The wait is over. The wait is finally over. For a month and a half now, college basketball has kept us intermittently engrossed. There have been glimpses of the beauty, sniffs of the joy. But beginning today, we get to dive in. We get the full dosage. We get to bask in all the glory. The beginning of conference play is important, not just because attention ratchets up and the momentous games come in droves, but because these first few weeks are full of realizations. This is when we start to get a true feel for individual teams. This is when preseason “underrated” statements are validated and gaudy records against weak competition are exposed. It’s too early to make sweeping judgments about conferences as wholes, but at last, the balance of power within those leagues will start to reveal itself. We’ll learn a lot these next few weeks. Or at the very least, we’ll think we have. And right now, that’s good enough.

Three for the Money

We’re actually going to bypass this section for now because there aren’t many single games that stand out this week. There are no clashes between conference heavyweights. In fact, there are only a couple of contests between two ranked teams. Instead, this week is about collections of games. It’s about the Big Ten tip-off event on Tuesday. It’s about the quintet of Big East games on Wednesday. It’s about the first full west coast Friday night in the Pac-12. And it’s about a jam-packed Saturday all across the nation.

A Juicy Big Ten Triple-header

Maryland Begins Its Opening Big Ten Season Today (USA Today Images)

The two worst teams in the league, Northwestern and Rutgers, actually get things started today at Noon, but we can pretend that game isn’t happening. The real curtain-raiser is the afternoon tripleheader on ESPN2. First, Iowa travels to Columbus to take on Ohio State in a rematch of last year’s upset of the then-No. 3 Buckeyes. Without Roy Devyn Marble in the lineup, though, the Hawkeyes aren’t the same team they were a year ago, more closely resembling the team that closed last season on a 1-7 slide. They lack consistent scoring punch in the backcourt, and that could mean trouble against an Ohio State team of which perimeter defense is a legitimate strength. KenPom only gives the Hawkeyes a 19 percent chance to enter Value City Arena and get a win.

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Every fall we were more than a little envious of all the NFL fans who could join the various survivor pools floating around. Perhaps it was the simplicity of it that was attractive; maybe the all-or-nothingness. Regardless of the reason, we always quietly wished that we could come up with something equally fun and compelling to engage fans throughout the season in college basketball. That time is now. We’re not sure exactly how this will turn out, but we’ve developed the framework of what we think is a workable #cbbsurvivor game. The form that you will need for Week One is located here, and the rules are below:

Try Finding a Non-NFL Survivor Pool Image

Pick two teams that you think will go unbeaten next week (Monday Nov. 17 – Sunday Nov. 23). The deadline for entries in Week One is 6:00 PM ET on Monday. You cannot choose teams that you have already chosen in previous weeks, and it is your responsibility to know which teams you’ve already used. Your pool of available teams are the 65 schools from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

• If both your teams go unbeaten, you advance to next week (note: both teams MUST play at least one game).
• If your teams split (one unbeaten; one loses), you use a strike and advance to next week. You’re allowed three strikes during the season. A fourth strike eliminates you.
• If both your teams lose at least one game, you are eliminated.
• If you attempt to use the same team twice in a season or if you miss a weekly deadline, you are eliminated.

The last #cbbsurvivor standing will win two tickets to the 2015 NCAA Regional of his choice. Second and third place will receive RTC t-shirts. One entry per person, please.

Good luck!