Enough with football! The college basketball exhibition season has begun!
The thing about exhibition games these days is that you have to be very careful what conclusions you reach from the results. Because of the Rudy Gay rule, teams now have to play lower-division college teams instead of those roving bands of former stars, so there is a great talent disparity (or there should be). A good rule of thumb is that you can’t learn too much good from one of these games, but you can certainly learn some bad. For example, the star-studded Tar Heels ran and dunked their way to a 31-point win over St. Augustine’s last night. The game was fun and showcased the new freshmen, but ultimately it doesn’t mean much.
On the other hand, Maryland also had a game last night, squeaking by the Division II California (Pa.) Vulcans 79-78. (Raise your hand if you knew there was a school named California in Pennsylvania. Raise your other hand if you had any idea that there were schools with Star Trek baddies as their mascot.). The Terps had to hit key free throws in the final seconds to seal the win. Uh oh.