Tournament: CBE Hall of Fame Classic
When and where: Nov. 23-24 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri
Teams involved: North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas State, Northwestern
Initial thoughts: North Carolina returned every major contributor from last season with the exception of J.P. Tokoto, who turned pro and now suits up for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Tar Heels are one of a short list of teams that could start the season ranked No. 1. Along with their experience, they may finally have an outside shooter to complement Marcus Paige in freshman Kenny Williams.
Missouri and Kansas State seem headed for rebuilding seasons, and Northwestern, while feisty under coach Chris Collins, doesn't have the depth to keep up.
So it looks like North Carolina, on paper anyway, is the class of the field and should collect two wins en route to a tougher December slate of nonconference games. Right?
Well ...
The Tar Heels have been prone to suffering November losses -- oftentimes when they have a top-10 ranking and their opponents were unranked. In fact the last time the Heels made it through November unscathed was during their 2008-09 national championship season.
Consider:
Last season, ranked No. 5, the Tar Heels lost to Butler in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
In 2013-14, ranked No. 12, the Heels lost to unranked Belmont in the Smith Center and it was just a regional opponent in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.
In 2012-13, ranked No. 9, the Heels lost to unranked Butler in the Maui Invitational.
In 2011-12, ranked No. 1, the Heels lost to unranked UNLV in the Las Vegas Invitational.
In 2010-11, ranked No. 8, the Heels lost to Minnesota and Vanderbilt -- both unranked -- in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
In 2009-10, ranked No. 6, the Heels lost to unranked Syracuse in Coaches versus Cancer.
The pattern can be interpreted several ways -- one being some years Carolina is ranked too high simply because of tradition -- but it shows without a doubt that the Heels can be vulnerable early in the season no matter how talented their roster is on paper.
Why you'll want to watch:
Paige hobbled through most of the first half of last season on a hurt foot. He should be back to full health for Carolina this season, which means he should have a shot of living up to the ACC Player of the Year potential that he has.
Sophomore Justin Jackson was a bit coy during his rookie campaign, but with Tokoto gone he should assume a greater role on the wing. Jackson showed flashes of his tremendous potential but often seemed as if he deferred to upperclassmen. Jackson and Theo Pinson are the only players ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN 100 from the Class of 2014 who remained in school for a second year.
It will be a homecoming of sorts for UNC coach Roy Williams, who as the coach at Kansas held a 35-4 record against Kansas State and 19-13 record against Missouri.
Northwestern returned all of its starters from a team that finished 15-17 last season and appears to be trending upward. Collins also landed another top-100 recruit -- his second in two seasons -- in forward Aaron Falzon. Think the Wildcats can't give Carolina trouble? Think again, back to the NCAA tournament. Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, who like Collins is a former Duke guard, had the Crimson on the verge of an upset. Collins' familiarity with the Heels will help in preparation.
Kansas State and Missouri are coming from similar places.
K-State had so much turnover from players who were dismissed or transferred from last season's roster, realistically it's hard to know what to expect. At the very least, coach Bruce Weber hopes that the infighting and indifference that characterized last season's team is a thing of the past. Weber signed a recruiting class of six, and all the newcomers should be thrust into the rotation rather quickly.
Missouri suffered a major blow to the roster when leading scorer and rebounder Jonathan Williams decided to transfer to Gonzaga. Tigers coach Kim Anderson will have a relatively young team, but any success early could serve as a springboard for the rest of the season.
Regardless of the players involved, Missouri and K-State have historically made for an entertaining game going back to their days as conference foes. While their individual matchup wasn't touted as much as their respective rivalries with Kansas, the Tigers and Wildcats always seem to play it close. Kansas State leads the all-time series 118-117.
