The host of the ACC Tournament for the next three years is looking to modernize. The renovations, which will take three years to fully complete, should solidify the Coliseum’s place as the normal host for the ACC Tournament. This year, the renovations are minor but should be completed in time for the ACC Tournament in March. Specifically, Greensboro is adding cushioned seating and a new LED scoreboard. The larger renovations, which will be paid for with a hotel tax, will start following the 2013 ACC Tournament and finish sometime around 2015. These changes focus on updating the upper level concourse, which will be widened significantly, replacing the concessions with four larger food courts. There will also be changes to the parking lots and traffic flow surrounding the Coliseum.

The Coliseum is Getting Modernized!

The Greensboro Coliseum has hosted the ACC Tournament nearly 30 times since the late 1960s and will likely continue to host a plurality of tournaments in the future. The conference hasn’t announced ACC Tournament locations for the years of 2016-21, but venues have already put in bids. Look for the Greensboro Coliseum to host multiple years, but the Verizon Center (home of the Washington Wizards) and newly constructed Barclays Center (home of the Brooklyn Nets) may also get to host the tournament one time apiece.

These renovations will keep Greensboro as the premiere location for the tournament, staying head and shoulders above the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte — an arena which is also undergoing renovations.

1. We knew Texas and UCLA were playing a non-conference game in Houston but now we know that this will be much more than just a game. Coaches Rick Barnes and Ben Howland held a conference call yesterday to officially announce the M.D. Anderson Proton Therapy Showcase. The name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but the good news is that it’s going to be an annual event. The showcase will feature the women’s teams from Texas and UCLA first followed by the men’s team next on December 8. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is a big part of Houston’s “mini-hospital city” known as the Texas Medical Center. Part of their renown comes from the successful Proton Therapy Center within M.D. Anderson, which provides treatment of tumors in the prostate, lungs, head, neck, esophagus and brain. Hopefully we’ll see this game in support of this great hospital for many years to come.
2. Hey look, today is Big 12 Media Day and the Big 12’s official site has all the bases covered. You can watch all 10 head coaches including a select amount of players speak to the media live in 5- and 10-minute intervals. There’s also a full schedule of events as well as a media guide to look over instead of doing dumb, stupid work. Now we’re just t-minus two weeks until the exhibition games get started. Awesome.
3. Texas Tech is currently one of the worst situations in college basketball but interim head coach Chris Walker is going to pour everything he has into this season. This year is essentially his job interview to prove to athletic director Kirby Hocutt and the fans that he’s deserving of a long-term contract in Lubbock. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal gives us a glimpse into Chris Walker, the coach and the man.
4. Last night ESPN aired another outstanding 30 for 30 film called There’s No Place Like Home (I assume it was outstanding because every film preceding this usually is). The story follows the journey of one Kansas fan’s desire to bring James Naismith’s official document of the rules of basketball to Lawrence, Kansas. A review from The Wichita Eagle claims that there’s not as much drama in this film as there normally is in other 30 for 30s but I’d say it’s still worth a watch. History’s always cool. If you’re like me and you missed it, here’s when and where you can watch a replay of the film. (Then you’ll have to click “Upcoming Schedule” across the middle of the page).
5. It may not seem that way now but TCU is looking like a program on the rise. They have last year’s Mountain West Freshman of the Year (Kyan Anderson), Sixth Man of the Year (Amric Fields) and Arkansas transfer Devonta Abron, who was a key reserve on the Razorbacks a season ago. TCU360 takes you on a grand tour of a team in transition and one that I believe will not finish last in the Big 12 this year. Strong claim, right?

Once among the most consistent programs in the Big East, Villanova seems to be stuck in a rut.  After an incredibly disappointing 2011-12, which led to the first NCAA Tournament miss for the Wildcats since 2003-04 and a year without any postseason berth since Steve Lappas’ 1997-98 team.  To top things off, Jay Wright lost his two top scorers from last season, and will have to choose between a transfer and a true freshman to run the point for the Wildcats this year.  The Wildcats hope to be one of the Big East’s most surprising teams, but it will have to have everything click right if the Wildcats expect a top-half finish in the conference.

