FRIDAY, NOV 9TH
-ROCHESTER (nondiv1) AT EASTERN MICHIGAN. This game gets mentioned for one reason, and one reason only. It is the first official game of the season that involves a div1 team.
-FLORIDA A&M AT HOUSTON. This game gets mentioned for one reason, and one reason only. It is the first game of the season that involves two div1 teams. Hey, everyone starts at zero. The winner is catapulted to the top.
-OHIO STATE VS MARQUETTE. Two NCAA Tournament caliber teams. Ohio State appears to be a Final Four contender. A win would look good on either team’s resume.
-LEHIGH AT BAYLOR. A great game for the first day of the season. Lehigh upset Duke in the Round of 64 a year ago, and has pretty much all their contributing players back. They could really make a splash on the national scene and pick up what should be a quality road win on their résumé if they can pull off the win at Baylor.
-BUCKNELL AT PURDUE. Lehigh made the Round of 32 last year, but Bucknell finished first in the Patriot League standings, and with most of their players back, one could easily reason they are as good as Lehigh. This is a chance for them to pick up a notable road win.
-MARYLAND VS KENTUCKY. Kentucky has a ton of young talent, and Maryland appears to be headed in the right direction. A win today would to a lot to jumpstart a Maryland team that has lacked its pulse in recent years.
-MICHIGAN STATE VS CONNECTICUT. This game is being played in Germany, and would be a notable win right out of the gate for Michigan State’s resume. It would be a notable win for UConn as well, if they’re resume mattered.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT ALABAMA. South Dakota State returns most of their contributing players from a season ago, and is the clear cut favorite to win the Summit League. This would be a big time road win for them if they can pull it off. It is hard to say how good Alabama will be this year, but either way it is something SDSU could use on their profile.
-GEORGETOWN VS FLORIDA. Two Solid NCAA teams looking to pick up what should be a quality win away from home.
-GEORGIA STATE AT DUKE. Georgia State cannot play in the Colonial Tournament, so they’ll need an at-large if they want to dance. A win here would go a super long way. Although I think Georgia State is good and is definitely trending up, I think they’re in over their heads in this one.
-VIRGINIA AT GEORGE MASON. This is a very intriguing match-up between two teams that appear to have potential.
-DREXEL AT KENT STATE. I really like this Drexel team. This is a dangerous game. Kent is not the easiest place to play, and although winning there is notable, it isn’t the kind of win that is likely to floor the selection committee.
-NORTH TEXAS AT CREIGHTON. North Texas appears to be way overmatched, but they are one of the better teams in the Sun Belt and should put up some sort of a fight.
-INDIANA STATE AT UCLA. Indiana State was disappointing a year ago, but they are not a team that you can just overlook. UCLA was infinitely more disappointing a year ago, but appears to have the talent in place to bounce back this year.
-MONTANA AT COLORADO STATE. Montana should make some noise in the Big Sky. It will also be interesting to see if Colorado State can continue trending up without Tim Miles.
-WOFFORD AT COLORADO. Very curious game here between a very young Colorado team and a Wofford team that appears to be trending up.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT STANFORD. Very interesting Bay Area match-up. Stanford is another team that appears to be trending up, and San Francisco is looking to get out of the gates early.
-HOLY CROSS AT OLD DOMINION. Not too sure what to expect out of either team this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see ODU in the mix for the Colonial.
-DENVER AT IONA. Another game of curiosity between two teams that were good a year ago.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TROY. Mississippi State should have little trouble getting an early road win on their resume. Whether or not it turns out to be a quality win is yet to be determined.
-FRESNO STATE AT TEXAS. I know this is a buy game, but it is at least a semi-interesting match-up.
-ORAL ROBERTS AT UTEP. Not sure if ORU is at-large material yet, but if they are they need this one.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT TEXAS A&M. Will they score as many points as the football game??
-MIT AT HARVARD. It’s just too cool of a match-up not to mention.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH
-EVANSVILLE AT NOTRE DAME. Evansville is a team that’s under the radar, but that is capable of being dangerous. A win at Notre Dame would certainly boost them up onto the radar.
