Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC.

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The Redshirts: We are not talking about individual players but a program. In the latter part of the summer, Loyola announced its intention to exit the MAAC for the Patriot League. The Greyhounds captured the postseason title this past March. Coach Jimmy Patsos has another very strong group on hand. The interesting thing is how will the last run through the MAAC affect Loyola’s play. The guess here is not too much. Caution is needed however as the MAAC contingents would love nothing to upset the Greyhounds as a ‘going away present.’

How Will Jimmy Patsos Handle the Last Go-Round the MAAC? (AP)

Master Builder: When Canisius hired Jim Baron last spring they not only got a veteran coach with a proven track record, but the Buffalo-based school hired a coach who rebuilt situations at three different schools. First was St. Francis (PA). Next, his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, and most recently, Rhode Island. Baron brought St. Francis and St. Bonaventure to the NCAA Tournament in his careers there. He also had a few NITs under his tutelage but couldn’t get on the board during Selection Sunday while at URI. Make no mistake, though, Baron knows Canisius’ status and what needs to be done to succeed there. Word here says he goes ‘four for four’ in reclamation projects.

Must-See: A few of the notable matchups in the MAAC include…. On January 27, Iona hosts Loyola and visits the Greyhounds on March 1. The latter game could decide the regular season champion and have a strong bearing on final conference seeds for the postseason tournament. A few other notable games:

• November 11 – Manhattan at Louisville – Steve Masiello ducks no one and heads south to face a powerful Louisville team and his former boss (mentor), Rick Pitino.
• November 22 – Marist vs. West Virginia in the MAAC sponsored Old Spice Classic in Orlando. The field also includes the likes of Clemson, Davidson, Gonzaga, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
• January 6 ^– Iona hosts Manhattan, and more than rivalry bragging rights are at stake.
• January 25 – Loyola visits Manhattan, another huge midseason contest.

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It was to be a celebration of UCLA basketball. They were opening New Pauley Pavilion, complete with the newly unveiled statue of legendary coach John Wooden. There were numerous Bruin greats on hand for the festivities, as Lucius Allen, Marques Johnson, Rod Foster, Reggie Miller, Don MacLean, Ed O’Bannon and Wooden’s great-grandson Tyler Trapani were all introduced in the lead-up to tipoff, while others like Tyus Edney (the UCLA basketball director of operations), Baron Davis, Cedric Bozeman, Dijon Thompson and even former head coach Jim Harrick were spotted as well. Outside they were projecting footage of past great UCLA contests (I spied some of the ’73 national championship game) on the front façade of the building. Heck, even the choice of opponent was a nod toward the past, as Indiana State is the only other head coaching job Wooden ever held. The cheerleaders and the band helped Chancellor Gene Block welcome the fans in and all was grand in UCLA land, as aside from the sparkling new facilities, the Bruins were welcoming in a talented batch of newcomers with a load of expectations upon them.

The UCLA Band Meets Up Underneath The New John Wooden Statue Outside Pauley Pavilion

Then, shortly after the doors opened to let the fans in and take a poke around, athletic director Dan Guerrero met with the media and issued a statement announcing the NCAA decision declaring Shabazz Muhammad ineligible. While expected, the timing of the announcement cast something of a pall over the party. Then the game started. And it got worse. UCLA scored two points in its first seven possessions and 36 points in a 37-possession first half. Freshman phenom Kyle Anderson missed a handful of layups, a pair of free throws, and got beat off the bounce a couple of times. He did, however, deliver a couple of deft passes in the lane, each of which led to a blown layup. The Wear twins combined to remind everybody of their propensity to miss bunnies, Larry Drew II was largely invisible, and a crowd that was pumped just before tip-off sat on their hands and yawned.

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David Changas is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from tonight’s Battle of the Boulevard match-up between Belmont and Lipscomb.

