Monday's Pregame Beat

College basketball season is here!!!!

I've been thinking all day how I can put my excitement into words. And I can't. I will leave the offseason in the review mirror with this -- for the last seven months, ever since Gordon Hayward's prayer was two inches from being answered, I've been saying that I cannot wait until we stop discussing the recruiting scandals and the offseason arrests. Tonight, that happens.

Finally -- FINALLY -- we can all sit back and just watch some hoops.

I'll see you folks couchside at 7:00 pm.

7:00 pm: Rhode Island @ Pitt (ESPN U): The Rams once again struggled down the stretch, dropping from the top 15 of the RPI all the way to the NIT. Combine that ugly finish with the bad luck the team had in the offseason -- four of their recruits are not on the roster for multiple reasons, Orion Outerbridge is academically ineligible, the Rams have a couple of injuries to deal with already, and Keith Cothran and Lamont Ulmer both graduated -- and the Rams are far from the deep team they expected to be this season. Delroy James is a talented kid, but Pitt is a top five team in the country. I'm not sure the Rams have enough offensive firepower.

8:00 pm: UC Irvine @ Illinois (ESPN3.com): I am very high on Illinois; I have them in the top ten as a matter of fact. UC Irvine is coming off of a loss to Concordia University. I think the Illini get this done.

9:00 pm: Navy @ Texas (ESPN U): Is Cory Joseph the answer for Rick Barnes at the point? Is Tristan Thompson as good as advertised? We get out first glimpse tonight.

8:00 pm: Seattle @ Maryland (Comcast Sportsnet): The Terps begin the post-Greivis era by hosting Cameron Dollar's Seattle program. Maryland has a lot of new faces, and it will also be interesting to see how Jordan Williams has developed.