Time Out
Schools have begun releasing schedules for next season. See, for example, Northern Iowa, Texas A&M, Ohio, and Maryland.
I'm still processing schedules and so will before commenting do some major cribbing from Rivals.com's Andrew Skwara.
Circle the DatesMany of the big games had already been revealed months ago, but when the ACC released its full schedule last week there were still some interesting dates to note:
Nov. 7: Maryland plays the first game of any team on Nov. 7 by hosting Hampton as part of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. The Terrapins will have played three games before North Carolina begins its season by hosting Sacred Heart in the NIT Tip-off in Charlotte, N.C., on Nov. 14.
Nov: 14 Matt Doherty makes his return to the ACC as SMU's coach when the Mustangs travel to Florida State for the start of the Colonial Classic.
Nov. 24 Florida State, which narrowly missed out on an NCAA Tournament bid last season because of a weak non-conference schedule, begins what may be the toughest three-game stretch of any team in the nation when they travel to Pittsburgh. Next up is a trip to Wisconsin, which has lost five home games in the last five years, for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 28. That is followed by a visit from defending national champ Florida on Dec. 3. The Panthers, Badgers and Gators are all expected to be in the preseason top 10.
Dec. 9: George Mason is back in the limelight. The Patriots travels to Duke for a nationally televised game. With only one of five starters returning from the mid-major Cinderella that made the remarkable run to the 2006 Final Four, this could get ugly in a hurry.
Dec. 28 American coach Jeff Jones makes his return to Charlottesville to face Virginia in the new John Paul Jones arena. Jones played at UVa from 1979-1982 and coached there from 1991-1999. He led the Cavaliers to the Elite Eight and a share of their first ACC regular-season crown in 12 years in 1995.
Dec. 29 Wake Forest and Florida State both try and gain an edge over the rest of the league when they play at the St. Pete Times Forum, site of the 2007 ACC Tournament. The Deacons face South Florida and the Seminoles will play Providence.
Jan. 27 Sandwiched right in the thick of the ACC schedule, North Carolina will travel to Arizona. The road trip is part of a brutal non-conference schedule for the Heels, who also face Ohio State (Nov. 29) and Kentucky (Dec. 2).
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