|
Each week, I write about the sport I love, college basketball: • Opening night was very good for fathers coaching against their sons. Rick Pitino and Louisville beat son Richard and Minnesota in a game that received a lot of publicity. Not as publicized was Tubby Smith and Texas Tech rallying from a first-half deficit to beat Loyola (Md.), coached by G.G. Smith. • I love it when great teams are scheduled to meet early in a season. They are a relief from the early-season cupcake-city, bargain-basement matchups. Michigan State meets Arizona and Kansas faces Indiana on Veteran's Day 2016 in the Armed Forces Classic. It will take place at Pearl Harbor, a little less than a month from the 75th anniversary of the attack on the naval base. • The NCAA announced several cities for future Final Fours. Congrats to Phoenix/Glendale in 2017, San Antonio in 2018, Minneapolis in 2019 and Atlanta in 2020. Indianapolis -- which hosts this year -- will have it again in 2021. • Oklahoma got some great news as TaShawn Thomas, a transfer from Houston, was declared eligible for the entire season. Thomas averaged 15.4 PPG and 8.1 RPG for the Cougars last season. Lon Kruger has a legitimate contender in the Big 12 with the addition of Thomas. • Connecticut was short-handed for its opener against Bryant. Omar Calhoun was sidelined due to a sprained knee, and Rodney Purvis, who transferred from NC State, was suspended for one game due to participation in too many summer league games. • Once again, Kentucky coach John Calipari has struck gold in recruiting with five-star players Isaiah Briscoe and Skal Labissiere. Cal is a recruiting machine! • Pittsburgh suspended forward Durand Johnson for the entire season. No reason was given for the announcement, but that is a blow to the Panthers. • Iowa coach Fran McCaffery got a contract extension. He is scheduled to serve at Iowa through the 2019-20 season. • St. John's suffered a blow when freshman center Adonis De La Rosa had his eligibility questioned by the NCAA. His current status has him practicing, but coach Steve Lavin is holding him out of games until the eligibility issues are cleared up. • Opening night saw a handful of surprising scores. Charleston Southern won at Mississippi, Missouri-Kansas City knocked off Missouri, and Fairleigh Dickinson surprised Saint Joseph's.
|
