The Puerto Rico Tip-Off begins Thursday, and NC State will open the tournament against Penn State. Nittany Lions guard Tim Frazier was a preseason all-conference selection because of his insane workload last year rather than anything approaching efficiency, but I'll have plenty more on the Nittany Lions later.

Here is the schedule for the first day of the tournament, including TV info. (Here's the full bracket.)

Akron vs. Oklahoma State (10:30 a.m. ET, ESPNU)
UNC-Asheville vs. Tennessee (12:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

NC State vs. Penn State (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Providence vs. UMass (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

NC State gets the winner of the Providence/UMass matchup, which should prove particularly interesting assuming UMass wins that game. State will be tested in this tournament, all the more so if Tennessee emerges from the other half of the bracket. It's a great early-season opportunity to pick up some wins that will help come March. Oh, and there will be liveblog.