The season has begun in college basketball and fans couldn’t be more excited. Here at Northern Kentucky University, the men’s team went 0-2 in exhibition games against Xavier and UC. They start their regular season this week against Findlay University. The outlook for their season is pretty good as they start the season ranked second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East division. They will be led by top returning player Kevin Reinhardt.

The women’s team starts their season Nov. 16 against Wilberforce University. They start the season ranked third in the GLVC East division. The team will be led by junior guard Karyn Creager who averaged 9.7 points per game last season for the NKU women’s basketball team.

As we all know, the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area is a hot bed for college basketball and the fans who follow the sport. Many stories will affect the season for local Division I colleges. The biggest story in college basketball this season in the area was University of Cincinnati President Nancy Zimpher relieving men’s basketball Bob Huggins of his duties as coach.

Now Huggins’ assistant Andy Kennedy steps in and will lead the Bearcats into their inaugural season in the Big East conference. This will be no easy task for Kennedy as he will face a tough conference schedule. The Bearcats go on the road to face Connecticut and Syracuse and face Villanova and West Virginia at Fifth-Third Arena.

The West Virginia game will be an interesting game because local college basketball fans will get the opportunity to watch NBA prospect Kevin Pittsnogle when the Mountaineers come to town March 4.

The Bearcats will also renew their rivalry with the Louisville Cardinals this season with the regular home and home series. The Xavier Musketeers open up their season Nov. 19 against the Eastern Illinois Panthers of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Key players for Xavier this season will be seniors Brandon Thorton and Dedrick Finn. The Musketeers will face some new opponents this year in the new look Atlantic 10 conference. The new oppnents include the Saint Louis Univeristy Billikens and the Charlotte University 49ers.

Futher down I-75, the Kentucky Wildcats look forward to a big year in the Southeastern Conference in what seems to be a down year in the conference. The main storyline for the Wildcats will be when sophomore center Randolph Morris returns to the team.