By: William Smythe

Don’t get me wrong, college football is great. It’s hard to recreate the thrill of a fall Saturday once the season ends, and I often forget about “how good it truly was” in the post-NY6 era. However, college basketball is the key which unlocks arguably the greatest upcoming months for sports fans – November, December and January – with a non-conference slate awaiting us in short order. The season is arguably underway; preseason No. 9 Tennessee upended No. 4 Michigan State in a charity exhibition, No. 1 Kansas fell to No. 25 Illinois in Champaign and No. 14 Arkansas outlasted No. 3 Purdue in a raucous Bud Walton Arena. 

In classic fashion, Louisville fell to D-II opponent Kentucky Wesleyan. No one’s seat is hotter than Kenny Payne. 

Nonetheless, let’s unpack some of the reasons as to why it’s ok to pivot from college football for these upcoming weeks. The countdown to March officially begins Monday night. 

Albeit controversial, the transfer portal continues to level the playing field

It makes sense to criticize the transfer portal. Arizona State’s Adam Miller is now onto his third school – having transferred after each season – while Hunter Dickinson requested NIL $ from suitors to convince him to leave Ann Arbor for his senior campaign. There are certainly examples of guys who leave for the wrong reasons, and it’s fair to question the prevailing notion of loyalty within college basketball. However, competition springs out of these off-season moves, and March becomes that much more hectic. 

Mid-majors, thought to have suffered from the transfer portal as players seek enhanced NIL opportunities and big-time Power 5 ball, haven’t fallen into obscurity by any means. Dusty May’s Florida Atlantic dominated the C-USA and upset No. 4 Tennessee, No. 3 Kansas State and hung around with No. 5 San Diego State en route to their first Final Four appearance. Sure, March is March, but the Owls will hope to demonstrate that last season wasn’t a fluke (five total losses makes that case that much stronger) after retaining all but one significant contributor. 

The portal giveth and taketh away. If you want to rebuild quickly, you now have the opportunity. If you need a plug-and-play guy who’s logged veteran minutes at a smaller school, he could be yours. Take Arkansas: the Razorbacks dipped into the portal and snagged five transfers who will all likely add value to Eric Musselman’s squad. Purdue prefers to build from within, Musselman from elsewhere. What we can all determine is that parity, via the transfer portal, is at the forefront.

The Champions Classic and the Maui Invitational

These few weeks are key “litmus tests” for teams hoping to ascend in the power rankings, and opportunities abound in non-conference tournaments such as the Champions Classic and the Maui Invitational. The former will pit preseason No. 2 Duke against No. 4 Michigan State, while No. 1 Kansas will take on fellow blue blood and the sixteenth-ranked Wildcats of Kentucky on Nov. 14. Will Duke live up to the preseason hype with their starting-five remaining intact, and will Kentucky’s freshmen core bring them back to the 2014-15 days when UK first-years reigned supreme? 

The Maui Invitational, moreover, is an annual hit; many remember the 2019 final between Duke’s three-headed monster of Williamson, Barrett and Reddish and Gonzaga’s veteran core, who managed to upset the Blue Devils after a back-and-forth end to the second half. Four top-25 squads – No. 11 Gonzaga, Purdue, No. 6 Marquette, and No. 9 Tennessee – will take to the court from November 20-22, and don’t count out UCLA either. No need to get up from the couch when the Maui Invitational is televised. 

I’m missing dozens of other non-conference tournaments. What is abundantly clear, however, is the quality of non-conference scheduling that teams have adopted in recent years, creating a perfect entry for college basketball fans who desperately need the sport back in their lives.

The Big East

I just love this basketball-only conference. Typically an afterthought to the Big Ten and ACC, the Big East burst onto the scene in 2022-23, sending five teams to the Big Dance and boasting the eventual National Champions in UConn. Shaka Smart’s Marquette, Sean Miller’s Xavier and then-Ed Cooley’s Providence all exceeded expectations in the regular season and made a name for themselves on the national stage. Don’t expect the hype train to die down either, especially with a coaching carousel sending George Mason’s Kim English to Providence and Cooley to a struggling Georgetown program. 

Coaching legend Rick Pitino will now hope to restore St. John’s basketball glory even though his team fell to D-II Pace University in a buy game – yikes. Two legitimate contenders for first-team All-American honors – Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek and UConn center Donovan Clingan – returned to their respective schools and will take on larger roles (especially Clingan). After struggling last season with injury issues, look for Villanova to take a massive step in year three of Kyle Neptune’s tenure; the ex-Villanova assistant brought in four major transfers to complement All-American candidate Justin Moore and center Eric Dixon.

I don’t see much potential for Butler, DePaul and Seton Hall, sadly, but the rest of the conference looks poised to make some serious noise. In terms of superlatives, UConn will remain the top dog, Marquette will take a step back from their dream season, and Providence might just be the most polarizing (and exciting) team to monitor within the conference. 

Get excited.