Bring on the basketball

ESPN and college basketball's ridiculous, indulgent marathon of hoops is just around the corner. Just a few hours from now, 25 straight hours of college hoops will kick off starting with Washington State at Gonzaga at midnight (eastern time). It's an exciting prospect for any big college basketball fan, because despite the fact that there are timeslots filled with some less-than-exciting games consisting of teams just happy to be on TV (Morehead State at Charleston at 8 a.m. comes to mind), there are plenty of big games as well. And while Duke-Michigan State, Florida-Ohio State and Kentucky-Kansas are going to get the most attention of tomorrow's games, there are several others I'm excited about watching.

Northern Iowa at Saint Mary's, 2 a.m.
The prospect of staying up for this one is a bit daunting for those of us in the eastern time zone, but if you can manage it, this should be a good one. As has been the case for the last five or so years, both of these teams are going to be contenders in two of the best mid-major conferences in the country (Missouri Valley and West Coast). Both teams are likely to be the type of team in February and March for which every result is scrutinized heavily while they teeter one way or the other on the NCAA Tournament bubble. If these teams are indeed on the bubble come early March, a look back at this game (especially a road win for Northern Iowa) could be a huge resume booster. This is a perfect game for college basketball fans that don't catch all the games on CBS or ESPN's "Big Monday".

Belmont at Memphis, 12 p.m.
Memphis is coming into this season after not quite living up to expectations last year. The Tigers were almost always exciting to watch, they just weren't that great. After throwing up a few too many bricks last year, Memphis' core group of players is expected to have grown up some and produce an excellent year, which is why they started the season at No. 10. Meanwhile, Belmont went 30-5 last year in the Atlantic Sun Conference and then lost to Duke by one at Cameron Indoor. The Bruins should be extra-hungry for a resume-boosting win. The Duke and Memphis games are their only real marquee non-conference games this year. Without a win in either of them, even if they play close, Belmont's only shot at the NCAA Tournament will be through an automatic bid. While they are the favorites to win the Atlantic Sun, you can't take anything for granted in the conference tournaments.

George Mason at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m.
Like Belmont in the last game, George Mason will be looking to pick up an impressive non-conference win on the road to boost its tournament resume. Unlike Belmont above, this win wouldn't actually be that impressive. Virginia Tech loves to play down (or up) to its opponents, and I'm not expecting the team to be especially good this year, having lost its only good scorer from last season in Malcolm Delaney. That said, the committee still loves to see road wins against schools from the BCS conferences. And it would be a good one for George Mason, which lost key pieces from last year as well (leading scorer Cam Long and coach since forever Jim Larranaga). Can Ryan Pearson and Andre Cornelius keep the mid-major excellence going that GMU has enjoyed ever since its Final Four run? Can Va Tech make a splash in the ACC this year? This game should be a good primer for both teams.

Dayton at Miami, 7 p.m.
Full disclosure: this one isn't part of ESPN's slate of games, but it has me more interested than any other game of the day. I want to see how UD's offense looks against a good defense, and how their big men look against a team that also has big men. This one is coming at a devastating timeslot, with four games going on either ESPN or ESPN3 (including Duke-Michigan State) as well as the Florida at Ohio State game starting at 8 p.m. So I understand the bulk of the country won't be tuning in to WHIO-TV or radio, and won't be streaming this game online at daytonflyers.com. But anybody who has the opportunity to watch Chris Johnson play should. I wasn't watching the NBA when Dennis Rodman was at the height of his game, but I imagine he's the only guy ever to make rebounding more exciting than CJ. It's such a joy to watch the undersized 6-6 small forward come flying through the lane, jump over everybody else and grab the ball without any regard for what's going to happen to him when he lands. The Flyers are going to need a better game from CJ than he gave them against Western Illinois. So tune in to UD-Miami during commercial breaks or something from the ESPN games, and watch some good mid-major basketball.