2011-12 Record: 13-19, 5-13

2011-12 Postseason: None

Villanova missed the post-season for the first time in Jay Wright’s tenure in 2011-12. How will the Wildcats rebound this season?

Schedule

After a scrimmage with Carleton University, Villanova opens the regular season with Division II District of Columbia, as a part of the 2K Sports Classic.  The Wildcats host Marshall two nights later before departing to New York for the 2K Classic’s main event.  In the semifinals, Villanova takes on Purdue, followed by the winner of Alabama and Oregon State. Later in the non-conference slate, Villanova travels down to Nashville for a tough road game against Vanderbilt before returning to Philadelphia for Big 5 games against Temple, Penn, and St. Joe’s. In the Big East, Villanova has home-and-home series with Syracuse, USF, Providence, and Pittsburgh.

Who’s In

Two new players should battle it out for the starting point guard spot, as both true freshman Ryan Arcidiacono and junior Wake Forest transfer Tony Chennault look to contribute right away.  Chennault received a hardship waiver from the NCAA and is eligible to play this year after averaging nine points and three assists as the starting point guard for the Demon Deacons. The Wildcats also add 6’10” freshman Daniel Ochefu, who should add some much needed beef inside for the oft-undersized squad, as well as Croatian guard Mislav Brzoja, who is a strong perimeter shooter.

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1. Good freshman classes are usually not dominated by only one player. Indiana freshman Yogi Ferrell may just end up starting at the point guard position for most of the upcoming season but his classmate Hanner Mosquera-Perea has also been very impressive in practice so far. Tom Crean spoke recently about his early impressions of Mosquera-Perea and views his game as bringing a different angle to the Hoosiers. The freshman forward is recovering well from a foot injury he suffered over the summer and hopes to play an integral role on the front line off the bench. Derek Elston (2.4 RPG) will be the complementary big man to Cody Zeller (6.6 RPG) but Perea can earn some minutes if he commits to crashing the boards and playing solid defense in the paint.
2. Michigan State needs a primary scoring option this season after the graduation of All-American Draymond Green. Tom Izzo will look to returning guard Keith Appling and the junior guard does not want to disappoint his team. Appling has been working on his jumper after shooting only 25% from beyond the arc as a sophomore. Making 500 shots a day will certainly help his shooting form and he hopes to become more efficient with it as the Spartans look to give Indiana a run at the Big Ten title. Appling averaged 11.4 PPG last year and will undoubtedly be the primary scoring threat especially during the non-conference season until freshman Gary Harris gets used to the speed of the college game.
3. Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith can only hope that his star forward Trevor Mbakwe will stay out of trouble during the season. A healthy Mbakwe is key, but Smith more importantly needs him to stay disciplined and focused on the court. Mbakwe has consistently been in some sort of trouble the past several years and has one final chance to help the Gophers make the NCAA Tournament again. He averaged 10.5 RPG before injuring himself last season and he can be a formidable presence in the paint if he can play consistently. After the departure of Ralph Sampson III (4.6 RPG), the Gophers need his rebounding if they hope to compete for the top half of the conference standings.
4. Speaking of big guys and the need for rebounding, Michigan’s Mitch McGary will flex his muscle this season in Ann Arbor. McGary is 6’10” and weighs 250 lbs., which should help John Beilein with regards to rebounding as Jordan Morgan desperately needs help in the paint. Morgan averaged 5.6 RPG last season but the Wolverines struggled when he got into foul trouble and couldn’t stay on the floor during key stretches of the game. McGary has impressed the coaches and his teammates with his energy and personality during preseason practice. Having a good personality is a huge positive for McGary, especially if he hopes to mesh efficiently with a star-studded Wolverines squad that features explosive fellow freshman Glenn Robinson III and returning wing Tim Hardaway, Jr.
5. Former Indiana head coach Bobby Knight continues to remain in the headlines. Knight, who has acted as a regular commentator on Big 12 games for ESPN, has been assigned to the SEC for the 2012-13 season and is scheduled to call two Kentucky games. Why is this a big deal? It is because Knight has been vocal about Kentucky’s approach to recruiting, specifically voicing his issues with John Calipari’s strategies. Knight called the “one-and-done” player a “disgrace” to college hoops and is clearly not a fan of the current state of Kentucky basketball. Regardless of Knight’s views about Kentucky, he makes for an interesting watch anytime he calls a game for ESPN.

