[xubrew]

just a reminder that this thursday, the season officially kicks off. another thing that also kicks off is our version of enhanced tv. be sure to log on to this forum for both games thursday and both games friday. you'll see a game thread which will be dedicated to online discussion and comments while the games are being played.

the games are:

THURSDAY:
memphis vs wake forest,
marquette vs saint john's

FRIDAY:
pittsburgh vs alabama
gonzaga vs saint joseph's



ALL of these games are important. as someone that has studied the habits of the ncaa selection committee, i've learned that what happens in november IS important. look at the teams that slid toward the end of last season and still got in. for a team like gonzaga that may not face a lot of rpi top 50 teams in conference, this is huge because a win on a neutral floor against an rpi top 50 team will do wonders for their resume. gonzaga is gunning for a high seed so they can play their first and second round games in seattle, and believe me, even though it is november, winning this game will help them tremendously.

as far as the other teams, when it comes down to who gets in and who doesn't and who gets the higher seed and who doesn't, they look at games like this. it is a road or neutral site game and it appears that it is against a team that will likely finish in the rpi top 50. DO NOT BE FOOLED INTO THINKING NOVEMBER GAMES DO NOT MATTER!!!!

other than that, this is the inagural enhanced tv type thingy for bbbnet. we plan to do this throughout the year. i encourage all of you to drop in during the games and share your opinions. the more people participate the more fun it'll be.

[wilskeed]

Gonzaga and St. Joseph's both have big guys hurt-Turiauf is
just released to practice and Mallon for St. Joe's is out for awhile.

Gonzaga's bigs need to come to the party in this game...Violette
and Fox and Sean Mallon (redshirt freshman). Adam Morrison
has a sprained wrist and will possibly see very limited action.
Knight is recuperating from an ankle sprain and Skinner is back
so although Gonzaga theoretically has one of its deepest teams ever, players like Skinner, Mallon, Bankhead, Raivio,etc, all loom
large for Gonzaga's hopes. IF backcourts even out, the game will be decided in the blocks and low post.

It will be an interesting matchup with St. Joe's not lacking in firepower, especially at the guard slots. To me, because of the proximity to Philly, the Hawks should be slightly favored.

Gonzaga is ranked higher; now, due to injuries to Turiauf and
Knight( two of their best producers) the game is tilting toward
the Hawks. Stepp, Violette, and company have their work cut out for them!!

Here's to a great game!