Wahoo! BU basketball is back!

Not so fast.

BU basketball kicks off tonight with an exhibition contest against D-II Mansfield College. The home opener is expected to bring out a huge crowd, and student-fans such as yourself should definitely get down there and check it out.

For those of you coming, thank you. The basketball team needs all the support it can get, and in a league that’s going to be decided by a couple points here and there, with almost every team (sorry UMBC) with a legitimate shot to win the whole thing this year, the BU Zoo has a legitimate shot to push the Bearcats over the top this year.

But before you down a couple ‘Stones, throw on the old BU Zoo shirt and that leftover green facepaint and hike to the Events Center, just remember: the ladies of BU volleyball are in town tonight too, and their game actually matters.

A lot.

Sure, in previous years, volleyball has just been a good precursor to the winter’s basketball season, and in any other year, I’d expect everyone to fill the Events Center stands tonight.

But consider this: the BU volleyball team (16-10, 8-1 AE), tied for first place in the America East, has a legitimate shot to host the conference tournament if they can win its last three games. They open this three-game stretch tonight against bitter rival Stony Brook (9-15, 3-5 AE), a team certainly capable of knocking off the Bearcats. (Game time is 7 p.m. in the West Gym, and there’s no rules against going from one to the other.)

Binghamton vs. Mansfield is not exactly a well-documented rivalry. Honestly, I’d set the spread at about 35 points. If BU doesn’t cover that spread, expect major PD scrutiny next week.

The volleyball game, on the other hand, provides much better storylines.

The obvious SUNY vs. SUNY rivalry has been taken to the next level by the conference’s volleyball teams. They politely refused to discuss it on the record, but let’s just say Stony Brook’s Morgan Sweany is not exactly Facebook friends with the BU front line.

Don’t get me wrong, I love basketball more than anything. If you’d rather chant “you suck” at some doofy Canadian center you might’ve played with in high school, go for it.

But if you went to the BU/Maine volleyball game a couple weeks ago, think back to how awesome the energy was at the West Gym. These girls can recreate that atmosphere tonight, if you fans give them the chance.