1. A casino in Las Vegas has released its annual preseason odds to win the national championship for the 2012-13 season. Kentucky emerged as having the second best odds at 7-1, trailing only Indiana with 6-1. Missouri, heralded as one of the teams to challenge Kentucky for the SEC throne this season, is getting 30-1 odds along with Florida to win it all. High expectations for both squads could yield in an equally high payout for those who believe highly in the Tigers and the Gators. Other SEC teams on the list are Vanderbilt (80-1), Alabama (90-1), Texas A&M (100-1), and Arkansas (100-1). The field came in as a 15-1 favorite.
2. ESPN is taking its all-access talents to a specific SEC school this year, and you guessed it, that school is Kentucky. The multi-part series, much like their Hard Knocks series, will display some of the behind-the-scenes of Kentucky basketball, ranging from John Calipari’s breakfasts in Lexington to preparations for Big Blue Madness to daily practices and player involvement. Most importantly, it will focus on Calipari’s latest project of implementing new freshmen into a cohesive unit en route to a national championship. Matt Jones at Kentucky Sports Radio has acquired a short clip about how the players prepared for Madness. CoachCal.com also offers another preview clip for the series. The first episode will air tonight at 7:00 PM ET.
3. Who will be Vanderbilt‘s next point guard? Christian D’Andrea of Anchor of Gold wrote a brilliant piece regarding which players the Commodore faithful should turn to as their next floor leader. Vanderbilt loses nearly as many key pieces from its SEC Championship team as Kentucky did and will have to turn to Kedren Johnson or Kyle Fuller to help fill that particular void. D’Andrea states “they possess very different styles” in that the older Fuller has a faster tempo than Johnson, but Johnson has a much smoother game presence and has “showed more composure than his veteran counterparts in big games.” Johnson, for example, contributed with several important baskets in the final minutes of the SEC Tournament championship game over Kentucky. Both guards present weaknesses, however; Johnson shot 24% from three-point range last season and Fuller shot just over 27% from the field. They both must improve on their outside games rather quickly to keep defenses honest. Vanderbilt fans can also see positives with both players in their assist-turnover ratios (Johnson’s is 1.57 and Fuller 1.62, respectively) and their growing maturity in the upcoming seasons.
4.  The Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger released two very interesting articles about the upcoming Ole Miss team involving the frontcourt bodies who will help Andy Kennedy’s squad improve on its 67 points per game from last year. Seniors Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner have very high ceilings with their post-collegiate futures, but both will have to improve on their dreadful free throw shooting. Holloway shot just under 51% from the charity stripe last year, while Buckner was even worse with a 42% free throw percentage. Both big men will have experience on their side but also must utilize the opportunity to make up for a lack of personnel that plagued the Rebels last year.  Kennedy spoke recently about his new squad and how they are not “last season’s team.” He added that he has “caught the new guys integrating themselves into what we’re trying to get accomplished about as smoothly as possible. We have two guys who have been through division one practices before in Marshall (Henderson) and Jason Carter and it helps.”
5. Tennessee isn’t wavering at any of the success or praise that is being bestowed by its neighbors to the north. In fact, the Vols are embracing the “tough love” mentality that they are receiving in the preseason and will use it to motivate them going forward. With all the hoopla surrounding Big Blue Madness and the ESPN all-access series in Lexington, head coach Cuonzo Martin and sophomore forward Jarnell Stokes have other plans for what lies ahead in Knoxville. Both Martin and Stokes have high expectations for next year’s Midnight Madness, something they had to skip because of the university’s fall break last weekend. Martin stated that he is looking forward to an event next year and that his players will be ready as well.

