Shot-blocker Nerlens Noel and his flat-top will debut for Kentucky on Friday night
Note: As promised, we’re hitting college hoops hard right out of the gate. This post overlaps with Bry’s last post, but puts a focus on some of the games that will be aired on basic cable Friday night.
The majority of D-1 basketball teams will kick off their season on Friday evening. If you’re smart, you’ll get home from work, park yourself on the couch, and start off your college hoops season with Michigan St. vs. UConn at 5:30. Here’s your Opening Night Viewers guide:
5:30 PM- Michigan St. vs. UConn (ESPN): Two strange things about the first game of the 2012-13 season: Jim Calhoun will not be the UConn coach, and the game is being played on an Air Force base in Germany. It’s a year of massive transition for the Huskies, with Kevin Ollie taking over as coach and a lot of players gone from last year’s team, partly because the team has been banned from postseason play this year. For the Spartans, meanwhile, it’s business as usual, with Tom Izzo at the helm and big expectations. Stud freshman Gary Harris joins a veteran nucleus of Keith Appling, Adreian Payne, and Derrick Nix.
7:00 PM- Marquette vs. Ohio St. (NBC Sports Network): If the Spartans are beating UConn like the Huskies are Nazis on D-Day (German Air Force Base reference, get it?), be sure to find the new NBC Sports Network on your dial for this matchup of two solid Midwest programs. The Vs. Channel is now NBC Sports, and I was delighted to discover that a) I get the channel and b) they’ll be showing college hoops. Marquette’s Buzz Williams is probably one of the underrated coaches in the game, and he’ll have to replace two stars this year, in Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom. Meanwhile, Thad Matta’s Buckeyes are replacing two stars of their own, but they do have 1st-Team All-American Deshaun Thomas and excellent PG Aaron Craft.
During commercials of Marquette/OSU– Duke vs. Georgia St. (ESPNU): We all know there will be more than enough chances to see the Dukies this year (especially for those of us that happen to live a mile from campus), but during timeouts in other games, may as well flip over and see how the trio of Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, and Mason Plumlee start off their senior seasons against a cupcake Georgia St. team.
8:30 PM- Kentucky vs. Maryland (ESPN): Under John Calipari, it’s always must-see TV when Kentucky kicks off their season and rolls out the new toys for all to see. I will always remember seeing John Wall and Anthony Davis play their first collegiate games. Will one of this year’s touted players join them? I will say that I already saw Nerlens Noel play in a high school game last year, and he’s the leading candidate to have a memorable start in this one. Year 2 of the Mark Turgeon era at Maryland probably won’t get the pulse rate going much, but he’s a solid coach and will have his team ready to compete.
9:00 PM- Florida vs. Georgetown (NBC Sports): Florida has hopes of unseating Kentucky for SEC supremacy this year, with an experienced and talented roster led by Kenny Boynton and Patric Young. Georgetown lost three key players from last year’s solid team, but John Thompson III has the program rolling along pretty well now, and there shouldn’t be too much of a drop-off. Many are predicting a breakout season from sophomore small forward Otto Porter.
Sleeper game during commercials of above two- South Dakota St. vs. Alabama (ESPNU): Two teams that appear in the top ten of Bry’s Forgotten 40 list that he posted a few days ago. Don’t be shocked if the Jackrabbits of SDSU are able to knock off this SEC foe. They have one of the top guards in the country, Nate Wolters, who is capable of going off for a big scoring day (he dropped 34 at Washington last year) while also filling the stat sheet in other ways. Bama has big losses from the team that ended their tourney drought last year, but they have a freshman to watch in Devonta Pollard.
