Here we are, opening weekend of the college hoops season.  There are some great games all over the country (and the world…).  Here are some highlights of the weekend.

Friday

Opening day of the college hoops season starts with a huge bang, as there are games all over the country (and the world).  There are three games on aircraft carriers, one in an aircraft hangar in Germany, and the college hoops debut in the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.  This is the best opening day in my memory.

• #9 Syracuse vs #20 San Diego St. – One of the few times in the preseason that the ‘Cuse steps out of the Carrier Dome, and it happens to be WAY out of the Carrier Dome, as it is on an aircraft carrier in the San Diego harbor.  This is the only game all weekend that pits two nationally ranked teams.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the event, but I hope the outdoor game doesn’t affect what could be a terrific opportunity to see what Steve Fisher’s got this year at SD State.
• Georgetown vs. #10 Florida – Another game on another aircraft carrier (again, AWESOME) – this time off the coast of Jacksonville, FL.  The elements may favor the more physical Hoyas, who rely less on perimeter shooting, but the Gators are the more talented team.  Should be a good one.
• Marquette vs. #4 Ohio St. – The third aircraft carrier game is in Charleston, SC, where the 4th-ranked Buckeyes open their season against the Golden Eagles of Marquette.
• Connecticut vs. #14 Michigan St. – The dawn of the Kevin Ollie Era in UConn happens in Germany – not on an aircraft carrier, but in an aircraft hangar – where the undersized Huskies will try and deal with the oversized Spartans.  A tough travel schedule for both, particularly the Spartans, who have a quick turnaround before a date with Kansas.
  
• #3 Kentucky vs. Maryland – This is neutral site game in Brooklyn, at the new Barclay’s Center.  I don’t expect it to be all that dramatic, as UK is supremely talented, but the first game of the year for Kentucky is always interesting because, well, it’s a whole new team.
  
• Miami (OH) at #6 N.C. State – It’s been a long time since there was this much hype surrounding an N.C. State team.  And, I have been calling for their breakout (incorrectly) for two years now.  But, finally, they have put that talent together with a really good coach.  Miami (OH) doesn’t pose all that much of a threat in Raleigh, but it’s nice to see the ‘Pack back in ACC contention again.
  
• Indiana State at #13 UCLA – There is a lot of promise in Southern Cal this year, as Ben Howland has the #1 recruiting class in the country, and maybe the most highly-touted class he has ever recruited (and this is a guy who took the Bruins to three straight Final Fours).  Indiana State is a decent team in the great Missouri Valley, but the story here is (a) which of these elite freshmen will actually play, and (b) will they all mesh right away?
• North Texas at #16 Creighton – The Blue Jays of Creighton enter the season with Sweet 16 (at worst) expectations, led by their incredible superstar, Doug McDermott.  But, get this.  McDermott might not be the best player on the floor on Friday night.  North Texas has a guy named Tony Mitchell, who was projected to be a mid-first round pick in the NBA draft if he had left North Texas last year, after his freshman year.  That’s right, a Sun Belt team has a sophomore who will probably be a lottery pick in the next NBA draft.
   
• Lehigh at Baylor – If you’re ever read anything on this site, you probably know my love affair with C.J. McCollum since his monstrous freshman year at Lehigh.  Well, he is now a senior, and it’s time to shine.  Picked by some as a preseason 1st-team All-American, McCollum leads his Mountain Hawks into Waco, to take on an interesting Baylor squad.  This might be the most interesting game played on dry American soil all weekend.
  