1. ESPN: Not to be outdone by the other ACC schools making recruiting splashes, the Maryland Terrapins have locked down a four-star point guard in Roddy Peters. Peters is a Maryland kid and a very skilled playmaker and scorer who will be able to contribute almost immediately for the Terps. Peters plays for D.C. Assault, the famed AAU team and an outfit that highly paid Maryland assistant Dalonte Hill used to coach, and according to Peters, Hill’s presence played a key role in helping the guard choose Maryland.
2. Baltimore Sun: In more disappointing Terrapin news, this is the week that James Padgett will go to court to deal with charges stemming from a DUI arrest over the summer. Padgett, a senior and the likely starting power forward for the Terrapins, is a favorite in the tempo-free statistics community. Despite relatively mediocre per game rebound totals, Padgett is something of a savant on the offensive glass, posting  possession numbers that surpass every other player in the conference but fellow offensive rebounding wunderkind Miles Plumlee. In any event, Padgett’s court date is this Friday, though he is still expected to participate in today’s Operation Basketball media extravaganza.
3. Greensboro News & Record: Speaking of Operation Basketball, the News & Record has taken the time to go ahead and figure out the preseason rankings for the teams in the conference. Of course, the paper is doing it by counting the Twitter followers for the two player representatives from each school. Duke takes the top spot, largely thanks to the Twitter sensation that is Seth Curry. Curry’s roughly 51,000 followers easily overpowers any other player on the list with North Carolina’s Reggie Bullock coming in a distant second at around 32,500 followers. We’ll have more on Operation Basketball as the day rolls on, but for now, I leave you to pore over these social media numbers. If you want to follow every single basketball player, reporter, and tangential figure in the ACC on Twitter, I would direct you to this rather helpful guide.
4. Chicago Tribune: If you want to talk about meaningful numbers, the number of the day is clearly $9,995. This is the price that a gallon of unopened McJordan Barbecue sauce from 1992 recently sold for on Ebay.  Just when you thought North Carolina couldn’t be more proud of it’s living legend and his accomplishments, a jug of his sauce sells for nearly ten grand and makes you change your whole way of looking at things. The greatness of Michael Jordan is truly unending.
5. Blogger So Dear: On a less silly note, our Wake Forest loving friends at Blogger So Dear have posted some early observations of this year’s Demon Deacons based on what they saw at Black and Gold Madness. There are some good notes on players both incoming and returning here as well as some keen observations on a team with a lot of potential and even more unknowns.

