Every August, story-starved fans and journalists bemoan the NFL preseason. We're so excited to see those uniforms go through their ballet of violence we're willing to overlook the putrid performances by backups and never-will-bes — but only for a few minutes. After that, the chorus of complaints range from the gameday costs to the threat of injury.
So why don't we voice the same complaints about college basketball's exhibition season?
Take a quick peek at the results in this young college hoops campaign. Already this season, Michigan State has beaten Gonzaga (who then lost to unranked Wake Forest) and lost to North Carolina and Florida. The Tar Heels, as mentioned, have beaten Michigan State in addition to beating Ohio State. Duke beat UConn, and all of that information combined might suggest the ACC is better than the Big Ten, but Duke fell at Wisconsin and the Big Ten squeaked out the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Given these schizophrenic results, it's as if these teams are reliant on young, inexperienced talent capable of beating or losing to anyone on any day. Oh, I guess they do. Thanks, David Stern!
College basketball is dominated by the NBA age-limit. Coaches now not only have to try to understand the maddening whims that dictate where an 18-year-old goes to school, but also if that 18-year-old will turn into a 19-year-old aspiring NBAer. Statistics, especially in the smallest doses, can be dead wrong, but consider this coincidence: the age limit began in 2005; Duke has not had a one-and-done draft entrant; Duke hasn't been past the Sweet 16 since 2004.
True, North Carolina and Michigan State reached last year's title game with mostly multi-year players. But for fans, it's the promise of one-and-done saviors that puts pressure squarely on coaches. Kentucky missed the tournament for the first time in almost two decades last year. The solution? Bring in John Calipari and his stable of blue-chippers, and now the Cats are ranked in the top five, coming off a big win over the Heels Saturday. And by this time next year, at least half the roster will probably be playing professionally and a new wave of recruits will fill those blue jerseys.
The problem is the constant turnover makes it hard to evaluate what we're watching, especially early in the season. But because these games count, the results stick all the way to March. When it comes time to compare teams' resumes for the tournament, we'll all pretend like these games matter as much as a hard-fought conference road win in February.
For instance, Syracuse's win over North Carolina last month was an impressive rout on a neutral floor. But that Carolina team looked like the local team from an And1 Tour stop, a group of superior athletes assembled hours before the game. Do you think Roy Williams would like another shot at the Orange in January, when the Tar Heels know one other's games better (or at least their teammates names)?
If nothing else, the tournament selection committee needs to mix much larger grains of salt into their consideration of these early-season games. Yes, everyone has to work through unfamiliarity at some point. But because the game's best players have mostly only been on campus for a few months when the season starts, their teams are at an extreme disadvantage in the season's first weeks.
Early season non-conference mega-matchups might be fun for fans, coaches, and players, but it's time to recognize what they are: meaningless. That is, unless you count the bags of cash they generate for sponsors and broadcast partners.
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