• “The Battle of the Boulevard” – Belmont at Lipscomb – Belmont left the Atlantic Sun this year for the Ohio Valley, but they will never leave one of the most underrated rivalries in any sport.  These two teams – walking distance apart in downtown Nashville – have a heated, heated rivalry.  Previously, they were conference games, so they would happen in the middle of the season – it should be really interesting to see it kick off the season for each team.
• Virginia at George Mason – Just a quick, early measuring stick to see where each of these programs are this year.  UVa lost a lot off of last year’s team, while George Mason continues to recruit really talented, under-the-radar kids.  And, the Patriot Center has become a pretty tough place for anyone to win these days.
• South Dakota State at Alabama – The Nate Wolters Legend should continue to grow here in his final collegiate season.  He actually should be the best player on the floor at Alabama when they tipoff on Friday, and he has a supporting cast of Jackrabbits good enough to potentially pull off an upset of a pretty good (albeit overlooked) Alabama team this year.  This should be one of the better under-the-radar games of the weekend.
• Drexel at Kent State – Drexel is loaded this year, and they are hoping it will finally end with a trip to the Dance.  It all starts with a trip to Kent State, where the Golden Flashes are always tough, with this year being no different.
• Bucknell at Purdue – Watch out for the Bison this year.  This Bucknell team is a bit overlooked in the Patriot League because of all the hype surrounding Lehigh, but Bucknell returns 4 starters from a 25-win team a year ago (three of who started for a 25-win team two years ago).  Purdue is in a bit of a transition year, so they could be pretty ripe for an upset here if they take the Bison at all lightly.
• Tulane at Georgia Tech – Tulane was poised to prove all the naysayers wrong last year, until they were hit by a slew of injuries that derailed their surprise season.  This year, the expectations are a little higher, so it should be interesting to see if they can make a splash in their season opener against a down Tech team.
• Morehead State at Long Island – My 2013 irrational love affair begins in Brooklyn against Morehead State.  I am all-in on the LIU Blackbirds this year, led by an amazing frontcourt of Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasawere and a gritty backcourt of Jason Brickman and C.J. Garner.  Morehead is in a bit of a rebuilding period after losing Kenneth Faried to the NBA two years ago, but they are still no pushovers.
• Robert Morris at Rider – The one team that might derail the Blackbirds this year in the NEC is the highly-touted Robert Morris team.  It should be interesting to see if LIU can hold serve at home and then to see if RMC can go on the road and beat a decent MAAC team.
• USC-Upstate at Saint Louis – The best team in the brief D-I history of USC-Upstate is the first opponent for a Frank Martin-led Gamecock squad.  I am interested in both of these teams, as Upstate is a real contender in the A-Sun, and St. Louis is the preseason favorite in the 16-team A-10 this year.  The Billikens have the talent to be one of the better teams nationwide this year.
• Montana at Colorado State – Tim Miles bolted for Nebraska in the offseason, after doing a simply masterful job at Colorado State.  But, the Rams made a big splash in replacing him by hiring Larry Eustachy away from Southern Miss.  And, Miles left a boatload of talent for the former Iowa State head man, who was named the 2000 AP National Coach of the Year before leaving the Cyclones in personal scandal.  But, Eustachy’s first test is a tough one, as a really good Montana team comes calling with one of the nation’s most underrated backcourts in Will Cherry and Kareem Jamar.
• Oral Roberts at UTEP – Oral Roberts switched conferences this year, but brings with them a long history of mid-major success.  They open their season against an interesting team at UTEP.  They could be really good or they could do what they did last year and, essentially, go through the motions of mediocrity.
• Northern Illinois at Nebraska-Omaha – NIU is one of D-I’s worst teams, but the reason I highlighted this game is because it is the D-I debut of Nebraska-Omaha.  And, at home, against a really bad team, they might actually start their D-I career 1-0.

Saturday

Because of the craziness of Friday (and still being in the heart of college football season), Saturday is a bit of a light slate, but there are still some games worth paying attention to.