1. News like that which came out of Bowling Green, Ohio, yesterday is nothing less than extremely disappointing from a societal standpoint. Ignorance, of course, knows no bounds, and it’s clearly alive and well in northwestern Ohio. The Toledo Blade reports that a swastika along with the words “white power” were written in chalk sometime Saturday night outside the home of Bowling Green head coach Louis Orr, an African-American. A former star at Syracuse in the 1970s, Orr has been the head coach at the MAC school for the last five seasons, owning a 76-82 record. A city police representative stated that no direct threats were made against Orr and his family nor where they in danger of “immediate harm,” but that’s more or less like putting fancy lipstick on a pig. Much like the pig, these actions by a coward (or group of them) are disgusting and have no place in modern American society. 
2. How about some better news, like cancer research and treatment? UCLA and Texas yesterday announced the naming of a double-header between its men’s and women’s basketball teams that will be called (get ready for this mouthful) the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Showcase. Even thought it sounds more like a theoretical physics convention than a basketball extravaganza, the Longhorns and Bruins will meet under this moniker on December 8 of this season at Reliant Stadium in Houston, with plans to make this an annual event featuring other prominent programs from around the country. Anderson’s Proton Therapy Center touts itself as one of the leading cancer treatment centers in the world, and attaching its name to this game will no doubt increase awareness to all of the innovative and impressive radiation therapies they’re successfully utilizing there. 
3. While on the subject of UCLA this season, the LA Times‘ Bill Plaschke writes that the black cloud hanging over Ben Howland’s program while waiting on the NCAA to rule on the eligibility of Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson is pervasive around the joint. As he put it, it’s “never a good sign” when “the team’s media day [is] monitored by the school’s vice chancellor for legal affairs.” In the weeks prior to the big unveiling of a statue of John Wooden and a renovated Pauley Pavilion in anticipation of what many pundits believe will be a renaissance year in Westwood, we’re instead left with a group of fab freshmen who are off limits to reporters and a testy coaching staff habitually checking for any contact from Indianapolis. Unfortunately for every school involved with elite recruits these days, this is the world we live in.
4. A little recruiting news leaked out about Jabari Parker last night, but not the kind anyone wants. After narrowing his list to five schools a couple of weeks ago — BYU, Stanford, Duke, Michigan State, and Florida — there was some hope that the nation’s top prospect in the Class of 2013 (according to some) would be ready to make his choice during the November 14-21 signing period. Alas, no dice, according to his father. Parker is planning on taking all five of his official visits in coming weeks, with his final trip to Provo ending on November 20. With just one day to then narrow his list from five schools to one, the 6’8″ forward has decided to put off his verbal commitment until December at the earliest — meaning, of course, that no pen will touch paper until next April. Also, the recent decision by the Church of Latter-Day Saints to allow its members to begin serving their missions at the age of 18 could also play a role in Parker’s (a practicing Mormon) recruitment. Although we can’t imagine that the talented young player would preclude his manifest destiny into the NBA for an additional one or even two years, it must be considered as a factor in the analysis.
5. The Colonial Athletic Association held its Media Day in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, and it is certainly strange to not see VCU represented among its now-11 members. Without the Rams to get in the way, the league’s coaches and media voted Bruiser Flint’s Drexel Dragons as the top team in the league, with Delaware, George Mason, and Old Dominion following behind. Junior point guard Frantz Massenat, an all-CAA first teamer last season when he averaged 14/3/5 APG while leading the Dragons to a 29-7 overall record (16-2 CAA), was selected as the preseason CAA Player of the Year. Delaware in the second slot in the preseason standings is surprising because the Blue Hens have been so bad for so long since joining the CAA in 2001 (only two winning conference seasons) that it’s hard to believe that they may have finally turned the corner (they probably have). Good for them.

Ethan Back is the MAC correspondent for RTC.

Top Storylines

• Will Ohio Be Able to Reach the Sweet Sixteen Again? After an extremely successful season that ended in an overtime loss in the Sweet Sixteen against ACC power North Carolina, Ohio will look to make another deep NCAA Tournament run. The Bobcats have a lot of hype to live up to, as they return all of their significant contributors from a season ago, including standouts D.J. Cooper and Walter Offutt. Not all of the personnel returns from a season ago, however, with former head coach John Groce now at Illinois, but new head coach Jim Christian will look to keep momentum going.

Ohio’s D.J. Cooper Hopes To Follow One Head-Turning Season With Another. (AP Photo/T. Dejak)

• Toledo’s Postseason Ban: Toledo has a very solid core intact from the 2011-12 season, so it’s a real shame that the Rockets won’t be able to qualify for postseason play due to its academic problems. Luckily for the Rockets, two of its best players (Rian Pearson and Julius Brown) are underclassmen, so they’ll still get a chance to win the MAC Tournament in future years, assuming they stay in school beyond the 2012-13 season.
• East vs. West: Last season, the East had five teams finish with a winning record, whereas the West had a measly one. This clear imbalance within the MAC doesn’t have serious ramifications, as the conference tournament seeds are not based on division, but for the sake of self-respect, the West will hope to have a better season than it did last year.
• No More Zeiglers: Winning games hasn’t been an easy task for Central Michigan these past two seasons, as its 12-20 conference record during that span indicates. It won’t be any easier this year after the firing of head coach Ernie Zeigler led to the transfer of his son and the Chippewas’ leading scorer Trey Zeigler to Pittsburgh. New head coach Keno Davis brings great experience to the program, but his first season on the job will likely be a rough one.

