Aaaaand we're back! The dog days of summer are over and we're dusting off the cobwebs here at King Kresse to take a look at the recently released 2013-2014 men's basketball schedule. It may be a new season, with a new logo on Kresse Court and a new conference but there are some familiar foes on the schedule to ease the transition from SoCon to CAA play. Let's take a look at how the non-conference and new-and-improved conference schedules will play out.
The Marquee - November 9: @Louisville (season opener for both teams)
After what should be a cakewalk exhibition game against Newberry, the Cougars will face what could be an immediate kick in the teeth. Walking wide-eyed into a sold out KFC Yum! Center as the 2013 National Champion Louisville Cardinals raise their banner is a tall order for any team in the country. The Cougars made a game out of this matchup two years ago in Louisville, got blown off their own court last year and will look to start the season off strong against the reigning champs. Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva have moved on to the NBA but Cougar-abuser Russ Smith, Final Four MVP Luke Hancock and Coach Pitino's consistently aggressive defense will once again be on full display this time around. The good news? Between the Newberry and Louisville contests we're not going to have a real measuring stick of where the Cougars are at until...
Home Sweet Home? - UNC Charlotte, UNC Asheville, Miami, Furman
A four game home stand against a fair range of teams awaits the Cougars after they return from Louisville. Charlotte and Asheville are fun, regional rivalries that will give the Cougs a better idea of where they stand. Both are solid players in the CUSA and Big South respectively. The big home draw for possible ticket sales is ACC Champion Miami coming to visit TD Arena in a battle of who has more hot coeds running around campus in bikinis. The game comes courtesy of CofC's contract with ESPN's Wooden Legacy Tournament (similar to us playing in the same tournament as Baylor last year before facing them on the road). The Hurricanes lost four starters from last year's team to graduation and one (PG Shane Larkin) to the NBA draft. The team on the floor at TD Arena will be drastically different from the one that rose to as high as #2 in the national polls last year but the appeal is no doubt still there for the Charleston community. Coach Larranaga wasn't expected to compete with last year's suspected lack of talent at the U, but most Cougar fans can point to his time at GMU as a testament to his coaching ability. A matchup with offensively inept former SoCon opponent Furman should be a launching point for what's next on the schedule...
Wooden Legacy Tournament - Nov 28 - Dec 1: (Anaheim, CA): San Diego State, Marquette, Miami, Creighton, Arizona State, George Washington and Cal State Fullerton
Just like last year's Charleston Classic, the Cougars are guaranteed three games in this nationally televised ESPN Tournament. The only foe Wojcik and company can actually plan for is the first round game against San Diego State. Last year the Cougs were fortunate enough to play the three games in three days-style format on their own floor. The schedule ended up doing more harm than good. One injury (Trent Wiedeman) or one illness (Andrew Lawrence) can spell doom for not just one but two or three games in such quick succession with no time for rest or practice. The Wooden Legacy will be an even more competitive field from top to bottom and the team needs to bring their road warrior mentality from last year out to the left coast.
The One We All Pretend to Ignore - Dec 12: Coker
If you're a regular reader of this blog you know I'm not an ardent supporter of non-exhibition games against sub-D1 opponents. I'm not sure my psyche can handle another depressing and frustrating descent into insanity like last year. Can you imagine if we dropped another one to a DII program on our own court?! Ha! Wouldn't that just be....I mean I can't even....< opens liquor cabinet >....
You Again? - Marist, Old Dominion, Kent State, Citadel, Davidson, Howard
In the spirit of the holidays the Cougars will be visited by the Ghosts of Opponents Past between December 15th and January 1st. Contractually obligated rematches against Marist and Kent State from previous years and more fan-familiar games against former SoCon rivals the Citadel and Davidson highlight the stretch. The Citadel matchup is a fun little Charleston city rivalry (easy there CSU fans I didn't say North Charleston) that I don't mind keeping around, especially given the added element of the Wojcik / Driesell friendship. The Davidson game is also a yearly ritual that I still get to enjoy once a year for the next few seasons. De'Mon Brooks will try to lead his team to a final SoCon victory this year before the Wildcats move to the green pastures of the A-10.
Welcome to the CAA
The CofC men's basketball team will make their long-awaited CAA debut January 7th at home against James Madison. From there it's a pretty even stretch of winnable and challenging games - until the season kicks off it's hard to tell if we face a particular lull or tough back-to-back. There's far from a clear cut favorite to win the league title this year but Towson, Drexel and Northeastern all figure to be in the running. One nice thing about the conference schedule is a pattern of road games. The CAA footprint fits pretty neatly into manageable two-game road trips to traveling partners: Northeastern-Hofstra, Delaware-Towson and JMU-William & Mary. That means no long road trips and decreased travel expenses just in case there are any SoCon supporters left hiding under their rocks.
This early in the game it's hard to go down the schedule with a pen and mark off the "should wins" and "probably lose's". Too many variables, too many question marks. But college basketball season is closer than you think and it's time to get the discussions rolling.
