Even though my XBOX 360 isn't reading discs right now, I was able to download the NCAA BAsketball 09 Demo that is now available on the XBOX Live Marketplace and give it a little whirl. I have enjoyed NBA Live 09 to this point and I was really anxious to see what the NCAA Basketball staff had in store for us with the same engine. Not only that, but I was a fairly big College Hoops fan as well, but since 2K decided not to renew their college license, this is our only offering.

The first thing I noticed when playing the demo was that there were a few teams to pick from. You can choose between Texas, Kentucky, classic North Carolina, and classic Michigan State. The classic squads all have the short shorts and ultra skinny bodies. Then when you pick your teams you can actually set your difficulty level, your starting lineup, and your games points of emphasis. I gotta say that I really didn't expect to have all these options available in the demo, but I was very happy to have them.

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i don't know if you guys checked this out yet or not.

anybody here playing this for the 360?

I'm a very casual college basketball fan... but the fact that player names will not be displayed online this year in the game is a massive hit to my "give a damn" factor.

I think many would agree. Edited names MAKE the game online. Always have.

Now, that's not to say that this is EA's fault. If I had to guess, it was the NCAA in all of it's moronitude that forced this...which makes me wonder if they'll do the same thing to NCAA 10 Football next year.

I'm a 2k guy and hated the demo. I might rent the final build!

We never got a copy of the game and I might box was down for awhile. I'm intrigued about this game, though.