a more intriguing storyline this season than what’s going on at Kentucky, where John Calipari will roll out a slew of freshmen in his attempt to win back-to-back national championships in Lexington.
Calipari’s one-and-done approach fell short his first two seasons at Kentucky, with the Wildcats losing in the Elite Eight and Final Four. Last season, however, Calipari’s 18- and 19-year-olds lost just two games during their national championship run.
Imagine you’re a top high school recruit, a potential one-and-done player. Calipari walks into your living room and asks you if you’d like to come to Kentucky for one season—where you’ll be treated like a god—to contend for a national title before leaving to make millions of dollars in the NBA. What more could you possibly want?
If Kentucky repeats this season, the rotation composed mostly of one-and-done players may become a trend in college basketball. In other words, we could be watching a college hoops transition.
Every March, college basketball brings us the best postseason in sports. Tune in from Friday until then. Trust me: The regular season is worth your time.
Will you pay attention to the college basketball regular season? Do you think Kentucky will repeat as national champions? Email Vince at sports@dailycardinal.com to let him know what you think.
