KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jamie Dixon smiled when he heard that at about the same time his Pittsburgh team was improving to 4-0 by defeating Wichita State in the CBE Classic, Big East brethren Cincinnati was knocking off 24th-ranked Vanderbilt at the Maui Classic.
Good start for the Big East this year, isn't it? he was asked.
"This year? That's us every year,'' Dixon replied.
True, but this time it wasn't supposed to start off this well. You couldn't find a preview of the conference -- coming off of an NCAA tournament with four teams reaching the Elite Eight and two making the Final Four -- that didn't include the phrase "off-year'' or "down year.'' It may still turn out that way, but November so far says otherwise.
Two weeks ago, Pat Summitt surveyed the national scene and said this:
"A lot of people don't have Mississippi State on their radar screen and they should."
Never argue with Pat.
Mississippi State is climbing the rankings -- moving from No. 25 to No. 19 in this week's poll -- and the ladder of national recognition, particularly after Sunday's 84-55 win over No. 20 Maryland.
Granted, Maryland is remodeling after the graduation of Kristi Tolliver and Marisa Coleman and the transfer of Marah Strickland, and Brenda Frese's program will likely struggle with change most of the year, but the Bulldogs took it to the Terrapins on their home floor.
When Connecticut ran through the 2008-09 season with a 39-0 record and cruised through the Final Four to a national title, they turned an entire season, thousands of games involving hundreds of teams, into an exercise in inevitability.
At the cusp of a new college season, the biggest question is: Can the Huskies do that again? Or will the search for a new point guard to replace Renee Montgomery will bring UConn back to the pack?
Connecticut is the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation at its start, the unanimous choice in both national polls. But, of course. The Huskies have Maya Moore and Tina Charles, two of the top three or four players in the country, they have outstanding role players such as Kalnna Greene and Kaili McLaren. They have Geno Auriemma, who embraces the role of front-runner in a big, enthusiastic bear hug.
The only good news in this story is that somehow Seton Hall's Keon Lawrence did not kill anyone. This, despite causing a two-car accident while driving the wrong way in the express lanes of the Garden State Parkway.
Lawrence's blood-alcohol level was over the .08 limit -- the exact level not known -- and was charged with driving while intoxicated. Not only that, but Lawrence was driving with a suspended license and had two traffic warrants outstanding. The accident occurred after 3AM Monday morning.
Head coach Bobby Gonzalez suspended Lawrence, who was expected to play this season after transferring from Missouri, indefinitely.
Tonight is the opening night for college basketball. Defending champion North Carolina tips off at 7PMtonight on ESPN, followed by Syracuse. Plus teams like California and Ohio State start their season as part of one of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. All with little hype despite being on one of the ESPN family of networks.
So, the quiet start kicks off what has become the annual lament among college basketball writers. There are no festivities. There is no "celebration." There is no coordination. There is only a quiet and disjointed start to college basketball.
The reasons are familiar. Both external and internal. Pro and college football are dominating most of the market. The NBA and NHL have been underway for a few weeks, as well. Plus the NCAA and basketball programs do themselves no favors with teams no organized start to the season. Teams kicking off their season with no rhyme or reason (other than planning around on-campus football games). College basketball just gets lost in the shuffle.
There could have been bigger upsets Tuesday night. Mike Bloomberg could have lost the New York mayor's job to Stephon Marbury. Or "The Jay Leno Show" could have won its time slot.
If you were caught up watching those returns, you may have missed the biggest upset in the history of mankind, or at least New York.
Move over, Joe Willie. Step aside, Miracle on Ice.
NEW YORK -- Last season, Pittsburgh made the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight. This year, the Panthers aren't even picked to finish in the top eight of the Big East Conference.
Such are the occupational hazards of playing in the biggest and baddest basketball league in the land.
"You can go from first to 10th in this league in one season," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin told FanHouse. "Pittsburgh went to the Elite Eight last year and they're picked to finish ninth in the league this year.
"Not only is it hard to climb in this league, it's just as easy to fall."
Now the basketball team drops an exhibition game to a Division II school, 82-79. This was not just losing to a D-II program, like Michigan State and Ohio State both did two years ago. That's embarrassing enough. This was losing to the Le Moyne Dolphins, a D-II school located right in Syracuse. It really doesn't get any more humiliating than that. Bragging rights in town for the year.
NEW YORK -- Whether it was Villanova's Final Four trip last season or his bench demeanor, Wildcats coach Jay Wright has made a big impression on a majority of the Big East players.
Wright was the top vote-getter in FanHouse's poll of the league's players asking which coach, other than their own, they would like to play for. Wright, who received 29.7 percent of the votes, edged Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, with 24.3 percent.
Two weeks ago at the Big East's media day, FanHouse polled 37 players representing all 16 schools that attended Madison Square Garden on a variety of subjects. The players were guaranteed anonymity for their responses with only one stipulation: they could not vote for their coach, a teammate or their school in any of the categories.
While the players voted for Wright as the coach they would like to play for, Seton Hall's Bobby Gonzalez (24.3 percent) edged UConn's Jim Calhoun (21.6 percent) as the "opposing coach that screams the most."
Part of the beauty of college basketball is that it isn't like college football. The top teams don't have to be afraid of playing a tough opponent; worried that risking a single loss would derail a season's worth of effort.
Instead, the best teams in college basketball want to cut their teeth on one another, learn from their shortcomings, shore up before spring, or build a resume for the NCAA committee by collecting wins against stiff competition.
The following is a list of the top five schedules in women's college basketball this season. These teams are going to do it the hard way. And you gotta admire that.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jamie Dixon smiled when he heard that at about the same time his Pittsburgh team was improving to 4-0 by defeating Wichita State in the CBE Classic, Big East brethren Cincinnati was knocking off 24th-ranked Vanderbilt at the Maui Classic.
Two weeks ago, Pat Summitt surveyed the national scene and said this:
When Connecticut ran through the 2008-09 season with a 39-0 record and cruised through the Final Four to a national title, they turned an entire season, thousands of games involving hundreds of teams, into an exercise in inevitability.
Tonight is the opening night for college basketball. Defending champion North Carolina tips off at 7PMtonight on ESPN, followed by Syracuse. Plus teams like California and Ohio State start their season as part of one of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. All with little hype despite being on one of the ESPN family of networks. 
There could have been bigger upsets Tuesday night. Mike Bloomberg could have lost the New York mayor's job to Stephon Marbury. Or "The Jay Leno Show" could have won its time slot.
NEW YORK -- Last season, Pittsburgh made the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight. This year, the 
There are days that make you question why you put up with the things you do as a fan. For Syracuse fans, Tuesday was that day. The continuing fallout from the 
NEW YORK -- Whether it was Villanova's Final Four trip last season or his bench demeanor, 
