ESPN Men's Basketball

1. It’s really a shame that Kendall Marshall's last game was against Creighton in the third round and not Kansas in the Elite Eight. We never really saw the full potential of this Carolina team. Had Marshall been able to avoid injury then the Tar Heels would likely be in New Orleans competing for the title. But that’s the beauty as well as the cruelty of sports. Now Marshall is declaring for the NBA draft with John Henson and Harrison Barnes, too. Roy Williams has had three sets of elite teams in his brief time at North Carolina. Two of the three won titles in 2005 and 2009. This one was destined to win one, too. But it will always be remembered for what could have happened, instead of what they did -- finish a game short of the Final Four.

2. A decision on Butler going to the A-10 isn’t final yet, but all indications are that it’s still pointing in that direction. Butler was once in a league with Xavier and Dayton and with Saint Louis nearby it’s a slam dunk for basketball and the overall athletic department. The hurdle for the department would be to ensure that it’s not too much of an added cost for the non-revenue sports. A-10 sources and Colonial Athletic Association sources all said there was no truth to George Mason and VCU moving to the A-10, too. They’ve gone public with that, as well. The A-10 shouldn’t go to 16 anyway at this juncture. All it needs to do for now is replace Temple for Butler. If Charlotte were to leave for the CUSA-MWC merger then the A-10 can deal with that loss later.

3. Pat Kelsey took over the job at Winthrop in a surprising move since Kelsey had resigned from his Xavier assistant position to spend more time with his family last year. I spoke with Kelsey a few times and he legitimately feared that he was not spending enough time at home and that he was going to miss his children’s lives. Kelsey was deeply troubled by the death of his mentor, former coach Skip Prosser. But the year off did wonders for him. The hope is that he has his priorities set and can allow himself at a smaller, less intense school like Winthrop to stay grounded and keep the balance necessary in his life.

You’ve kept up with his projections for the past few months, but Joe Lunardi doesn’t go into hibernation once the real bracket comes out. Our resident Bracketologist is a hardcore basketball fan who knows his stuff. Here are his picks for the Big Dance:

SOUTH

Second round
1 Kentucky over 16 Western Kentucky
9 Connecticut over 8 Iowa State
5 Wichita State over 12 VCU
13 New Mexico State over 4 Indiana
6 UNLV over 11 Colorado
3 Baylor over 14 South Dakota State
7 Notre Dame over 10 Xavier
2 Duke over 15 Lehigh

Third round
1 Kentucky over 9 Connecticut
5 Wichita State over 13 New Mexico State
3 Baylor over 6 UNLV
2 Duke over 7 Notre Dame

Sweet 16
1 Kentucky over 5 Wichita State
3 Baylor over 2 Duke

Elite Eight
1 Kentucky over 3 Baylor

WEST

Second round
1 Michigan State over 16 LIU Brooklyn
9 Saint Louis over 8 Memphis
5 New Mexico over 12 Long Beach State
4 Louisville over 13 Davidson
6 Murray State over 11 Colorado State
3 Marquette over 14 BYU
7 Florida over 10 Virginia
2 Missouri over 15 Norfolk State

Third round
1 Michigan State over 9 Saint Louis
5 New Mexico over 4 Louisville
3 Marquette over 6 Murray State
2 Missouri over 7 Florida

Sweet 16
1 Michigan State over 5 New Mexico
2 Missouri over 3 Marquette

Elite Eight
2 Missouri over 1 Michigan State

EAST

Second round
1 Syracuse over 16 UNC Asheville
8 Kansas State over 9 Southern Miss
5 Vanderbilt over 12 Harvard
4 Wisconsin over 13 Montana
6 Cincinnati over 11 Texas
3 Florida State over 14 St. Bonaventure
10 West Virginia over 7 Gonzaga
2 Ohio State over 15 Loyola (Md.)

