Season starts on Friday

what has struck me most about the beginning of this season has been the confidence with which the players have been speaking. this can't be related just to one preseason victory, although it was nice to actually get a victory in the preseason. the upperclassmen are leading the way and the sophomores are infinitely more comfortable this season.

i'm sure Shurna's summer experience and last season's NIT bid have something to do with it, but i think the biggest factors were getting some road wins last year. HUGE monkeys are now off the back after winning in Bloomington and East Lansing. you'd like to think that despite those collapses at home against Illinois and Purdue, this squad comes into the season with at least a little bit of the almighty "knows how to win."

and while it is preposterous to think that anyone associated with Northwestern basketball would suffer from overconfidence, i do think it will be interesting to watch how the team and coaching staff will deal with the expectations of this season. the amount of coverage has been quite astounding - both in the print media and by those nefarious bloggers - especially when you consider that the season hasn't started yet and the team hasn't actually accomplished anything yet. i don't expect them to fall flat on their faces against NIU, but the Butler game serve as an early reality check.