Football gets going in earnest, on the college side, this week/weekend. The NFL’s start is merely eight days away.
So, now is quite clearly an optimal time for some optimism on college hoops, yeah? What we have here, in fact, is a calendar-induced piece of content. Wednesday marks 68 days until the start of the 2022-23 season. We’re more than 75% of the way through the offseason. Woohoo!
Can we rev up our engines of anticipation just a little? I think it’s time. Preview season is almost here, so consider this an inception to 2022-23. School is back in session, summer’s effectively over. It’s time to look ahead with a happy hoops hodgepodge of facts, predictions, things to know and what to be excited about for a season that will be here before you know it.
1. If you did the math and think a mistake was made re: 68 days until season-openers, alas, no. The ’22-23 season will indeed begin on Nov. 7 — a Monday. The reason: it’s the day before Election Day, and so there are no games being played on Tuesday, Nov. 8. It’s an uncommon occurrence. And unfortunately, it will make for an underwhelming opening.
2. The best game of the opening night of the season? Murray State at Saint Louis, I guess? Memphis is also playing at Vanderbilt. Uh, hey there, Oral Roberts-Saint Mary’s. It’s not ideal.
3. If you’re wondering why the Champions Classic isn’t slotted on opening night like usual, again, check the calendar. Monday night in November = Monday Night Football on ESPN. College basketball has no place in that house, let alone at that table. The Champions Classic will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 15, and as always features Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State.
4. Meantime, the projected top team in the sport won’t have a high-profile game until the Friday after Thanksgiving. That team: North Carolina. Don’t take it from me (I’m not convinced of that yet), take it from the coaches. They just voted the Tar Heels as the best team in our Candid Coaches series. If UNC winds up as preseason AP No. 1 it will mark the first time since 2016 that North Carolina has started a season No. 1 and the 10th time overall that Carolina’s landed preseason top billing. That would break a tie with – of course – Duke (nine apiece). More trivia for you. The last time UNC wasn’t ranked in the preseason: 2006.
5. If UNC isn’t the best team, then is it Gonzaga? The Bulldogs sit atop the CBS…
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