It's a little early for live games, ain't it?
Is it just me - or are they starting the college-basketball season way, way too early these days?
The season has already tipped off for many schools - Maryland, for instance, opened on Tuesday night, Nov. 7, a little more than three weeks after the start of preseason practice and almost two whole months before the heart of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule.
You know what this means, of course - yep, you're right there with me, some sloppy early-season basketball.
I was in for some of that in person last weekend at the new John Paul Jones Arena, where Virginia struggled to hold back a game Division III Augusta State team in an exhibition in which the Cavs committed a ghastly 24 turnovers, including six on their first seven possessions.
UVa. opens this weekend with 10th-ranked Arizona, a team that is the focus of some talk regarding its fitness for a Final Four run in March.
Both teams will be under the gun to perform in the debut of the new $130 million JPJ - but you have to wonder if we'll see anything resembling the best out of either team, given that they will have had all of four weeks to prepare.
It hasn't been that long since Thanksgiving Week was the unofficial commencement of the college-hoops season - and even then, with five or six weeks of practice under their belts, many teams looked ragged as they played their way into game shape.
I'm all for the powers-that-be making more money - come on, you know that's what this is all about, don't you? If it involves college sports, it's always about the money.
That said, I don't know, how about playing more games in December and January - when all but a few schools have long semester breaks that could be filled with exciting intersectional matchups like Virginia-Arizona and others?
Sorry, I knew the answer to that question before I posed it - it's because it makes sense. And if it involves the NCAA, it's never about making sense.
- Chris Graham