Friday Look Ahead: Hey, did you hear college hoops is back?
The college basketball season is four days old.
Here's what we know so far:
• Manny Harris isn't going to have a sophomore slump. The 6-foot-5 guard is averaging 28 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists through two games, and he'll solidify himself as a national star if he can keep those averages intact and help Michigan upset UCLA next week in New York.
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| Two games in, and Michigan's Manny Harris is already in fine form. (AP) |
• The beginning of the college basketball season is ho-hum. Though things started this past Monday, we won't get our first nice matchup until next Tuesday when Davidson (presumably) meets Oklahoma and Kentucky visits North Carolina. That's lame, I think, because there really should be some sort of high-profile matchup to start the season and make the nation aware that, you know, the season is starting.
Either way, what can you do?
It's still time for the Friday Look Ahead.
Game worth flying to see in person: There isn't one, really. No great games this weekend. So I'll just start with the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, North Carolina, and mention that the Tar Heels will open Saturday against Pennsylvania. Will Tyler Hansbrough play? It's "extremely doubtful," in case you hadn't heard. But Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green will be in uniform, and that's going to make it tough for Pennsylvania.
Game worth driving to see in person: Sharpshooting Jimmy Baron will be on display Sunday when Rhode Island travels to Duke and tries to pull an upset in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Note to the Cameron Crazies: Baron has made 42.0 percent of his 3-point attempts through three years of college. To date, that's better than the career percentage of J.J. Redick, who shot 40.6 percent from behind the arc while at Duke. I just thought that was kind of interesting.
Game worth watching on TV: How will Kansas look without Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush, Mario Chalmers, Darnell Jackson, Russell Robinson and Sasha Kaun? Answer: Very, very different. And if you want to see just how different, you should turn to ESPNU on Sunday night and watch the Jayhawks open against UMKC.
Some non-BCS love: Perhaps the most compelling weekend game is San Diego at UNLV. What we have there is an NCAA tournament team returning all five starters (though it should be noted Gyno Pomare is suspended) visiting the projected Mountain West champions, led by Wink Adams. So while the game won't distract football fans Saturday, it is a game where somebody will notch a résumé-enhancing victory that should help come Selection Sunday.
An obvious prediction: The best Gonzaga team in the history of all Gonzaga teams (at least according to me) will open Saturday against Montana State-Billings. "The sky's the limit for us," sophomore Steven Gray told the Seattle Times. "If we put in our time and keep focused, there's no reason we can't be playing at the end of March or early April." I agree. And Montana State-Billings will also agree after a loss Saturday night.
A crazy prediction (but it might happen anyway): UC-Irvine was picked sixth in the Big West, which means the Anteaters should have no chance at Southern California. I mean, they're Anteaters, not Trojaneaters (does "Trojaneaters" sound dirty?). But lest we forget what happened to USC in last season's opener, when O.J. Mayo took 27 shots, made just 12 and contributed to a 96-81 loss to Mercer. To be clear, I do not think USC will lose to UC-Irvine, because DeMar DeRozan isn't going to miss 15 shots Saturday. But it would be crazy if the Trojans stumbled again, wouldn't it?
Player trying to keep rolling: Reigning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody had double-doubles in both Notre Dame exhibitions, which suggests he has no intentions of slowing down. The Irish open with USC Upstate on Sunday, and Harangody should provide the type of performance that Notre Dame football fans need to get their minds off another what-happened-to-our-program season.
Player trying to get rolling: Eddie Rios is expected to play a huge role in helping Miami compete near the top of the ACC, and I suspect he'll do exactly that. Still, it was hard not to notice the sophomore had nine turnovers in two exhibitions and missed five of six shots in the Hurricanes' final tune-up for Saturday's opener against Florida Southern. Simply put, Rios must be better and soon, because Miami has possible games against Connecticut and Wisconsin in the next 10 days.
Three things you should know before you go
1. Dan Monson will be back in Big Ten country Saturday when Long Beach State visits Wisconsin. Monson, of course, coached Minnesota for eight seasons.
2. Willie Kemp and Antonio Anderson are expected to be two of the starting guards when Memphis opens against Fairfield on Saturday. But don't be surprised if Anderson gets major minutes as the lead guard, because at this point Kemp seems more comfortable playing mostly off the ball.
3. Michigan State scored 118 and 112 points in a pair of exhibitions. Not sure what that means exactly, but it's pretty impressive regardless of the competition heading into Sunday's opener against Idaho.
Final thought: Want my idea on what would make a great way to start the season?
(If not, too bad. This is my column, after all.)
What I would do is figure out a way to lock in the reigning national champions against a projected top-five team each year to start the season -- something like a game between Kansas vs. Pittsburgh this season. I'd do it on the second Tuesday of November, put it on national television and promote the hell out of it.
It would be great, and the only hold-up would be actually scheduling the game, though I'm certain that if it was packaged correctly pretty much anybody would be interested in putting their program on such a high-profile stage to start the season.
Sound OK?
Good.
Now let's work on making it happen.
Or do you want Houston-Georgia Southern again next year?
