Written by Matt Norlander at CBS Sports.com
1. It’s the oak anniversary for the NCAA Tournament. This year’s bracket will be the 80th iteration of March Madness. The first Big Dance wasn’t so big: an eight-team field in 1939. Oregon defeated Ohio State 46-33.
2. It’s also an 80th year of existence for Phil Knight, who co-founded Nike (first named Blue Ribbon Sports) in 1964. Now, Nike is the biggest sports apparel company in the world, the biggest shoe-company presence in college basketball, and supplies the uniforms for more than 100 programs. On Nov. 23, 24 and 26, in Portland, Nike is holding a one-time-only “PK80” event in Knight’s honor. The two-bracket extravaganza is highlighted by the inclusion of Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Florida and Gonzaga.
3. Heading into the season, Arizona, Duke and Michigan State are the favorites to land the No. 1 spot in the preseason AP poll. The last time a preseason No. 1 team in the AP poll won the national title in the same season was UNC in 2008-09. Duke has been the No. 1 team in the preseason AP poll eight times, including a year ago. Arizona’s earned the honor thrice, most recently in 2002. Michigan State has never been preseason No. 1.
5. Speaking of Allen, he returns for his senior season as the most well-known college athlete on the planet, and of course the most hated. Because he’s tripped multiple players and lashed out on the bench in the era of social media and instant-reaction, you could make the argument no player, ever, has been subjected to as much widespread criticism — from fans and the press — as Allen. Plenty of it deserved. Will we see that side of him again, though? How Allen conducts himself will be a current that coincides with Duke’s season on the whole, and has the potential to define the team’s success. (By the way, he’s good enough to be an All-American again.)
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