The Road to the Final Four begins tonight...

[KevinBeane]

So the season kicks off tonight with the Maryland leg of the Coaches vs. Cancer classic, with Vermont vs. New Orleans as the first o-fficial game of the season, followed by Hampton vs. Maryland.

This is a slight improvement over last year, which featured Cornell vs. St. Francis of Pennsylvania in the first game of the year, followed by Syracuse/Bethune-Cookman.

New Orleans in the favorite to win the Sun Belt West, and Vermont is trying to capture their NCAA glory of a couple years ago when they had that big, shambling, dominant center. McElsomething, maybe. Help me out. Big white guy with backne.

The nightcap is Hampton, who has made the NCAAs the last two years, against Maryland, who missed the last two years. Looking forward to it.

I remember now. Coppenrath.

[tobynosker]

Originally Posted by KevinBeane
This is a slight improvement over last year, which featured Cornell vs. St. Francis of Pennsylvania in the first game of the year

Hey...a very good friend of mine was the starting point guard last year for the Red Flash of St. Francis (PA). Some of us were looking forward to that game!

[Marc]

I'm extremely pumped. Looking forward to the Maui Invitational, which my Cats are in this year. I loved how the college hoops season begins and ends with tournaments. Seeing your team play three or four days in a row is bliss!