The biggest of this weekend's -- if not this entire regular season's -- nonconference tournaments is the Cathedral City Classic (near Palm Springs, California). Oregon State is the host school for the tournament, even though the Beavers are from a different state. It must be remembered, however, that geographical strangeness in sports is nothing new to southern California, witness the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim."

As detailed on the above-linked tourney website, the 32 participating schools provide both quality and quantity. Depending on which national poll one looks at, either 12 or 13 of the nation's preseason top 25 teams will be taking part, and nearly all of the top 5.