First of all, I want to thank everybody for the well wishes and support during my six months of chemotherapy as I battle cancer.
I have been watching a lot of college basketball and seeing some surprising results.
Here are some observations from the first week of the season:
1. The Ivy League has returned after a long layoff. Think about this: the conference went over 600 days between games, and lost a number of transfers. The Ivy had several positive results in the first week. Yes there have been losses, but think about some of these incredible results considering the long layoff:
Dartmouth scored a stunner, winning at Georgetown, 69-60. The Big Green made 16 trifectas and got big performances from Taurus Samuels (23 points) and Brendan Barry (19 points, eight rebounds).
Princeton knocked off South Carolina of the SEC and took Minnesota of the Big Ten to double overtime before losing in the Asheville Championship.
Harvard took a quality Iona team to overtime before falling, 90-87.
Brown led North Carolina for much of the game before the Tar Heels rallied for a 94-87 victory.
Yale beat UMass by 20.
Cornell won a pair of road games, winning at Binghamton and Lafayette. The Big Red were picked seventh in the Ivy League preseason poll.
2. The ACC had its share of rough results.
Virginia was ranked when it fell to Navy, 66-58. Navy shot over 50 percent on 3-pointers, making 11 of 21. John Carter Jr., scored 19 points in the shocker.
Louisville's Chris Mack was not on the sidelines last week while serving a suspension. He was lucky, as he did not have to watch the Cardinals lose to Furman.
Pittsburgh lost to The Citadel and was blown out by West Virginia. Georgia Tech was stunned by Miami (OH). Florida State lost to Florida. Miami lost to UCF. NC State barely got past Colgate. All in all a rough week.
3. The Pac-12 has had a few shaky results as well.
Arizona State suffered a tough loss when UC Riverside scored a stunner on a buzzer-beater from well beyond half court. Highlanders senior forward J.P. Moorman II hurled in a shot to propel the visitors to a 66-65 win. The Sun Devils had taken the lead with 1.7 seconds left, but the celebration was short-lived.
California lost to UC San Diego and UNLV. Washington fell to Northern Illinois. Stanford lost to Santa Clara. Colorado was taken to overtime by Montana State. The Pac-12 is another league still trying to find its rhythm.
4. The A-10 has had multiple stunning results.
VCU lost at home to Wagner, and the Rams were held to 44 points in the stunner. Alex Morales scored 20 points while grabbing 11 rebounds for the Seahawks.
Dayton lost to UMass-Lowell of the America East Conference. George Washington lost to UC San Diego. Duquesne lost at home to Hofstra. Davidson lost to San Francisco. Some tough early results for the league.
Yes, I keep my eye on everything in college hoops. Plenty of surprising scores early. There is parity in the sport, thanks to the 3-point shot and the transfer portal, and this is already shaping up to be one of the most interesting seasons ever.
The 17th annual Dick Vitale Gala, benefiting the V Foundation, will be held May 6, 2022, at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida. For more information visit dickvitaleonline.com.