They may be in a new league, and they may have lost their two biggest contributors in the post, but anyone who thinks the Belmont Bruins will do anything but contend for their seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last nine years is in for a rude awakening. As they proved by their 89-60 dismantling of their archrival Lipscomb on Friday, the Bruins will give OVC favorite and defending champion Murray State all they want in the Racers’ quest to return to the Big Dance. Belmont may have lost Mick Hedgepeth and Scott Saunders, its two leading rebounders and biggest bodies from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, but it returned one of the league’s best backcourts in Kerron Johnson and Ian Clark. Johnson is a classic pass-first point guard who uses his athleticism to break down defenses and can also score (he led the Bruins with 22 points on Friday). Clark is a prolific shooter with an unorthodox but quick release that is difficult to defend. The pair combined for 41 points on Friday, and it is reasonable to expect similar results throughout the season.

Belmont’s First Game This Year Was a Resounding Success

The most pleasant surprise Bruins coach Rick Byrd got from Friday’s win was the play of forward Trevor Noack. The 6’7″ senior averaged less than eight minutes per game last season, but hit double figures by the half and looked like a player who could be a consistent scoring option behind Clark, Johnson, and junior forward J.J. Mann. Belmont will be well-served by the athleticism of its backcourt, which will allow it to compete with the likes of Murray State and Tennessee State. Where the Bruins have questions is on the front line. While Noack’s offensive emergence is encouraging, Belmont will certainly struggle with talented big men – such as TSU’s Robert Covington – as it simply does not have much size on the interior. The Bruins play no one taller than 6’7″, and Noack and athletic frontcourt mate Blake Jenkins, a solid defender, do not offset their height disadvantages with much beef.

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Danny Spewak is an RTC correspondent and Big 12 microsite writer. He filed this report from Omaha after Creighton’s 71-51 victory over North Texas tonight. You can follow him on Twitter @dspewak.

The Tony Mitchell Show began with a fast-break dunk in the opening minutes and continued with a block, a three-pointer from the wing, another swat, a monstrous slam off an offensive rebound and, finally, a loud, piercing scream of raw emotion directed toward the sold-out CenturyLink Center crowd. The public address announcer continued to call that name in monotone – Tony Mitchell ­– as he racked up nine points, two dunks and two blocks in the first eight minutes of the game to put himself on pace for numbers that would make ESPN look foolish for failing to televise this matchup against All-American Doug McDermott and Creighton.

Doug McDermott Isn’t the Only Bluejay on His Team (ALYSSA SCHUKAR/THE WORLD-HERALD)

A funny thing happened, though, as the game progressed. North Texas, the consensus Sun Belt favorite but a team heavily reliant on underclassmen, began to crumble when Mitchell struggled offensively. A Mean Green offensive drought turned into a double-digit deficit, and by the end of the half, Mitchell sat on the bench with two fouls as his team fell out of contention. Suddenly, it became apparent that this wasn’t the Tony Mitchell Show or the Doug McDermott Show, nor was this game simply an individual battle between Tony Mitchell and Doug McDermott. Instead, the 71-51 throttling was a testament to the potential and limitless ceiling of this Creighton team. More importantly, it was a testament to the fact that the Mean Green have a long, long way to go. Still, this was no Division II school to open 2012-13 season—instead, the Bluejays welcomed one of the nation’s top players in Mitchell and a team with serious NCAA Tournament hopes. “I don’t know if I’ve been as nervous for an opening game for this one than I have been in 24 years of doing this,” coach Greg McDermott said. “I thought it was a great idea when we scheduled it, and then all this week I thought it was a terrible idea.”

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Evan Jacoby is a correspondent for RTC and a regular contributor. He filed this report from the Kentucky-Maryland game tonight in Brooklyn. You can find him @EJacobyRTC on Twitter. 