Third round
1 Syracuse over 8 Kansas State
4 Wisconsin over 5 Vanderbilt
3 Florida State over 6 Cincinnati
2 Ohio State over 10 West Virginia

Sweet 16
4 Wisconsin over 1 Syracuse
2 Ohio State over 3 Florida State

Elite Eight
4 Wisconsin over 2 Ohio State

MIDWEST

Second round
1 North Carolina over 16 Lamar
9 Alabama over 8 Creighton
5 Temple over 12 California
4 Michigan over 13 Ohio
11 NC State over 6 San Diego State
3 Georgetown over 14 Belmont
7 Saint Mary's over 10 Purdue
2 Kansas over 15 Detroit

Third round
1 North Carolina over 9 Alabama
4 Michigan over 5 Temple
11 NC State over 3 Georgetown
2 Kansas over 7 Saint Mary's

Sweet 16
1 North Carolina over 4 Michigan
2 Kansas over 11 NC State

Elite Eight
1 North Carolina over 2 Kansas

NATIONAL SEMIFINALS
Kentucky over Missouri
North Carolina over Wisconsin

NATIONAL TITLE GAME
Kentucky over North Carolina

Call in sick for work. Play hooky from school. Plop onto your favorite sofa or reserve a table at the local sports bar.

You’ve been waiting all year for the next two days.

It’s going to be worth it.

For sports fans, the first weekend of the NCAA tournament is as good as it gets. The Super Bowl may receive more hype, and watching your hometown team play in the World Series or NBA Finals is hard to beat.

But on a national level, no event is as highly anticipated by such a wide range of fans as the NCAA tournament. And no sport can match the excitement that will unfold time and time again during the “round of 64” games that take place Thursday and Friday.

Now that most of you have made your picks and turned in your brackets, here are some things to keep an eye on over the next two days.

Five best round of 64 games

No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Connecticut (South Region) -- After finishing ninth in the Big East last season, the Huskies won their final 11 games en route to a national championship. The chances of that happening again this year appear slim, especially with a potential round of 32 game looming against Kentucky. Still, Jim Calhoun’s squad is loaded with NBA talent (Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb) and experience. Its tilt with the Royce White-led Cyclones should be an entertaining one.

No. 8 Creighton vs. No. 9 Alabama (Midwest Region) -- Any little league basketball coach should have his team watch Creighton. Greg McDermott’s squad plays the game the right way. The Bluejays share the ball on offense, take high-percentage shots and genuinely relish each others’ success. They also feature one of the nation’s top players in Doug McDermott (Greg’s son). The 6-foot-7 sophomore will be challenged by an Alabama squad that’s known as one of the top defensive teams in the country.

No. 6 San Diego State vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (Midwest Region) -- Don’t let the Wolfpack’s low seed fool you. With players such as C.J. Leslie and Lorenzo Brown, Mark Gottfried touts the most talented team in the ACC behind North Carolina and Duke. NC State, which is making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006, has won four of its past five games. San Diego State, though, will be a tough out. The Aztecs had won six in a row before falling to New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference tournament title game.

No. 5 Wichita State vs. No. 12 VCU (South Region) -- VCU became the biggest story of last year’s NCAA tournament when it went all the way from the “First Four” in Dayton to the Final Four in Houston. This year Wichita State hopes to end the Rams’ run before it truly starts. The Shockers are generally regarded as the top mid-major team in America. Gregg Marshall’s squad is a solid seven deep, with underrated point guard Joe Ragland leading the way along with 7-foot center Garrett Stutz. Both players are seniors.

No. 5 New Mexico vs. No. 12 Long Beach State (West Region) -- Steve Alford’s New Mexico squad shared the Mountain West regular-season title with San Diego State before winning the league tournament. In Drew Gordon (13.4 points, 10.9 rebounds) the Lobos feature one of the field’s best-kept secrets. Led by Cousy Award finalist Casper Ware, Long Beach State is a senior-laden team that played nonconference games at Kansas, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Louisville. The 49ers won’t be intimidated by the big stage.

Best round of 64 coaching matchups

Gonzaga’s Mark Few vs. West Virginia’s Bob Huggins (East Region) -- By their own standards, Few and Huggins have had somewhat “down” years. Gonzaga failed to win at least a piece of the West Coast Conference title for the first time in 11 years. West Virginia squeaked into the tournament despite losing eight of its final 12 games. Still, these are two of the top game tacticians in the country.

Florida’s Billy Donovan vs. Virginia’s Tony Bennett (West Region) -- The Gators have won two NCAA titles under Donovan, who likes to push the tempo. Meanwhile, no coach is as good at controlling the pace of a game as Bennett, whose team averages 63.1 points a game. Only one team in the last month (Maryland) has cracked the 70-point barrier against Virginia, and the Terps needed overtime to do it. The contrast in styles between these two coaches should make the game interesting.

