Observations from my first four college hoops outings

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA – I was able to catch four college games – up close and personal – over the first 40 or so hours of the season.

Here are some observations, going backward in my analysis (and sorry for the delay!):

*Syracuse 62, San Diego State 49 (Sunday/USS Midway/San Diego): Coach Steve Fisher’s club was far from the first team to be thoroughly discombobulated by a Syracuse zone defense.

But what was particularly impressive about the fashion in which the Orange’s defense – both in terms of scheme and physical attributes of the athletes playing it – helped keep Jim Boeheim’s team in control all the way in the open air of a tantalizing San Diego Sunday afternoon was in how much time the Aztecs to prep for the Orange zone.

If Fisher and his staff were so inclined, they could have prepped all summer.

That being said, even perfect preparation and perfect conditions – as in an arena, with no glare or breeze to monkey with the proceedings – Boeheim’s team would have been too much for the San Diego State squad to cope with.

This is a team capable of not only being the best in the Big East Conference this season but also of suiting up in Atlanta for the final weekend of the season.

Boeheim may have lost three players to the NBA Draft (first-rounders Dion Waiters and Fab Melo and second-rounder Kris Joseph) but this could prove to be a deeper and better, period, squad than the one that was 34-3 (17-1 in conference) and lost to Ohio State in the East Regional final.

And 6-foot-6 guard Michael Carter-Williams – who played a cumulative 40 minutes in February and March during his freshman season in 2011-12 – and 6-8 junior left-hander C.J. Fair played as if they plan on being Boeheim’s next All-Americans and first-round choices.

If I took a November to March snooze – and, by the way, that sounds pretty good about right now – and, after waking up, found out MCW was the Big East Player of the Year, I would not be remotely surprised.

I’m not sure MCW missed a jump shot during warm-ups. But what was most impressive about him Sunday was the way he handled and passed the ball. He’s the program’s de facto point guard, for sure.

How good can this San Diego State team be? I’m on the side of suggestion that the Aztecs could be the best team in the west.

We’ll have a better notion of that, though, after SDSU games at USC (Nov. 28) and vs. UCLA during the Wooden Classic in Anaheim’s Honda Center (Dec. 1).

 *UC Irvine 78, Nevada 64 (Saturday/Irvine): The Anteaters turned in one of the more impressive performances that got, basically, no national – or, in reality, regional – attention.

But to handle a Nevada squad projected to be an NCAA tourney team during the program’s first season in the Mountain West Conference shouts volumes as to how good Russ Turner’s Anteaters are.

I projected Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton to finish 1-2 in the Big West Conference but the Anteaters may in fact be the conference’s best club – at least right now.

  *Long Beach State 75, Northern Alabama 65 (Saturday/Long Beach): The 49ers returned just one starter (forward James Ennis) from their 25-victory, NCAA tourney squad of last season.

And they looked like a club with members that will need some time getting accustomed to one another during the sloppy (26 turnovers) victory over the NCAA Div. II-affiliated program.

The player who was most impressive Saturday for Dan Monson was freshman guard Branford Jones. But he suffered what turned out to be a devastating injury in the second half – a fracture left fibula that is likely to keep him sidelined for the season.

He was going to be sophomore Michael Caffey’s backup at the point and would have likely played a lot of minutes on the floor with him at the same time as well.

And now the 49ers’ schedule gets challenging: at USC (Tuesday); home to North Carolina (Friday) and at Arizona (Nov. 19).

  *UCLA 86, Indiana State 59 (Friday/Los Angeles): Most of which was written about the game concerned the debut of the “new-look” Pauley Pavilion and the 5 o’clock hours news – just three hours before tip-off – that freshman Shabazz Muhammad had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for receiving “impermissible” benefits (reportedly while taking “unofficial” recruiting visits).

  But, during 40 minutes of game time on the spiffy floor and during the Pauley hoopla, the Bruins actually looked pretty good – maybe not “Final Four-good” but certainly much better than they did last season.

“They didn’t even looked like the same team (as compared to last season),” remarked the coach from one team on the Bruins schedule. “They are much, much better.”

The Bruins will get a much tougher test Tuesday night in Pauley Pavilion (against UC Irvine) before taking on James Madison Thursday night.

The going gets really tough, with games in Brooklyn’s Barclay Center against Georgetown (Nov. 19) and either Georgia or Indiana the next evening.

As for Muhammad’s status, I think the Bruins will be a Sweet 16ish NCAA tourney team this season regardless if he is ultimately granted eligibility

But the gut tells me he’ll get the go-ahead to play sometime before the start of Pac 12 play (the Bruins open conference against Cal in Pauley on Jan. 3).