Big East

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have some impressive offensive performers that Washington State likely made themselves very aware of in preparation for their game at midnight. Elias Harris and Robert Sacre are formidable frontcourt players while Marquise Carter is a jet-quick point guard who is more than willing to attack defenses. But if the Cougars had a plan for how to slow down freshman guard Kevin Pangos it sure didn't look like it.

As part of our 5-Year Ranking series, here's how the Big East teams stack up according to conference wins. There's a huge gap between the upper half of the Big East and the bottom 7 teams, but both Cincinnati and St. John's seem like they'll be closing ground over the next few years.

First Tier
 

While much of the college sports world was captivated by the goings on in State College, PA, four college basketball games were being played. And one of the four teams expected to win fell at the hands of the defending MAC Tournament champs, but in hindsight it wasn't much of an "upset". Behind 19 points from Quincy Diggs the Zips beat Mississippi State 68-58 at The Hump. Simply put, Keith Dambrot's team outworked and outplayed the Bulldogs, who weren't as effective as they were on Monday night and it cost them.

Tonight brings the second day of college basketball games that count with the four host teams in the 2K Sports Classic Benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer on the floor. Arizona, Mississippi State and St. John's all played games on Monday night, and tonight marks the beginning of the season for the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies are expected by many to contend in the Big 12, but things haven't gone as smoothly as anyone connected to the program would have hoped.

The college basketball season finally got underway on Monday night with three games featuring squads that will be in New York next week for the 2K Sports Classic Benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. All three favorites, Arizona, Mississippi State and St. John's, won but predictably there were signs of rust. That comes with the territory, but what are some of the things that can be learned from these games? Here are a few basic observations for each of the six teams in action.

One question that seems to float around college basketball on an annual basis is the "how will they replace..." inquiry. That could apply to just about any player, from a key sub to a starter to a conference player of the year honoree. But the danger of using the word "replace" is that sometimes the departed players is too difficult to account for by simply plugging someone else into their role.

We've finally reached the last question in this five-part series, where some college basketball writers took time to answer who their pick to win the national title is. There was one caveat, however: the pick had to come from outside of the top four that is North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio State and UConn. That led to some interesting choices, so enjoy.

Question: Outside of the generally accepted top four (UNC/UK/Ohio State/UConn) who do you think can win the national title?

With the beginning of games that will count towards win/loss records on the horizon (first games are Monday), these final days before the start of the college basketball season seem to be a good time to discuss some of the off-season's hot topics. With that in mind I caught up with some bloggers and writers to see what their thoughts are on topics such as conference realignment, the new rules regarding recruiting and the scholarship model, and some preseason picks as well.

In the most recent installment in his "Forgotten Legends" interview series, CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with Rutgers great Roy Hinson. During his time at Rutgers Hinson eventually became one of the school's best scorers and shot blockers before moving on to play eight seasons in the NBA.

1982 Postseason NIT

Jon Teitel: You had a four-point win over Iona thanks to a 19-2 run to start the second half. What did Coach Tom Young tell you at halftime, and was the game pretty much over after that great run?

In the latest installment in our 2011-12 preview series, CHN writer Jon Teitel took some time selecting his preseason all-conference selections for 31 conferences as well as the Independents. Below are the picks, which should be interesting to look back on come March.

America East
G: Darryl Partin (Boston University)
G: Chris De La Rosa (UMBC)
G: Gerald McLemore (Maine)
F: Ferg Myrick (New Hampshire)
F: Brian Voelkel (Vermont)
 
Atlantic 10
G: Tu Holloway (Xavier)
G: Ramone Moore (Temple)