November 17 Hoops Marathon

Beginning at midnight on Tuesday, Nov. 17, college basketball fans will have the potential of watching 24 consecutive hours of live games. For the second year, ESPN has put together the marathon as a way to "tip-off" the college hoops season.

I remember watching this last year and how incredibly exciting it was to see so many games on all day, especially after

going a whole summer without college basketball. I think this is a brilliant idea, and I'm sure it gets great ratings which is why it's back for a second season. Hopefully, the marathon is here to stay and can become a great tradition to start every college basketball season from here to eternity.

There are a few Big Ten and Big 12 teams participating in the marathon.

Gonzaga at Michigan State @ 8 p.m. (ESPN)

This matchup is very intriguing and deserves this prime time slot as there will be playmakers galore. Both teams have a solid history of dominating their respective leagues. MSU is the favorite in the Big Ten, and the squad is hungry to get back to the national title game behind Kalin Lucas (right), Raymar Morgan and company. The Zags, as always, are a lock to be extremely competitive in the WCC. Matt Bouldin returns as a senior veteran, and speedy sophomore Demetri Goodson should be much improved in his second season. Both squads also play some down and dirty defense, so it will be interesting to see what type of pace this game is played at.

Northern Illinois at Illinois @ 8 p.m. (ESPN360)

This intra-state battle looks pretty one-sided to me. I'd pick the Illini to cruise past the Huskies if the game was in Dekalb. Being in Champaign there is no chance for an upset in this one. Plus, Illinois is just too strong this year behind leader Demetri McCamey.

Duquense at Iowa @ 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

I don't know much about the Dukes, other than some analysts have picked them to challenge in the A-10, but I do know about the Hawkeyes. This should be a good test for a young team that only has one senior in Devan Bawinkel, but an emerging star in sophomore Iowa City-native Matt Gatens (left). Iowa should have a better grasp on coach Todd Lickliter's three-point heavy system than it did a year ago. Look for a Iowa to play well at home in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where it hasn't lost much in the last few seasons.

Memphis vs Kansas in St. Louis @ 10 p.m. (ESPN)

This game is the headliner, and for obvious reasons. With all the drama going on with these two teams beginning in the offseason, it should by very interesting to see how they handle it all as they play in a neutral court setting. Memphis has a new coach in young Josh Pastner. Will he be able to handle the pressures and responsibilities of being the top-dog for the first time in his career? The Jayhawks are the preseason No. 1 team in nearly every major poll. Can they live up to the hype and produce a second national championship in three years? We certainly won't know the answers to these questions after this game, but it should give us a good place to start.

Andy Katz lists the complete lineup of the marathon on his college basketball blog. All games will be aired live on and also can be seen on ESPN360 as well.

Make sure to take a couple five-hour energies at midnight and strap yourself down to your recliner. It's going to be a great season!

Photos from Sports Illustrated and Quad City Times.

Big Ten news

The Big Ten Conference has made several announcements on its Web site.

It has launched a new men's basketball blog, as well as releasing the Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchups and the 2009-10 conference single plays.

I'll give my picks on opinions on the Challenge when it gets nearer, but the obvious highlighted game is Michigan State at North Carolina on December 1. The Spartans lost to the Tar Heels twice last season, first in the nonconference and second in the national championship game, both times at Ford Field in Detroit.

Iowa welcomes Virginia Tech on the same day. Another game I like is Boston College at Michigan on December 2.

Don't forget to vote on the poll who you think will win the Big Ten this year. Only two days left!

Photo from athlonsports.com.

Short Iowa vid

Nothing too fancy here, but I stumbled upon Iowa's newest promotional video for the upcoming season. I'll have more regarding the Hawkeyes' media day very soon, but for now enjoy this clip!

