UAB

Usually, with all the hope and excitement that naturally accompanies the start of yet another great season, college basketball fans anxiously gather around their sets in November to take in all the...blowouts. 

Whether you're awaiting Duke's season opener against the always dangerous Presbyterian College Blue Hose, or mighty UConn testing their mettle against the likes of Bryant and Delaware State, there doesn't seem to be much to look forward to in the very early season.

The talented senior; it’s become an endangered species in college basketball with the top underclassmen leaving each year for NBA riches. This year’s group however is loaded with future NBA players in the frontcourt and the backcourt. These players will be expected to lead their teams deep into March and will be ready to make an immediate impact on the pro level next fall.

 

Conference Rank: 11th

It’s not just the under-the-radar high school prospects that end up playing their college ball at non-BCS schools nowadays.  15 out of Rivals.com’s top 150 prospects for 2008 committed to non-BCS schools.  Add to that the 18 players from the year before and you’ve got a serious influx of talent for the Davids to help fight off the Goliaths.

 

Memphis

Tulsa

UAB

UTEP

Other (Houston, Southern Miss, etc)

While none of the three matchups taking place before Saturday will approach the hype surrounding the Red River Rivalry and LSU/Florida games, they are intriguing affairs nonetheless. The ACC Atlantic took another turn last weekend with Maryland getting shut out by Virginia, so the Thursday night battle between Clemson and Wake Forest is back to setting the tone for the divisional race. Also taking place on Thursday is UAB visiting a Houston team that may be the only challenger to explosive Tulsa in Conference USA's West Division.

Three games are on tap tonight, with two ranked teams looking to make a statement on a day dominated by the MLB playoffs and the vice presidential debate. Last night's game wasn't much of a test for #17 Boise State, as they extended their home win streak to fifteen games with a 38-3 pasting of Louisiana Tech. Hopefully the games tonight will offer more in the way of suspense, and I think they will.

Pittsburgh (3-1, 1-0 Big East) @ #10 USF (5-0, 0-0) 7:30 PM EST on ESPN