Big Ten

Illinois

Michigan

Michigan St

Ohio St

Purdue

Wisconsin

Other (Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn St)

Thursday's schedule is highlighted by three in-season tournaments, with action in Charleston, New York City and San Juan. The 2K Sports Classic Benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals will be played at Madison Square Garden with Texas A&M playing Mississippi State in the opener and St. John's and Arizona doing battle in the nightcap. The second game jumps out not only because of the fact that it will be a home game for the Red Storm but also due to the roles that newcomers play on both teams.

Much has been made of Long Beach State playing five non-conference opponents who were ranked in the Top 15 of the major preseason polls. Many wondered how Dan Monson's team would navigate such a slate in spite of the fact that this experienced group went through a similar schedule last season. If Wednesday night showed anything about the 49ers it's that they're ready for the challenge, as they handed Pittsburgh its' first loss in November or December at the Petersen Events Center in the history of the arena.

After wins over Belmont and Presbyterian moved Mike Krzyzewski into a tie with Bob Knight for the most wins in college basketball history, many at Madison Square Garden were hoping that the Duke head coach would become the record-holder with a win over Michigan State on Tuesday night. But while some went as far as to almost assume the game to be a coronation of sorts, Tom Izzo's Spartans refused to back down.

While there's the opportunity to watch history at Madison Square Garden as Mike Krzyzewski could win his 903rd game as a head coach, there's also a matchup of Top 10 teams that should have the attention of many. Florida visits Ohio State in a matchup of teams who met in the 24 Hour Tip-Off Marathon last season, with Buckeye big man Jared Sullinger proving to be a man among boys in the paint. The rematch will be played in Columbus, with the Gators looking to return the favor. Sullinger's in better shape than last season, which will allow him to do more all over the court.

As part of our 5-Year Ranking series, here's how the Big Ten teams stack up according to conference wins. The makeup of the Big Ten is quite different from most of the other power-conferences. The also-rans in the Big Ten have fared much better than other league also-rans, while the middle teams are much more mediocre. With one or two surprises, the final league standings will probably look pretty similar to the 5-year standings.

In all honesty it shouldn't come as a surprise that UCLA struggled with an in-state non-conference opponent, the very teams that most in the fan base expect the Bruins to simply roll over regardless of their level of interest. But in recent seasons it's become more of an issue as the Bruins haven't been talented enough to simply flip the switch, and there was another hard lesson to learn in the LA Sports Arena. The preseason pick to win the Pac-12 shot 40.7% from the field and made just two of fifteen from beyond the arc in a 69-58 loss to Loyola Marymount.

Friday marks the first big day of the college basketball season with more than 100 games on the schedule. Sure most of the games look to be of the "opening sacrifice" variety, but a closer look reveals some intriguing matchups. It only makes sense to begin with the game that needs little introduction, the Carrier Classic game matching preseason national title favorite North Carolina and Michigan State. The game will be played on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego, which will likely cue a few "I'm on a boat" jokes. 

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?

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)