Memphis’ Josh Pastner vs. Saint Louis’ Rick Majerus (West Region) -- Pastner is the 34-year-old wunderkind who is regarded as one of the profession’s rising stars. Majerus has 516 career wins and took Utah to the NCAA title game in 1998. Beating such a highly regarded coach in the NCAA tournament would do wonders for Pastner, whose reputation has already begun to soar. Memphis has won 11 of its past 12 contests and won the Conference USA title by a commanding two games.

Saint Mary’s’ Randy Bennett vs. Purdue’s Matt Painter (Midwest Region) -- Bennett has turned Saint Mary’s into a mid-major power by winning 25 or more games in each of the past five seasons. This season his Gaels became the first team in 11 years other than Gonzaga to win the outright West Coast Conference title. Painter’s Purdue squads are always among the top defensive teams in the country. The Boilermakers aren’t as good as they’ve been in years past, but Painter will have them prepared for Saint Mary’s.

Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall vs. VCU’s Shaka Smart (South Region) -- Both coaches are rumored to be in line for bigger jobs (and bigger paychecks) at the end of the season. Granted, they may not want to leave their current schools. Marshall has the Shockers back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006. Smart took VCU to the Final Four last season and is hoping for another big run this month.

Best Round of 64 Individual Matchups

Florida State’s Bernard James vs. St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson (East Region) -- The 6-foot-10 James, who averages 2.3 blocks, will have his hands full trying to stop a forward who has averaged more than 16 points in each of the past three seasons. James is fortunate in that he has already faced some of the country’s top big men (Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Mason Plumlee, Mike Scott, etc.) in the ACC.

UNLV’s Mike Moser vs. Colorado’s Andre Roberson (South Region) -- Two of the nation’s top rebounders will go head-to-head when the Runnin’ Rebels meet the Buffaloes. Moser averages 10.6 rebounds per game, while Roberson snares 11.6 per contest.

Gonzaga’s Elias Harris vs. West Virginia’s Kevin Jones -- Jones would’ve likely been the Big East Player of the Year and a first-team All-American had the Mountaineers not floundered so badly down the stretch. With averages of 20.1 points and 11.1 rebounds, the 6-8 260-pounder is one of the most versatile players in the country. His size makes him a tough matchup, but Harris (6-7, 240) is big enough to handle the chore.

Alabama’s JaMychal Green vs. Creighton’s Doug McDermott (Midwest Region) -- Green had better get plenty of sleep before his team takes on Creighton. He’ll need all the energy he can muster to keep up with the 6-7 McDermott, who can score from anywhere on the court. McDermott ranks third in the country with a scoring average of 23.2 points per game.

Baylor’s backcourt vs. South Dakota State’s Nate Wolters (South Region) -- Wolters averages 21.3 points per game and, at 6-4, he’s a tough matchup for opposing guards. The Bears have plenty of backcourt depth, so expect Pierre Jackson, A.J. Walton, Brady Heslip, Deuce Bello and Gary Franklin to take their turns pestering Wolters, who scored 34 points against Washington earlier this season.

Five potential round of 64 upsets

No. 14 Belmont over No. 3 Georgetown (Midwest Region) -- The Hoyas lost their opening game in each of the past two seasons and haven’t made it to the second weekend since 2007. Belmont lost to Duke by one point in its season opener at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Bruins, who have won 14 straight, are a strong No. 14 seed.

No. 12 Long Beach State over No. 5 New Mexico (West Region) -- The 49ers won at Pittsburgh and lost by single digits at Kansas and North Carolina. They’ll have a chance in this one, but only if guard Larry Anderson (knee) is able to play. Long Beach State is led by former Gonzaga and Minnesota head coach Dan Monson.

No. 13 Montana over No. 4 Wisconsin (East Region) -- The Grizzlies have lost just one game since Dec. 10. Wisconsin, which finished fourth in the Big Ten, has had a solid season. The Badgers, however, play a slow style that makes them vulnerable to upsets. Eight of Wisconsin’s last nine wins have been by single digits.

