7pm, ESPN3.com

Pitt is 0-0-1 to start the season. Or whatever joke you want to make about the Armed Forces Classic that never happened. There are unsubstantiated reports/rumors that Pitt and Gonzaga are looking to make up the game. As much as people want to start freaking out about RPI and SOS for Pitt after just the first weekend, Gonzaga probably could use the boost as well because of their conference. Not for Tourney making, but for seeding. Might help in making it happen, but I doubt it.

Tonight starts the patsy portion of the non-con. Not that they should be taken lightly, as NC State, Wisconsin, Illinois, UCLA, etc. demonstrated in their season openers at home.

Should it be mentioned that Virginia lost to George Washington last night? GW is not a patsy, but still. Virginia battled a lot of foul issues as the freedom of movement edict to the officials is in effect. Go figure, that Virginia might struggle to start the season to adjust to that.

I don’t know if the freedom of movement edict will be enforced all season, but I’m hopeful. I really think Jamie Dixon has been trying to shift the type of team he has in anticipation of the changes in what officials call for a couple years. The rule change was supposed to happen two years ago, but officials went lax when conference play hit. Last year, it was ignored completely.

This year, the rule is back effect with much stronger force behind it. And at least after the first weekend there is some optimism.

The officials are going to crack down on contact and this time they mean it. (Maybe.) So far this season there have been 22.0 fouls called on each team per game. Last season’s first weekend had 20.2 fouls per team/game, and two seasons ago had 21.5. So fouls are clearly up and partly responsible for the increase in scoring.

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I suppose the wild card is the foul rate. It will decrease as it does every season, but will that decrease be the result of officials suffering from whistle fatigue or players adjusting? If it’s more of the latter, then you’ll have a much higher-scoring, and dare I say, more exciting game that we’ve seen in recent seasons.

The foul issue is one reason why you can shorten the shot clock and not see offensive efficiency suffer. Defenders still only have five fouls to give, but now they have to be on the floor for more possessions. They can’t contest as many things as they did in the dead ball era. This will naturally give the offense more freedom at the margins.

There’s a lot of season left to be played, but the first weekend numbers are meaningful and they indicate the sport is much better off with the new rules.

One can hope.