We assumed it was nearly impossible for Kentucky to repeat the kind of immediate, dominant success it had last season with a brand new crop of young players this year. For the first half of their season-opening game against Maryland on Friday night, though, the Wildcats came out on fire and efficient on both ends en route to opening a 15-point lead just minutes into the second half in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. But it didn’t take long for the inconsistency, poor decision-making, and defensive mistakes that are typical of freshmen players to crop up for John Calipari’s team, which opened the door for Maryland to make a run in front of a very pro-Terrapin crowd. Led by emerging sophomore center Alex Len, the Terps went on a 15-0 second half run and eventually took the lead before seesawing to a tough, 72-69 loss. Len was the catalyst on both ends for Maryland’s near-upset, as the sophomore seven-footer finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks — all game-highs. He shot 10-18 from the field and committed zero turnovers. Despite failing to capitalize with a monster non-conference victory, Maryland and its fans must feel confident about this season’s outlook on the heels of Len’s dominant opening performance.

Alex Len nearly led his Maryland team to a big-time upset win over Kentucky on Friday night (Maryland 247 Sports photo)

The big sophomore showed flashes of greatness last season for Maryland, but he did not put together any dominant performances that could propel Mark Turgeon’s team to big wins. The center from the Ukraine recorded six total games in double-figure scoring last year, and none after February 4. He averaged 4.1 points per game in his final 10 games and amassed just one double-double all season. Tonight was a completely different story, as Len looked much more polished in the paint with offensive moves, finishes at the rim, rebounding prowess, and strong defensive positioning. Len turned national consensus #1 recruit Nerlens Noel of Kentucky into an afterthought, dominating the freshman in the paint as well as beating him down the floor in transition on multiple occasions. Noel had just four points on 2-6 shooting to match his nine rebounds and three blocks. If not for the unlikely late-game heroics of former Kentucky walk-on Jarrod Polson, who scored 10 points tonight after recording a total of seven previous points in his career, the Terps could have left Barclays Center with a defining victory.

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Kellen Carpenter is an RTC correspondent and ACC microsite writer. He filed this report from Friday night’s UNC game versus Gardner-Webb.

James Michael McAdoo was expected to take a starring role for his North Carolina team and in the first game of this season, a 76-59 victory over Gardner-Webb, he showed what he could do as a star. With a career-high 26 points and 14 rebounds (eight of which were on the offensive glass), McAdoo is clearly on the path to fulfilling his first-team All-ACC expectations. The team as a whole however, is clearly one that is a work in progress.

McAdoo Was a Man Among Boys Tonight (AP/Ted Richardson)

Desmond Hubert earned the fifth Tar Heel starting spot in the post, but he struggled, tallying only four rebounds and failing to score while turning the ball over twice in 13 minutes. He was also memorably bowled over by Mike Byron just a few minutes after tip. Roy Williams made a change by starting Joel James in the second half, and, for his part, James played with a lot of energy but he struggled to stay on the court, accruing four fouls in only 14 minutes of play. The question of the frontcourt rotation is clearly an unsolved riddle for this team, with Williams freely experimenting and looking for a combination that was effective on both ends of the court. Brice Johnson looked polished on offense, but in limited minutes it’s hard to draw too many conclusions about him. Roy Williams said afterward that he isn’t sure who will fill this spot for the next game.

The backcourt rotation also presented a puzzle. Freshman point guard Marcus Paige started and managed to tally four turnovers and zero assists in his 28 minutes, not exactly an auspicious start for the team’s chief playmaker. On the perimeter, one of UNC’s supposed best shooting teams in recent memory managed to shoot 1-of-12 from the field while going 9-of-19 from the free throw line. Granted, a lot of the poor shooting from the stripe was due to McAdoo’s 6-of-11.

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If you the chance to watch this game live (illegal stream!), there are two words to best describe Baylor’s victory.

Good. God.

Pierre Jackson (#55) and Isaiah Austin (#21) had a grand ol’ time stomping on Lehigh Friday afternoon. (Associated Press/Rod Aydelotte)

The Baylor frontcourt had their way with the Mountain Hawks. Cory Jefferson scored 26 points, pulled down 13 rebounds (five offensive) and a couple blocked shots. Every time I looked up at the game, he was on the receiving end of alley-oop after alley-oop. Pierre Jackson played like the preseason player of the year that he is with 14 points and 12 assists. Super frosh Isaiah Austin scored 22 points on 10-for-12 from the field, including two threes in just 17 minutes. Four minutes into the second half, Austin made a turnaround jumper, stepped on a Lehigh player’s foot and went to the floor. He did not try to put any weight on it when helped off the court. He did not return.

