Villanova still hasn't announced Hoops Mania, but bet on Halloween weekend

Happy Tuesday, 'Nova Nation! I've gotten a couple emails from readers in the past week asking about Hoops Mania, and if a date has been announced. As far as I can tell, it has not.

But if history is any indication, it's a good bet that Hoops Mania will be on the Friday of Halloween weekend, i.e. the last Friday in October, i.e. Friday October 28th. Typically this event is only open to students and select season ticket holders/donors. So don't get your hopes up to attend if you don't fall into one of those two categories. But the school streams the event, so if you're in the mood you can still watch.

In case you're into following other team's events for recruiting purposes, most of the notable programs are listed below in the first link.

And now, the "news."

College basketball: Midnight Madness 2016 times and dates | NCAA.com
With the college football slog in full swing, it's easy to forget that college basketball season is quickly approaching as well. Teams around the country are gearing up for early action with invitational tournaments galore, but the harbinger of of season's tipoff is and always has been a school's first open practice — colloquially known as Midnight Madness.

Villanova Wildcats All-Half Decade Team Ballot | Big East Coast Bias
Who will make the cut for the most successful team of the decade?

The Rothstein Files - Darryl Reynolds is poised to breakout | Today's U
Under Jay Wright’s watch, several players in Villanova’s program have gone from marginal contributor to significant producer as seniors and Reynolds is next in line to join that selective group.

Sixteen transfers who will make the biggest impact this season | Yahoo!
Comment: While Virginia lost big men Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey to graduation last spring, the Cavaliers have a very promising replacement. The 6-foot-9 Nichols averaged 13.3 points and 6.1 rebounds as a sophomore at Memphis and blocked 3.4 shots per game, third most in the nation.

2016-17 Preseason City 6 Awards | City of Basketball Love
Josh Hart is your preseason Player of the Year, and he's joined by two other 'Cats on the preseason team.

Kentucky hanging over Big Ten surge in Top 100 commitments | CBSSports.com
John Calipari currently has zero commitments, but that will surely change

Report: Ben Simmons’ agent might not allow him to play for Sixers this year | Liberty Ballers
Could Rich Paul force the Sixers to sit Ben Simmons for the season?

College video games remain in limbo as Supreme Court passes on O'Bannon case | Other Sports | Sporting News
The hope for a return of college sports video games took a hit Monday with the Supreme Court deciding against hearing the O'Bannon v NCAA case. Both the plaintiffs and the defendant were requesting that the high court rule on the subject of amateurism.

UNLV's QB was nearly tackled in his own end zone, but somehow made it to the other one | SBNation.com
It’s as impressive as it sounds.