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Here’s one. I appreciate college basketball coaches who go big before the turkey is carved, such as third-year Missouri men’s basketball coach Dennis Gates guaranteed when he agreed to a series that sends his Tigers to Memphis to face Penny Hardaway’s team Monday night.

Win or lose, this is a win. Missouri’s key freshmen and transfers will get a season-opening taste of what life will be like in the big, physical SEC. Fans will be shot into hoops season with a matchup worthy of March. It’s the kind of game necessary to remind casual followers the sport does indeed begin before NCAA Tournament brackets are printed.

College hoops season is upon us, friends. Here are the regional storylines I’ll be tracking as games begin ...

Will SLU seize the ºüÀêÊÓƵ spotlight?

Hey, I’m as hopeful as anyone about this week’s news that Chaminade turned Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum hopes to one day bring a WNBA team to his hometown, but right here and right now, there is one team in actual existence potentially poised to capture the city’s attention and adoration.

The Josh Schertz era tips off at the perfect time, when you think about it.

The Cardinals are rebuilding. The Blues are trying to stay afloat without their best player. City SC had a rough second season. Mizzou football has been knocked from the College Football Playoff hunt and moves forward under uncertainty about quarterback Brady Cook’s health.

You get the picture.

The local sports scene has an opening. New Billikens coach Schertz has an exciting brand of basketball and, arguably, the most recognizable face in college hoops since Caitlin Clark thanks to bespectacled Robbie Avila.

SLU doesn’t have to win every game, but establishing residence near the top of the A-10 and stirring legitimate NCAA Tournament hype would help warm the scene considerably this winter. Chaifetz Arena should be rocking. If not, a big opportunity was missed. I think the Billikens go dancing in March.

Will Mizzou finally D up?

Last season Mizzou finished 10th in the SEC in points allowed per game (76.2), 12th in opponent field-goal percentage (44.5), 13th in opponent 3-point percentage (34.4) and 12th in opponent free throws gifted (24.1 per game).

Hopefully this is the last time those concerning numbers have to be mentioned. Despite not winning a single conference game a season ago, Gates and his staff kept a talented freshman recruiting class together and also landed an impressive transfer haul, in addition to keeping the most talented roster returners. This team has more length, talent and athleticism than a year ago. But if there isn’t a big and noticeable difference in defensive effort, buy-in and execution, the ghosts of last season will stir.

Will Underwood’s overhaul come together in time?

Normally a team that won a Big Ten Conference tournament and played all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to the eventual national champion would be honked off about getting picked fourth in the following preseason conference poll and barely cracking the top 25 (No. 24) in the preseason national ballot submitted by coaches. And maybe eighth-year Illini coach Brad Underwood is. Few of his players can be, though, because not many of them left fingerprints on last year’s team.

Junior guard Ty Rodgers, who averaged 6.2 points and 5.3 rebounds, is the only returning starter. Every other expected key contributor is either a freshman, such as highly touted Lithuanian addition Kasparas Jakucionis, or a transfer, such as Arizona’s Kylan Boswell.

There is no doubt here that Underwood is one of the best coaches in the country. He’s got his work cut out for him in blending this roster into a team. My guess is Illinois will get better as the season goes along. That’s coaching.

Can Martin rebound?

I wasn’t sure if college basketball would hear from Cuonzo Martin again after he was fired at Mizzou. His buyout was big and his new life in relaxing Florida sounded nice. But Martin got that itch again, and the team that put him on the map more than a decade ago wanted him back.

Martin’s reunion with Missouri State has real feel-good potential — but only if it works. Former Bears coach Dana Ford delivered just one 20-plus win season in five tries. The Bears only have had two of those total since Martin’s 26-win team from 2011, the season before he was hired away by Tennessee.

Enjoy the Bears in the Missouri Valley Conference while you can, because their odd move to Conference USA kicks in for the 2025-26 season. They are picked to finish 11th in the MVC, causing Martin to tell the Springfield News-Leader this: “Barring any major injuries to this team, this will be the best year in Missouri Valley basketball history if this is the 11th-best team.�

Sounds like an old Bear has his roar back.