Reader’s Take I

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The Big Ten microsite will be analyzing the non-conference schedules for all of the Big Ten teams in the coming weeks. Today, we start with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Check out their full schedule here.

Where we left off: Iowa fans would probably rather forget about last season’s non-conference schedule, as the Hawkeyes were blown out by Clemson, Northern Iowa, Iowa State and Campbell. Yes, Campbell. This year, Iowa is a sleeper to make some noise in the Big Ten and the NCAA Tournament, but the Hawkeyes must avoid last year’s struggles in the non-conference season in order to have a shot to dance in March.

Major tournaments: Iowa will go to the Cancun Challenge this year and face a relatively weak field compared to other preseason tournaments, drawing Western Kentucky in the first round and either DePaul or Wichita State in the second round. That’s not a terrible schedule — in fact, those are some of the better teams the Hawkeyes will face in the non-conference season. However, if Iowa wants to take the next step as a program, that’s a tournament it should win.

Key wins in non-conference play will go a long way towards a NCAA Tournament bid for Fran McCaffery’s crew (AP)

Toughest opponent: Northern Iowa will certainly be a formidable test for Iowa, especially at a neutral site in Des Moines, but Iowa State — which is coming off an NCAA Tournament berth — looks like the toughest team on the Hawkeyes’ non-conference schedule. Starters Chris Babb and Melvin Ejim return for the Cyclones, who also add Michigan State transfer Korie Lucious and Utah transfer Will Clyburn. Even without first round draft pick Royce White, Iowa State will likely be an NCAA Tournament team and could make some noise in the Big 12 race. This will be a home game for the Hawkeyes, but it will still be a tough test for Fran McCaffery’s squad, and it will be a major confidence booster if Iowa comes out with a win.

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Last year was the first season of the Pac-12, as the conference invited in a couple more teams to join the party. The number one reason far and away for expansion was football and the ability to have a conference championship game, but of course, Utah and Colorado didn’t just move their pigskin programs. The Utes’ football team nearly made the Pac-12 championship game last year while Colorado struggled mightily under a first year coach having to deal with a multitude of injuries on his roster, so one could surmise that it was a mixed bag for the expansion teams in the Pac-12 teams on the gridiron.

The Buffaloes were one of the few bright spots for the Pac-12 last season, providing the conference with its lone NCAA Tournament win.

With that criterion, you could say the same about last year’s basketball season, except flip the roles of the schools in question. Despite being picked to finish 10^th (tied with Washington State) by the media in the preseason poll, the Buffaloes were an impressive 11-7 in the Pac-12 regular season and stunned most everyone by winning four games in four days to claim the Pac-12 Tournament and snatch up the league’s automatic bid to the Big Dance. On the other hand, Utah had a poor non-conference showing with blowout losses to the likes of Boise State, Fresno State and Cal State Fullerton. The Utes didn’t have much more success in the Pac-12 slate, finishing 3-15 in conference and coming in 11^th place.

That said, it wouldn’t be fair to Utah to judge them for eternity based on last season’s performance. It was Larry Krystkowiak’s first season in Salt Lake City and the Utes were without their difference-maker on defense in David Foster (and they’ll continue to be without him this year, too).  And with such a huge roster upheaval this year — only three guys on this year’s team played in a game for the Utes in 2011-12 and six transfers are eligible to suit up — who knows how much one can really expect of the 2012-13 version, though that backcourt should get a huge shot in the arm with three of those transfers in Glen Dean, Jarred DuBois and Aaron Dotson.

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