Basketball season officially opens tonight

? The Coaches vs. Cancer Classic is on a run.

The last two national champions started their seasons in the event, and three of the eight teams last year wound up in the Final Four.

“America watches this event, and that can be good or bad,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. “If you want to be considered one of the best, you have to play in these events.”

The two-day showcase starts tonight at Madison Square Garden with No. 20 Wake Forest against Memphis and No. 23 Marquette facing St. John’s.

Friday night, No. 22 Pittsburgh plays Alabama and No. 10 Gonzaga faces No. 17 Saint Joseph’s in the season’s first double-ranked game.

Memphis played in the opening game last year as well, beating eventual national champion Syracuse. Maryland started its championship season by playing in the 2001 event.

“It seems we draw the short straw every year,” Memphis coach John Calipari said. “Last year, we only had seven guys for the warmup line, and that included suiting up the kid who answers the phones in our office. This year, we’ll have one extra guy, and that will make the lines easier.”

Memphis, like most of the teams in the event, will be short-handed because of nagging injuries. None more so than Wake Forest, which has had players miss practice for problems ranging from knee tendinitis to appendicitis.

“An opportunity to open the season on national TV sounded like a real good idea a few months ago, but with injuries and illness I’m questioning my sanity right now,” Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said.