Since I'm flying out to North Carolina early in the morning, I figured I'd put up the link to my Preseason Bracket for the entire NCAA tournament tonight. 

Send all the hate mail to goodmanonfox@aol.com. I assume all those Big East fans will be sending plenty in - along with all those Michigan State fans who loved me a year ago when I picked the Spartans to win it all. 

msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/10323490/201...

I just feel that Tom Izzo is going to have a difficult time trying to replace the leadership and defense of Travis Walton - and he doesn't have a guy on the frontline that causes some of the same matchup difficulties than Goran Suton did a year ago. 

And yes, I am a little concerned about one of my picks for the Final Four after it took them overtime to get past a D-2 school earlier today. 

Florida International University coach Isiah Thomas plans to coach Monday's season opener against the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels despite his mother suffering a heart attack on Saturday night.

"She told me to go to work," Thomas told FOXSports.com.

Thomas spent all day Sunday with his mother, 86-year-old Mary Thomas, in Chicago before he was set to catch a flight to North Carolina later at night.

Mary Thomas is scheduled to have heart surgery on Monday morning.

FIU will play against North Carolina at 7 p.m. ET on Monday in a game that kicks off the college basketball season.

Thomas, an NBA Hall of Famer who coached the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, signed a five-year deal in April to coach FIU – a school that has had nine consecutive losing seasons.

The Golden Panthers lost an exhibition game this past week to Northwood University, a NAIA school coached by former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino.

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.

I leave tomorrow morning for the start of the college hoops season, which begins with Isiah Thomas' Florida International debut in Chapel Hill against the defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels.

If you need to know anything at all going into the season, just click on the following link:

msn.foxsports.com/other/story/9878402/Co...

It's the FOXSports.com 2009-10 preseason guide, and it includes everything from my preseason Top 25 to my preseason All-Americans to the must-see games this season.

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.

UConn guards Jerome Dyson and Donnell Beverly were cleared to play.

The school released a statement that Dyson, expected to start for the Huskies, and Beverly - a reserve guard - have been cleared to play immediately.

The duo sat out the exhibition game earlier in the week against American International College.

ARMY LOOKING FOR SATURDAY SCRIMMAGE OPPONENT

A source told FOXSports.com that the scrimmage between Army and Marist has been canceled due to health concerns with Marist.

The same source said that Army first-year head coach Zach Spiker and his staff are scrambling to find an opponent to play on Saturday.

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.

Just hours after being cleared by the NCAA, Cincinnati freshman Lance Stephenson played in his first exhibition game.

The 6-foot-5 scoring wing went for just nine points on 4-of-14 shooting.

Stephenson entered the game 3:27 into the game and scored within 10 seconds.

There's no doubt Stephenson can put up numbers. The question is whether he can be a quality teammate and become an efficient player instead of a volume shooter.

EARLY RISERS

When Monmouth coach Dave Calloway has his players convene at 3 a.m. on Tues., Nov. 17, it won't be a punishment.

The Hawks will get on the bus and take the hour or so trip to St. Peter's for a 6 a.m. ET game on ESPN.

"It's our chance to be on national TV," Calloway said. "It's something unique for us."

Calloway said he'll instruct his players, who will sleep in their own beds instead of a hotel, to get to bed on the earlier end before waking up and meeting at 3 a.m.

There will obviously be no pre-game meal four hours prior to tip-off – as is customary for Monmouth and many programs throughout the country.

"We'd have to get up at two in the morning," Calloway said. "That would be stupid."

Some coaches have questioned both Calloway and St. Peter's coach John Dunne for the decision to play the game at such a crazy time, but Calloway said that it's an opportunity that he couldn't pass up.

"They aren't putting us on TV at 7 p.m., and we know that," he said.

Calloway said he's already received calls from numerous alums that work in New York City who will take in the game prior to going into work.

The Hawks finished with just eight wins a year ago, but the coach expects a significant jump this season with the return of senior guard Whitney Coleman, who suffered a season-ending knee injury a year ago in the opener.

Calloway is also raving about the progress of 6-foot-8 sophomore big man Travis Taylor, who averaged 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in just his third year of organized basketball.

"He's our best player," Calloway said. "He didn't play his first two years in high school, but his learning curve is through the roof. He's like a sponge; he absorbs everything."

Calloway said the Hawks will have far more depth this season. He'll have Rutgers transfer Justin Sofman eligible and added a pair of impact freshmen in Ed Waite and Marcus Ware.

"This will be my deepest team since the 2004 team," he said.

That team won 21 games and went to the NCAA tournament.

RANDOM NOTES: College of Charleston junior big man Jeremy Simmons has been suspended for violating team rules. He will miss the team's final exhibition game and the season opener against Coastal Carolina on Nov. 13. ... According to several published reports, St. Anthony's forward Devon Collier committed to Oregon State. He was also considering Providence, St. John's and Seton Hall. ... I forgot to mention that Syracuse landed St. Andrew's (R.I.) junior guard Michael Carter-Williams. ... Neumann-Goretti (Pa.) guard Mustafa Jones committed to Hartford, according to assistant John Mosco. ... Boston College transfer Shamari Spears led Charlotte with 26 points in an exhibition win. ... Jody Demling, who does a phenomenal job with his blog in The Courier-Journal, reported that one-time Kentucky commit Dakotah Euton (thanks, Billy Clyde) is headed to Akron. ... Indiana freshman big man Bawa Muniru was cleared by the NCAA. ... Central Connecticut has lost its top player, Ken Horton, for the season due to a hip injury.

To check out Jeff Goodman's Twitter, click here.