No. 15 Detroit over No. 2 Kansas (Midwest Region) -- Kansas’ history of floundering against mid-major teams (Bucknell, Bradley, Northern Iowa, VCU) makes this game interesting. Detroit touts a McDonald’s All-America point guard in Ray McCallum Jr., and 6-foot-10 center Eli Holman began his career at Indiana before transferring to Detroit. He and 6-foot-11 teammate LaMarcus Lowe could create problems for Thomas Robinson.

No. 13 Davidson over No. 4 Louisville (West Region) -- This isn’t Stephen Curry’s Davidson team, but Bob McKillop’s squad is dangerous, nonetheless. Davidson defeated Kansas 80-74 in Kansas City back on Dec. 19. And the Wildcats went an impressive 16-2 in their conference. Louisville is one of the country’s best defensive teams, but overall, the Cardinals have a small margin for error.

Check back Friday morning for Joe Lunardi's full bracket, but here are his basic projections through Thursday night's action.

SINCE THE LAST UPDATE

• Texas moves above “Last Four In” (No. 47 overall) with its victory over Iowa State.
• Mississippi State drops to “Last Four In” with its loss to Georgia.
• South Florida stays in the field (No. 46 overall) despite its loss to Notre Dame.
• Oregon moves from "First Four Out" to the last spot on "Next Four Out."

LAST FOUR IN

Washington
Mississippi State
Drexel
Seton Hall

FIRST FOUR OUT

Tennessee
Northwestern
NC State
Miami (Fla.)

NEXT FOUR OUT

Iona
Arizona
Saint Joseph's
Oregon

Also considered: Dayton, Marshall, Ole Miss

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (6)
Big 12 (6)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
West Coast (3)
Colonial (2)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)
Pac-12 (2)

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Belmont (Atlantic Sun)
Creighton (Missouri Valley)
Davidson (Southern)
Detroit (Horizon)
Harvard (Ivy)
Lehigh (Patriot)
LIU Brooklyn (Northeast)
Loyola-Md. (MAAC)
Montana (Big Sky)
Murray State (OVC)
Saint Mary's (West Coast)
South Dakota State (Summit)
UNC Asheville (Big South)
VCU (Colonial)
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)

Editor’s note: This update does not include BYU-Gonzaga in the WCC tournament.

NOTABLE

• North Carolina moves up to top line as projected No. 1 seed.
• Belmont (Atlantic Sun) clinches fifth NCAA bid in seven years.
• Texas falls out of field, replaced by Xavier (“Last Team In”).

Last Four In
Xavier
Northwestern
South Florida
Colorado State

First Four Out
Texas
VCU
Oregon
NC State

Next Four Out
Miami
Tennessee
Saint Joseph’s
Dayton

BRACKET MATH

Take the “solid” at-large candidates (current Tournament Odds at 90% or better) and there are now 34 teams in the field. Add in the remaining automatic qualifiers and that’s another 20 spots. All told there are 54 of the 68 spots accounted for, with 14 still up for grabs among current “Bubble” teams.

S-CURVE PROJECTIONS

1-KENTUCKY 2-SYRACUSE 3-KANSAS 4-NO. CAROLINA
8-Ohio State 7-Missouri 6-Duke 5-Michigan State*
9-Marquette 10-Georgetown 11-Baylor 12-Michigan
16-UNLV 15-Florida 14-Indiana 13-Wisconsin
17-Louisville 18-Wichita State 19-Florida State 20-TEMPLE
24-CREIGHTON 23-Notre Dame 22-Murray State 21-Vanderbilt
25-Gonzaga 26-New Mexico 27- San Diego State* 28-MEMPHIS
32-Purdue 31-Kansas State 30-Iowa State 29-SAINT MARY’S
33-Alabama 34-Cincinnati 35-Virginia 36-Southern Miss
40-Connecticut 39-Washington* 38-California 37-Saint Louis
41-West Virginia 42-Seton Hall 43-Harvard* 44-LONG BEACH STATE
48-Colorado State 47-Mississippi State 46-Brigham Young 45-Arizona
49-South Florida 50-Northwestern 51-Xavier 52-IONA
56-NEVADA 55-ORAL ROBERTS 54-DREXEL 53-MIDDLE TENNNESSEE
57-Belmont 58-DAVIDSON 59-AKRON 60-VALPARAISO
64-UNC Asheville 63-UT ARLINGTON 62-MONTANA 61-BUCKNELL
65-LONG ISLAND 66-STONY BROOK 67-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY 68-SAVANNAH STATE
72-NC State 71-Oregon 70-VCU 69-Texas
73-Miami (Fla.) 74-Saint Joseph’s 75-Dayton 76-Tennessee

