Tuesday News and Notes is full of basketball

Don't miss the preview for tonight's game to see how Xavier matches up against Long Beach State.

Another story about brothers- This one is not uplifting until the very end, but it's an interesting read about the first openly gay NCAA DI player (Derrick Gordon of UMass) and his brother who has just been released from prison. The hold that this game has over entire families, and the impact their decisions regarding the game has, is just incredible.

Back to (just) basketball- From the guys at Anonymous Eagle comes a look at the best five games involving the Big East next week. Xavier makes an appearance for the game with Stephen F. Austin. Another big year from SFA would do wonders for Xavier if they can win that game at home. Tonight's game should go a long way in showing how the team will handle mid level opponents.

On that note:

Some sneaky games today for home teams: Toledo at VCU, Manhattan at UMass, Long Beach State at Xavier, Stony Brook at Georgia.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 18, 2014

Xavier should win this game, but don't conflate that with thinking this will be a walkover. LBSU challenged BYU and can play some decent basketball for long stretches of time. While the non-con slate may not be what it once was, this isn't just another cupcake game.

Syracuse cheated? No way!- This should come as no surprise to anyone who has scrutinized Jim Boeheim, Syracuse is under investigation again. This inquiry is looking into violations that the school says occurred "in the past" including the long ago age of 2012. You'll recall that sepia toned time as having been all of two years ago, so it's clear that anything that happened then should just be left back in those ancient times. If there is a college coach more reprehensible than John Calipari, it's Boeheim.

The Final Four sites until 2021 have been released- Indianapolis heads the list by appearing twice. For some reason Cleveland has been left off the list again. Possibilities include the fact that there could still be a foot of snow on the ground then to the fact that for some reason there is no dome for sporting events up here. The Phoenix location is a new site for the Final Four.

I watched this game last night- Justin Martin was back in action and as languid as ever. It was odd to see him in a different uniform, but equally odd to figure how he would fit into this year's squad. 14 year senior Kevin Pangos is still playing for Gonzaga as possibly the only NCAA DI player who extended his eligibility by getting a doctorate and becoming a professor.

Also don't miss pieces here on Banners about one coach who thinks verbally bullying walk ons is a good idea, as well as how to rank the players most vital to the Musketeers success at this point.

[Ed. note: today is Tuesday. Apologies to those who were confused by Brad's confusion. -JD]