Holmes Court Advantage: Opening Day

Today is not only the first day of the college basketball regular season, it is also Veteran’s Day in America and Remembrance Day in the UK (don’t forget to wear your poppy). So, let me start off with a quick thank you to all those who have served over the years. Today is also the third day of the early signing period for college basketball recruits. That brings right to my first point of the day:

DON’T TWEET AT RECRUITS!

Many different SBNation sites have covered this over the years, including the guys at The Crimson Quarry and EDSBS. You, as a fan, should never, ever tweet at recruits. Even if it is fairly innocuous, don’t do it. Even if they decommit from your school and go somewhere else, don’t do it. Even if they have liked or retweeted fans of your school or other schools in the past, don’t do it. Even if they are about to commit to a school in the midst of a horrible scandal like Louisville, don’t do it. Even if you are the mother of another recruit trying to get other kids to your kids’ school, don’t do it.

Recruits are kids, and it is weird when adults tweet at kids. Also, they are never going to be swayed by the tweet of one fan who has 35 followers. These kids are trying to make one of the most difficult and impactful decisions of their lives. They don’t need any more people coming at them with opinions and criticisms than they already have in their daily lives. So, follow them on Twitter, retweet if they commit to your school, but do not ever tweet at them, especially in anger.

Don’t Overreact to Exhibition or Early Season Scores

Every year a team struggles with a few opponents they should dominate and everyone predicts their doom. It is almost always an overreaction. Take a look at last season, Iowa dropped their second exhibition game to Augustana and then ended up making the tournament after a heck of an early Big Ten season. IU lost to Wake Forest and UNLV in Maui before winning the conference and making the Sweet 16. So, this season when a team like Purdue or Michigan State loses a stunner early, let’s not condemn them to the bottom half of the conference.

Non-Conference Record Predictions:

Illinois: 9-4

Indiana: 10-2

Iowa: 9-4

Maryland: 11-2

Michigan: 10-3

Michigan State: 10-3

Minnesota: 9-4

Nebraska: 7-5

Northwestern: 9-4

Ohio State: 11-2

Penn State: 10-3

Purdue: 11-2

Rutgers: 6-7

Wisconsin: 12-1

Opening Day Games to Watch:

Michigan State vs. Arizona (7pm ESPN)

Indiana vs. Kansas (9pm ESPN)

Ohio State at Navy (9pm CBSSN)

Surprise Home Upset of Week 1:

The non-conference is dark and full of terrors, and some Big Ten team (other than Rutgers) is going to lose at home to a team you’ve never heard of before next Friday. I’ve looked over the schedule and it would seem that the obvious choice would be the UT-Arlington Mavericks winning at Minnesota. However, according to most preseason rankings, the Mavericks are supposed to be better than the Gophers this year. Therefore, that wouldn’t really count as an upset. Instead, I’ve decided to go against my faith in Pat Chambers for the following pick:

Grand Canyon 84 Penn State 79

Next week we’ll have actual real game results to discuss! I can’t wait.