Bold - automatic qualifier; * - current conference leader.
ALL CAPS: Regular-season champion (NIT auto-bid if needed)

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN

Big East (10)
Big Ten (7)
Big 12 (5)
SEC (5)
ACC (4)
Mountain West (4)
Atlantic 10 (3)
Pac-12 (3)
West Coast (3)
Conference USA (2)
Missouri Valley (2)

NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

UNC Asheville (Big South)
Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference)
Belmont (Atlantic Sun)

Jeremy Atkinson scored 18 points to lead UNC Asheville to an 80-64 victory over VMI, and the Bulldogs capture the Big South Championship.

Join our college basketball experts as they preview this weekend's biggest games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Join our ESPN.com college basketball experts as they look ahead to this weekend's games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Join college basketball bloggers Eamonn Brennan, Myron Medcalf and Jason King as they preview this weekend's games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions beginning at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Join our ESPN.com college basketball experts as they preview this weekend's games.

Contribute your thoughts and questions at 1 p.m. ET. See you there.

Join ESPN.com writers Eamonn Brennan and Myron Medcalf at 1 p.m. ET to discuss all things college basketball as we head into a weekend slate full of games.

Join ESPN.com writers Eamonn Brennan and Myron Medcalf at 1 p.m. ET to discuss all things college basketball as we head into a weekend slate full of games.

As much as I'd like to think that you spent all day furiously auto-refreshing the college hoops scoreboard, I know the deal. You were spending Thanksgiving like a normal person. You caught up with friends and family. You broke bread and got tired of turkey. You watched Ndamukong Suh try to twist a Green Bay offensive lineman's head off his body.

In other words, you didn't see much college basketball. That's OK. Frankly, with a couple of rare exceptions -- Minnesota's one-point win against DePaul comes to mind -- you didn't miss all that much. But just so we're all on the same page, let's spend a brief moment catching up on some of the more notable results from Thanksgiving day. (At the very least, it's something to read on your phone while you stand in line regretting your decision to go shopping on Black Friday. I mean really, what were you thinking?)

Battle 4 Atlantis

Connecticut 73, UNC-Asheville 63: A tip of the cap is owed to the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs after this performance, and Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun agreed: "Overall, a win is a win, but no one's played us even near that hard since we played Butler last year," Calhoun said after the game, and he's right. UConn's 2011-12 season has kicked off with a coterie of cupcakes. Asheville appeared to be another easy win. Connecticut started as expected, opening up a 16-3 lead by the 16:11 mark. But over the last 35 minutes, the Bulldogs actually beat Calhoun's team 60-57. Alas, basketball doesn't work that way, and that initial gap was always too much for the Bulldogs to overcome. Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier were again excellent here -- they each contributed 23 points -- while freshman forward Andre Drummond, who has struggled thus far in his heralded first season, didn't find a rhythm and finished with nine points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.

Florida State 73, Massachusetts 53: The transitive property has no place in college hoops analysis, but just for the fun of it, let's apply it to Florida State, UMass and Boston College. Four days ago, the Minutemen won at Boston College 82-46. Thursday, Florida State beat UMass 73-53. If my math is correct, Florida State is exactly 56 points better than conference foe BC. Either Florida State is really good, or Boston College is really bad. (I'll go with a combination of both.) In any case, this is what the Noles do. They defend. On Thursday, they held UMass to just 53 points in 80 possessions; the seemingly high-flying Minutemen were reduced to .66 points per possession and a eyebrow-raising 29.4 effective field goal percentage. After leading the nation in defensive efficiency for two straight seasons, Leonard Hamilton's outfit appears ready to tack on a third.

Other results in the Bahamas: Keith Clanton dropped 28, Marcus Jordan had 17, and UCF was able to seal a 74-63 win against Charleston with a timely second-half run. ... Utah isn't a very good team -- that much we know for sure -- but it's hard to be unimpressed by the comprehensive beating the Utes received from Harvard on Thursday. With 3:54 left in the first half, the Crimson's lead ballooned to 45-16. Final score: 75-47.