We all remember Lehigh beating Duke as a #15 seed last March. They were picked to repeat as Patriot League champions in large part due to C.J. McCollum coming back for a senior season. Today, he seemed to be the only guy playing for them, scoring 36 points, grabbing eight rebounds to go along with three steals in 38 minutes. The Bears shot 62% from the floor while the Mountain Hawks hit 37% of their attempts. Next up for Baylor is a match-up with Jackson State Sunday afternoon at the Ferrell Center.

I know it’s one game, so I’m trying to keep the superlatives to a minimum.

But man…

On a day of celebration for college basketball fans around the country, UCLA fans received a rude present just prior to the tip-off of their season opener. Seventy-five minutes before the Bruins were to tip-off against Indiana State, athletic director Dan Guerrero issued a statement indicating that the NCAA had declared prized recruit Shabazz Muhammad ineligible due to an amateurism violation. When or more ominously if Muhammad will be declared eligible for participation is unclear at this point. The full text of Guerrero’s statement:

Muhammad: Out For Now (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

“The NCAA has finally determined that a violation of the NCAA amateurism rules has occurred involving UCLA freshman guard Shabazz Muhammad and his family. As a result, he is ineligible for competition at this time. We are extremely disappointed that the NCAA has made this determination. The University and our compliance staff have fully cooperated with the NCAA throughout this entire period, and we believe the decision is incorrect and unjust to Shabazz. UCLA will expeditiously pursue its options to challenge this determination. When a final resolution has been reached by the NCAA, we will swiftly communicate the news to the entire Bruin family.”

Really, when it comes right down to it, while the timing is awful, we all expected that Muhammad would miss some games. While Bruins fans hoped that Muhammad would be cleared immediately, they can take solace in the fact that at least Muhammad isn’t left hung out to dry with no ruling at this point. The NCAA has come to a preliminary determination, based on facts that we don’t know, and probably never will know, but at least the investigation is moving forward. UCLA will appeal the decision, but in the meantime, we wait to see if this ineligibility is a long-term thing, a mere blip on the radar, or somewhere in between.

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The college hoops season is underway today and there were still a few preseason lists left to be voted upon. The SEC coaches selected their first and second team all-SEC squads earlier at the SEC Headquarters in Birmingham. Ten different schools were represented in the process, with Tennessee leading with three selections. Arkansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Florida were represented with two selections apiece. The results can be found below.

Jeronne Maymon is one of three Volunteers represented on the preseason Coaches’ All-Conference squads.

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It’s time to finish up the rest of our power conference preseason podblasts before the season gets under way tonight. We’ve invited our Pac-12 microsite correspondent Andrew Murawa (@amurawa) over to talk Pacific-12 Conference roundball for the 2012-13 season. Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), as always, hosts as we break down the top contenders in the Pac-12 and some of the players to watch on the preseason all-conference lists. Feel free to jump around using the outline of the ‘blast below.

Make sure to check out our other preview podblasts already in the books before the season tips off tonight:

• Big Ten preview podblast
• Big East preview podblast
• SEC preview podblast
• ACC preview podblast
• Big 12 preview podblast

We welcome any and all feedback on these podcasts including topics for future discussion or if you want to send us any questions for our “May Not Be From Actual Listeners” segment. Hit us up atrushthecourt@yahoo.com or @rushthecourt on Twitter. For now, enjoy the listen…

Also, make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after each recording.

• Start-3:42 – Arizona as the favorite
• 3:42-9:30 – UCLA potentially great
• 9:30-11:44 – Can Cal challenge for the league?
• 11:44-14:05 – Best of the rest?
• 14:05-16:09 – Postseason outlook for the league
• 16:09-18:34 – First team Pac-12
• 18:34-20:45 – Best players to watch
• 20:45-23:15 – How to change the national perception?
• 23:15-25:10 – What we’re looking forward to