The mid-November start to the NCAA basketball season tends to get lost in the universe of sports coverage. This is probably due to the staggered opening nights around the country, but can also be attributed to competition with other sports — college football entering its stretch run, the NFL in midseason, even the NBA’s opening weeks garner more attention than college hoops.
We’re not about to let this exciting time slip through the cracks. With several area teams already off to a strong start and high expectations abounding, the D.C. area seems primed to build on its recent successes in becoming one of the nation’s hotbeds for college basketball.
Hoyas Poised For Success
Only freshman forward Nikita Mescheriakov’s ten-game suspension has sullied the start to a Georgetown season that carries national championship hopes. The Hoyas improved to 2-0 on the young season with a 74-52 win over Michigan on Thursday night, drawing compliments from old Big East foe John Beilein. Next up for the Hoyas is a trip to Muncie, Ind., where they’ll face Ball State on Wednesday. The subplot promises to be more interesting than the basketball in that one, as the Cardinals are 0-2 and not in Georgetown’s class on the hardwood.
-Hayden Alfano
Terrapins Post Up Against UCLA
The Maryland Terrapins (3-0) will be taking on #2 UCLA (3-0) in the CBE Classic semi-finals tonight at the Sprint Center in Kansas City after defeating North Florida and Hampton in the College Park regional last week. Tonight’s matchup will be both teams’ first true test of the season. UCLA will be playing without All-American Darren Collison due to a knee sprain, but the Terps might have a hard time defending heavily hyped freshman center Kevin Love in the post. Transition offense is the Terps’ strength so they’ll need to capitalize on it with every opportunity that arises in order to upset one of the top teams in the nation. Our prediction: UCLA 78-67.