Old Spice Classic

Minnesota 86, DePaul 85: I'm not sure what to make of this one. Is Minnesota just not very good? Is DePaul better than most think? Is one game on a neutral court this early in the season too small a sample size on which to base sweeping conclusions? Of course. One thing worth keeping an eye on is Minnesota's turnovers, which the Gophers have made a habit of producing in the early goings this season: The Gophers committed 17 turnovers in 73 possessions Thursday. We know Tubby Smith's front line is going to be good; Trevor Mbakwe submitted another excellent performance (16 points on 6-of-7 from the field, 12 rebounds, two steals, one block). And Minnesota's offense was good in general (1.17 points per possession). But if Smith's team can't cut down on the turnovers, it could shoot itself in the foot quite often this season.

In the meantime, let's keep an eye on this DePaul team. Reigning Big East Freshman of the Year Cleveland Melvin and guard Brandon Young combined for 43 points; together, they represent the most talent the Blue Demons have had on the floor in years. It's still too early to tell, but this team might just make some noise.

Fairfield 55, Arizona State 44: Be glad you didn't see this one. It was every bit as unwatchable as the scoreline suggests. I note it specifically only to briefly reflect on the early struggles at Arizona State, which coughed up the ball on 36.1 percent of its possessions Thursday. After four games, the Sun Devils are 1-3 with losses to Pepperdine, New Mexico and now Fairfield. That's not quite as bad as UCLA's track record, but it isn't much better. The Bruins aren't the only Pac-12 program flirting with the word "crisis."

Other results from Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: Dayton's 80-76 win against Wake Forest was hardly the prettiest affair, but the biggest lead of the night was five points, and in the end, first-year Dayton coach Archie Miller got to tack a November nonconference win on his budding resumé. ... And don't look now, but Indiana State, last season's surprise Missouri Valley tournament representative, is 5-0 to start the season after a nice little win against Billy Gillispie's Texas Tech rebuilding project.

76 Classic

Santa Clara 79, New Mexico 76 (OT): It's a little too early to start worrying about the NCAA tournament selection process and the bad losses and marquee wins that punctuate that discussion in February and March, but -- ah, the all-important "but" -- it must be said: If New Mexico was planning on grabbing an at-large NCAA tournament bid this season, it might have to adjust its plans. The Lobos are already 2-2 with losses to Santa Clara and New Mexico State, and they don't have a ton left on their nonconference schedule (at USC? vs. Oklahoma State? vs. Saint Louis?) that will catch the eye of the committee at any point down the road. And let's give it up for Santa Clara, too. The Broncos looked like something of a pushover Nov. 15 in an 89-56 loss at UC-Santa Barbara, but they played well Thursday, especially down the stretch, to grab this win away from New Mexico.

St. Louis 62, Boston College 51: If you read the Florida State-UMass portion of this post, you're well aware Boston College is playing dreadful basketball at this point in the season, so beating the Eagles by 11 doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment. And it really isn't. But if you told Rick Majerus in July that his team would be 4-0 on Nov. 25 -- with wins against power-conference teams Washington and BC -- he surely would have been thrilled. Now, SLU advances in the 76 Classic to face Villanova, which promises to be its stiffest test yet.

Other results from Anaheim, Calif.: Villanova easily handled UC Riverside, a good sign for a Wildcats team that struggled to dispatch La Salle in an overtime win two weeks ago. ... and Oklahoma looked improved in a still-very-sloppy 74-59 win against Washington State.

Eamonn Brennan previews the field at the Battle 4 Atlantis, which begins Thanksgiving afternoon in the Bahamas. To read Brennan's written preview of the event, click here.

Before we get to the Blue Ribbon team-by-team previews for the Big South, here is Eamonn Brennan's quick wind sprint through the league:


Blue Ribbon team breakdowns:

Campbell
Charleston Southern
Coastal Carolina
Gardner-Webb
High Point
Liberty
Radford
UNC Asheville
VMI
Winthrop

Editor's Note: Presbyterian is not yet eligible for the postseason and therefore did not get previewed by the Blue Ribbon Yearbook.

More Big South content:

• Video: Paul Biancardi interviews new Radford coach Mike Jones.
• Video: Biancardi interviews veteran Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis.
• Biancardi gives the lowdown on the top incoming freshmen in the Big South.