It is the 25th of November and college basketball season is starting. The absolute chaos of the end of last season seems both far removed and strikingly immediate. Some echoes remain, the Ivy League is canceling, there aren’t fans in seats, the action scrolling the bottom of the screen may at times command more attention than that in the main. Still, despite everyone at this point just moving shadows in the shape of what they want to see, basketball is back.
Basketball is back! There is almost nothing in the world that can completely detract from that. For a glorious two hours on Wednesday afternoon there will be nothing that matters more to those of us off work, and some of you still working, than Xavier starting on the long road towards somewhere in Indiana in March.