• SIU-Edwardsville at #15 Missouri – The Tigers lost a ton from last year’s incredible team, but they also added a TON of experienced talent back to join the great Flip Pressey.  It should be interesting to see how they all gel together on this team.  Nothing should really be learned in this game, as they should roll a bad OVC team, but it’s worth taking a note of the rotations employed by Frank Haith and the effectiveness of guys like Alex Oriakhi (UConn transfer) and Lawrence Bowers (coming off an ACL tear).
• Evansville at #22 Notre Dame – There is a lot of hype coming out of South Bend these days, and it’s only mostly because of the football team’s renaissance.  The basketball team should be really good, too.  However, if Mike Brey and company aren’t careful, they could get nipped in their first game, as the Purple Aces of Evansville are not to be overlooked.  In fact, they have a dynamic superstar guard named Colt Ryan, who might be the best player on the floor in this game.
• Central Florida at South Florida – How can USF follow-up an amazing season which saw them win two NCAA tournament games?  I guess a Sweet 16 is the only way to top it (or maybe a Big East title?).  They open their season with a mitigated excitement about this team.  They expected to have 4 of their 5 starters back, but they thought that they would have Marcus Jordan and not Keith Clanton.  Instead, Jordan gave up his final year on the team, while Clanton returned.  While Clanton doesn’t have the “Jordan” name, I think they are better off this way, though there will always be the thoughts of “what could have been.”
• Princeton at Buffalo – Princeton is supposed to take back the Ivy League this year, mostly on the strength (actually, size) of their frontline.  They have four guys at 6’10” or bigger, including a pair of 7-footers.  They open with a Buffalo team that really believes this might be their year to break through in the MAC, despite the immense talent at schools like Ohio and Akron.

Sunday

Sunday is a little more interesting than Saturday, with a couple of the nation’s best tipping off against some solid mid-majors.

• Manhattan at #2 Louisville – It is the ole “teacher vs. student” battle here in Louisville to open the season for each of these teams.  Manhattan, who saw a very quick rejuvenation thanks to Pitino-disciple, Steve Masiello, last year has all 5 starters back and should make a serious run at the MAAC title.  Louisville is obviously on the short list of national title favorites, so a home game against the Jaspers shouldn’t bother them, but they’d better be careful because this team can play.
• Florida-Atlantic at #11 North Carolina – The exodus of talent from last year’s UNC roster was devastating, but they do have a load of talent still there and more coming in.  Two freshman, Marcus Paige and Joel James, are slated to start at PG and C, respectively, for the Tar Heels, so they will open their careers here at the Dean Dome against an FAU team that is decent, for Sun Belt standards, but shouldn’t pose much of a threat to the Heels, no matter how quickly the freshmen develop.
• Charleston-Southern at #12 Arizona – Another team with a massive influx of talent this year is the Arizona Wildcats.  They added senior point guard Mark Lyons (Xavier transfer) and a stable of monster freshmen bigs, led by Kaleb Tarczewski, the 7’0″ center, who was ranked as the #4 recruit in the country.  Charleston-Southern has one of the best teams in their program’s history, so they shouldn’t be overlooked, but on the road at UA might be too tall of a test, despite the ‘Cats massive turnover.
• Marshall at Villanova – We could find out really quickly just how good (or bad) Jay Wright’s Wildcats are going to be this year.  I still can’t understand why Malik Wayns and, especially, Dominic Cheek decided to forgo their senior seasons for pro ball, but it certainly transitions this ‘Nova team from the typical Villanova style of reliance on the backcourt to more of a frontcourt-dominated team.  I really like Mouphtaou Yarou (and not because I spent two years just miles outside of the African village in which he hails) and James Bell, Maurice Sutton, and JayVaugh Pinkston are all decent frontcourt players.  This team will be interested and will be tested right off the bat by a very talented Marshall team that is trying to erase the underachievement of last year.
• Milwaukee at South Carolina – The Frank Martin Era begins here against UW-Milwaukee.  He brings in a rather slender roster, by SEC standards, but we all know that the guy can flat-out coach.  Milwaukee is decent – as we have come to expect from this solid Horizon League program – and should at least show us a little of what Martin has to work with in Columbia.
• Loyola (MD) at Washington – UW rarely loses at home, particularly to non-conference teams.  And, they almost never lose to mid-major non-conference opponents that have to travel 3,000 miles to get there.  But, if it is going to happen, it might happen here because the Greyhounds of Loyola are the favorites to repeat as MAAC champions, as they return their top three scorers, and are not the type to be intimidated.  This should be the classic constrast in styles, as UW likes to get out and run, while Loyola loves a slow, plodding pace.