Sweet November

Wait! Did I really just allude to a chick flick starring Keanu Reeves? In a basketball blog? What's wrong with me?

Clearly, I am in desperate need of some basketball (and maybe some football, too, but I certainly have had plenty of that over the last two plus months...but it has been a long time since Saturday).

The season is almost here. Let's look at the Mocs schedule for this month.

Nov 12 at Tennessee
Nov 15 Austin Peay
Nov 17 at Kennesaw State
Nov 20 at Marshall
Nov 22 at Louisville
Nov 24 Jackson State
Nov 27 at Florida International

Toughest Game- at Tennessee. After the Vols loss to Indianapolis last night, maybe this isn't the toughest game. But this is a team that is projected by everyone to be in the Tournament, and I have seen no lower than an 8 seed. Considering that no other team is projected to be that high of a seed, the Vols are still the toughest task. Playing on the road against all those athletes, coming off a loss that should have them focused, and desperate to get the real season started will be incredibly difficult. The Mocs will need to play their best game to win.

Easiest Game- Jackson State. Don't get carried away- this is not an easy game. Jackson State is the SWAC favorites. The Tigers are a good team and are far from a guaranteed victory. But given Shulman's road record, it is almost impossible to count any road game as the easiest game. The other home game is against Austin Peay, and that could hardly be counted as the easiest game. Yes, the Tigers are good- and that just shows how daunting of a schedule this November schedule really is.

Most Important Game- at Kennesaw State. This team is picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Sun, which is not a perfect position. That's why this game is so important to the Mocs. Yes, Kennesaw lost an exhibition game to LaGrange as well. The Owls view the Mocs as a game they need to win as well. That's part of what makes this important. If the Mocs can come up with a split against Tennessee and Austin Peay in their first two games, then a win here would put them over .500 heading into the tough road games against Marshall and Louisville. That will be critical to confidence for the Mocs in the next two games.

Setting the Bar- What should the Mocs record be this month? It's tough to know for sure. Louisville is beatable as they are a middle of the pack Big East team. Austin Peay is one of the better teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, but that one is at home. Jackson State is a very winnable home game. Isiah Thompson, er..., Thomas will have his FIU team ready to play, if he can get his mind off the Knicks for a few hours, but they are not unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination. Tennessee seems vulnerable after losing to D-II Indianapolis on Monday. Kennesaw State is not great. Marshall is good, but not top level good. So, every game is winnable. But every game is capable of being lost too. Set the bar at 3-4, with two home wins and a win over Kennesaw State. The Mocs could also use not getting hammered by Tennessee or Louisville to create some buzz in the city. A 5-2 mark with relativley close losses to Tennessee and Louisville would leave the Mocs feeling like it was a Sweet November...ouch. Alluding to that blasted chick flick again!