SIOUX FALLS, SD (Dakota News Now) – As we turn back the clocks, it's time to turn up the heat in gyms across the country because basketball season is just around the corner.

And a big start for NCAA Division One begins tomorrow at the Sanford Pentagon.

The venue will host the Field of 68 Opening Day Showcase with three mid-major games capped by South Dakota State's word in the evening.

It's the brainchild of longtime college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman, who runs the Field of 68 media network, and wanted to kick off the college basketball season in a special way.

Tomorrow's games include former SDSU head coach Scott Nagy's debut as Southern Illinois' new head coach against College of Charleston.

Which raises an obvious question.

Was Goodman trying to get Nagy to compete against the South Dakota State program he coached for 21 seasons from 1995 to 2016?!

“Of course I tried! I had no success! And he's too nice a person to Scott to try to convince him. It was like he said no the first time, that was it! You won't. This guy is the nicest guy in this business.” Goodman said of his efforts to get Nagy to play in the opening game against SDSU.

Nagy will make his debut with the Salukis against the College of Charleston at 11 a.m. The University of Saint Louis will then face Santa Clara at 2 p.m. The event concludes at 5:00 p.m. when SDSU takes on McNeese State, each season in which they qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

“We've wanted to do something like this for a while because, honestly, college basketball starts without a bang. I mean, there are no good games, there are only “buyable” games. “I've been complaining about it for years and we felt like we could help and put on some middling games, and fortunately that's exactly what we did,” Goodman said.

If you can't make it to the Pentagon, all games will be streamed on the Field of 68's YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) platforms.

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