Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Hawaiian shirts, big games and tropical drinks with tiny umbrellas: It's the Maui Invitational!
Been having a hard time getting into the young college basketball season; with so much important football being played, the only hardwood we're interested in is that in our right hand. (Zing! Hey-o! Yahtzee!)
But, jeez, gonna be some pretty good games today in Maui. We're in the semis of the tournament and No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Notre Dame tipoff at 4 p.m. Pacific while top-ranked UNC and Oregon will play in the nightcap.
We're not sure why non-conference college basketball doesn't get the same love as non-conference college football. Probably has to do with a lot of other sports going on right now (CFB, NFL, NBA action) while those big non-conference college football showdowns happen in the slower part of the year.
But a main reason, too, is that a loss ain't so bad in college hoops. If Notre Dame gets tagged with a loss in November, not gonna be a big deal come March. Whereas Ohio State was dismissed pretty early from the BCS championship discussion after dropping the soap against USC. Would a college football playoff take some meaning away from those marquee non-conference showdowns?
Year after year Maui brings out the big boys. Love it. Big-time hoops before Thanksgiving. Enjoy it.
Can UNC be stopped -- even with Tyler Hansbrough less than 100% (if at all) and Tyler Zeller out? Will Texas give reason to be a trendy Final Four pick? Will Luke Harangody steal the stage? Or will this finally be Chaminade's year? Oh.
But, jeez, gonna be some pretty good games today in Maui. We're in the semis of the tournament and No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Notre Dame tipoff at 4 p.m. Pacific while top-ranked UNC and Oregon will play in the nightcap.
We're not sure why non-conference college basketball doesn't get the same love as non-conference college football. Probably has to do with a lot of other sports going on right now (CFB, NFL, NBA action) while those big non-conference college football showdowns happen in the slower part of the year.
But a main reason, too, is that a loss ain't so bad in college hoops. If Notre Dame gets tagged with a loss in November, not gonna be a big deal come March. Whereas Ohio State was dismissed pretty early from the BCS championship discussion after dropping the soap against USC. Would a college football playoff take some meaning away from those marquee non-conference showdowns?
Year after year Maui brings out the big boys. Love it. Big-time hoops before Thanksgiving. Enjoy it.
Can UNC be stopped -- even with Tyler Hansbrough less than 100% (if at all) and Tyler Zeller out? Will Texas give reason to be a trendy Final Four pick? Will Luke Harangody steal the stage? Or will this finally be Chaminade's year? Oh.
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