On Monday, November 6th, at 8:30 a.m., I awoke feeling utterly exhausted. Before leaving my dorm to attend my first class, I instinctively reached for my phone, where I found a caffeine-like boost of energy through a single tweet: “A message to America.” No, this had nothing to do with politics, the economy, or current events that may occupy the front page of The New York Times. This signified the start of something much different, the start of the college basketball season through the eyes of Jon Rothstein, a college basketball insider for CBS Sports who has become one of the leading voices in the sport. “In the words of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight, circa 2008, ‘And Here. We. Go.’” says Rothstein, ending his speech with his customary closing remark, and to me, officially pronouncing the start of the 2023-2024 college basketball season. 

Rothstein does not represent the collective of college basketball fans. National media sources, broadcasters, and average college basketball fans can generally provide top-25 rankings, Player of the Year candidates, and Final Four predictions. Rothstein, on the other hand, is what people refer to as a “college basketball sicko.” On any given night this fall, while the whole sports world was discussing the NFL regular season, college football, or the commencement of the NBA and NHL seasons, Rothstein was tweeting hourly countdowns until the beginning of the college basketball season. And what was the specific game that Rothstein was so much looking forward to? That would be Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) vs. Spalding University, or what Rothstein refers to as a “standalone game”, tipping off at 11 a.m. on Monday. 

The pinnacle of the college basketball season is undoubtedly March, when dreams come true, Cinderella stories emerge, and fans are left in disbelief. Until then, if you come across what seems like a “sicko game” with an upset or sheer chaos, remember one of the many Rothstein-isms as your explanation: Anarchy? Nope. Just College Basketball.

The beginning of the college basketball season for most fans is the annual State Farm Champions Classic on November 14th. Preseason #2 Duke will face #4 Michigan State, followed by #1 Kansas versus #16 Kentucky. Predicting the National Championship at any point before March is about as effective as placing 352 Division 1 teams on a roulette wheel, but my preseason pick is for Kansas to win their second championship in three years. And last but not least, as the season begins, in the words of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight, circa 2008, “And Here. We. Go.”