Sherron Collins video

Time for the basketblog to lose it's video virginity. Without further ado, my first video. It's on Kansas senior guard Sherron Collins from sophomore year. Collins gives insight into his background coming from the streets of Chicago, as well as being a dedicated father and living his dream of playing basketball. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Kansas and the preseason Top-25

It sounds like Kansas head coach Bill Self is extremely disappointed with a few of his players that have been in the news the last couple weeks for the wrong reasons, according to this article by ESPN's college basketball writer Andy Katz. (Click here for junior guard Brady Morningstar's public apology for driving under the influence.) However, Self did say that the team had the best preseason camp since he has been in Lawrence. He expects a lot out of this team, as does just about everyone else. Katz predicted his 2009-10 preseason Top-25 in June, with the Jayhawks locked into the No. 1 spot. The list was heavy with Big 12 an Big 10 teams. Here are the eight squads that made the cut, and a few leftovers trying to claw their way in.

Big 12

1. Kansas

3. Texas

24. Kansas State

Big 10

2. Michigan State

6. Purdue

13. Michigan

16. Ohio State

19. Minnesota

Honorable Mentions: Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas A&M.

Look for fresh rankings to be coming out soon as Midnight Madness (Oct. 16) is less than two days away!

New look and features to the Basketblog

Hey ya'll. Just wanted to let all my followers know that the Basketblog will be going through a makeover as a try to spice things up a little bit in order to make the page more reader-friendly and interactive. I'll be experimenting with everything: a new layout, colors, graphics, sidebar items, etc. I also hope to be adding regular videos soon as well, so please bear with me as I'm sure I'll hit a few speed bumps before I get it right.

Take notice the new features on the left side of the page: Up-to-date standings of teams in both conferences, with team names hyperlinked that will take you directly to that school's men's basketball Web page for more information. Also, I will be posting a weekly poll question where ya'll can vote on different topics and see the results instantly.

Obviously, I'm always looking for ways to keep the blog fresh and entertaining, so I would love to hear some feedback of what people think. My email is rlehman718@gmail.com. Send me comments, critiques, criticisms, suggestions, questions or something funny that relates to Big Ten/Big 12 basketball. If it's good I'll post in on the blog!

Thanks a lot for being patient with me and I hope you all enjoy the new stuff!
Robbie Lehman, Basket-blogger

Back to basketball for Jeff Jordan?

It has been reported that Jeff Jordan is considering a return to the game of basketball.

The eldest son of the sport's greatest player ever, played two seasons at the University of Illinois. After walking on his first year and earning a scholarship his second season, he unexpectedly quit the team last June. Jordan was expected to earn a larger amount of playing time, but he said that he his heart wasn't in basketball anymore and he was ready to move on to the next phase of his life.

But Illinois has stated that Jordan met with assistant coaches about a possible return to the hardwood, but has not discussed it with head coach Bruce Weber. Apparently word started to spread when Jordan used his Twitter feed to express his desire to work out with his teammates once again.

My analysis of the situation is this: There is no possible way anyone can imagine what kind of pressure this young man is under. The connection between his family history and the game of basketball is undeniable. No one should criticize Jordan whatsoever, no matter what decision he ultimately decides to make. This is his life, he should do whatever he wants. If that's play basketball, then so be it, if not, that's his choice to move on to the rest of his life.

Jordan's brother Marcus Jordan has verbally committed to play at the University of Central Florida.

Photo from isportsweb.

The Rabbit Hunter

For my sportswriting class I have to post about a piece we read titled, "The Rabbit Hunter." It was written in 1982 by Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated. It is a lengthy story about Bob Knight, his life and personality. We agreed in class that it was well written, but the subsections were a bit unorganized. So I am going to explain how I think Deford should have put his story in order, starting at the beginning where the initial quote by William Faulkner should be taken out completely for irrelevance. (Original placement in parentheses.)

I. Rabbits (1)

II. Players (5)

I thought this section began with a great story about Knight's first coaching job on a 10th grade team in which he broke a clipboard in his first game. A mini story like that should be closer to the beginning.

III. Coaches (2)

This would have been a nice way to follow up Players, in my opinion, because the content just transitions smoothly.

IV. Women (4)

This part gets a little bit more into Knight's personal life. I think now would be a good place for the story to transition with more detail into that area after already talking about his early life and coaching.

V. Older People (3)

Finally, I liked this section just before the end because, although it had some info about him in college that would also be good closer to the beginning, it ends with a quote from Knight about why he loves fishing that would flow into the final section very nicely.

VI. More Rabbits (6)