November is crucial for the little guy

College hoops is in full swing and I think maybe the only way I could be happier is if I was getting the most out of $50 in Amsterdam's Red Light District. College b-ball: it is glorious.

Of course, being as we're only a week into the season, the spotlight is still shining elsewhere in the sports world and that's to be expected. But this is the month where that mid-major that you're oh so tempted to pencil into the sweet 16 in your bracket hysteria builds a rep for themselves, stakes a claim as a team that doesn't need to win it's conference tournament for inclusion to the Big Dance (though, it certainly helps). Pre-conference tournaments, like the NIT, are the perfect platform for a mid-major like, say, Butler, to upset a big name school like Indiana (and so begins the Kelvin Sampson era in Bloomington *titter, chuckle*). That's a monster result for the Bulldogs as it likely sets up yet another game that the committee will have scrutinize come Selection Sunday when at-large resumes are on the table: Tennessee. If Butler wins that game, then the table is all but set for them.

Not a good Tuesday night for the SEC, either, as both South Carolina and Georgia went down to UC Irvine and Western Kentucky, respectively (UGA fell at home, on top of it). But to their credit, the Anteaters and Hilltoppers represent the best of what the Big West and Sun Belt have to offer and WKU was considered a serious threat for an at-large bid well before the season started. Chris Marcus may be gone, but Courtney Lee has been garnering serious national attention for a couple seasons, now.

It wasn't a red-letter day for all mid-majors, though. A couple of my faves went down valiantly. Northern Iowa played Washington tough 'til the end and the Bucknell Bison (Who doesn't love the Bucknell Bison? Besides anyone living in Lawrence, KS or Fayetteville, AR?) fell in OT to Wake Forest. Unfortuantely, Chris McNaughton was virtually absent from the contest, neutralized by the Demon Deacons. The big coup in this one, however, was that the game was held in Lewisburg, PA -- Bucknell's home turf. Pretty significant that an ACC school would travel to the little guy, even if it does look like a case of nepotism among the Prosser family. Granted, you have to exploit that relationship, but still! Bucknell's following the same formula that made Gonzaga a household name: Win consistently in March so that that the big boys will actually want to play you the next season as it would mean a boost to their RPI and SOS.

Let's just hope tonight that Northern Arizona doesn't get any fancy ideas in Tucson. Wildcats got off to a cringe-worthy start on Sunday against Virginia, blowing a second half lead and J.P. Prince missing a last-second three that would've tied the game in Charlottsville. I expect UofA to dole out the punishment tonight and beat the Lumberjacks mercilessly. At least I hope they do.