-DELAWARE AT LA SALLE. Delaware finished very strong last year and is expected to challenge Drexel for the Colonial title this year. La Salle is a team that could be dangerous as well. This game will generate very little excitement, but it is between two teams that I can easily see having big years.
-UCF AT SOUTH FLORIDA. UCF looks to be a tournament caliber team. The problem is that they’re not eligible for the tournament. South Florida danced last year and is looking to do so again. This is a rivalry game that in twelve months will be a conference game.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT SOUTHERN MISS. These are two teams that are way below the sightline right now, but could play their way up there. Like I said, everyone starts out at zero, and the winner gets boosted to the top of the RPI….at least for now.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH
-SYRACUSE VS SAN DIEGO STATE. I’ve always accused Syracuse of never wanting to leave New York. Well, they’re leaving the continental United States for this one and playing on an air craft carrier. It should be a great match-up as well between two teams that, according to the preseason rankings, could contend for protected seeds.
-MARSHALL AT VILLANOVA. These are two teams that have the potential to dance.
-DUQUESNE AT GEORGETOWN. Duquesne has been trending up, and if they were to win this it would be a huge catapult for them right out of the gate.
-WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE AT SOUTH CAROLINA. It will be interesting to see Angry Frank Martin’s debut with the Gamecocks.
-LOYOLA, MD AT WASHINGTON. Loyola should be among the frontrunners in the MAAC, so it will be interesting to see what kind of a fight they put up against Washington.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT OREGON STATE. NMSU appears to be one of the better teams in the WAC, and Oregon State is a program that is trying to turn the corner.
BUY GAMES
-MIAMI, OH AT NC STATE (Friday). This is a mismatch, but it may not be quite as outrageous a mismatch as some of the games listed below.
-TOWSON AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (Friday). I know it’s not a Buy Game, but it might as well be.
-BRYANT AT INDIANA (Friday). Indiana is ranked #1, and I believe Bryant finished last year somewhere around #330.
-ALABAMA STATE AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Friday). Middle Tennessee is a solid team, but with a weak schedule they have no margin for error.
-SOUTH ALABAMA AT FLORIDA STATE (Friday)
-GARDNER WEBB AT NORTH CAROLINA (Friday)
-FLORIDA GULF COAST AT VCU (Friday)
-EMORY (nondiv1) AT DAVIDSON (Friday). Davidson has a strong schedule, but that is not evidenced today.
-FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON AT XAVIER (Friday)
-KENNESAW STATE AT TENNESSEE (Friday). I do like this Tennessee team.
-STETSON AT MIAMI, FL (Friday)
-MOUNT OLIVE (nondiv1) AT PITTSBURGH (Friday)
-LIBERTY AT RICHMOND (Friday)
-JACKSONVILLE AT GEORGIA (Friday)
-LONGWOOD AT MARSHALL (Friday). Marshall has NCAA Tourney hopes
-SAINT PETER’S AT RUTGERS (Friday)
-COLGATE AT ILLINOIS (Friday)
-SC UPSTATE AT SAINT LOUIS (Friday)
-SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AT KANSAS (Friday)
-SOUTHERN AT IOWA STATE (Friday)
-SLIPPERY ROCK (nondiv1) AT MICHIGAN (Friday)
-BRECIA (nondiv1) AT MURRAY STATE (Friday)
-UT PAN AMERICAN AT IOWA (Friday)
-TENNESSEE STATE AT BYU (Friday)
-NORTH DAKOTA AT KANSAS STATE (Friday). K State is now Frank Martin-less.
-NIAGARA AT OREGON STATE (Friday). Are the Beavers turning the corner??
-SOUTHERN UTAH AT GONZAGA (Friday)
-UC DAVIS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Friday)
-WARTBURG AT NORTHERN IOWA (Saturday).
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (Saturday)
-ELON AT BUTLER (Saturday)
-ARKANSAS STATE AT DAYTON (Saturday)
-PORTLAND AT OHIO (Saturday). With all five starters back from a Sweet Sixteen team, it is amazing that Ohio isn’t getting more attention.
-NICHOLLS STATE AT VANDERBILT (Saturday)
-MORGAN STATE AT OLD DOMINION (Saturday)
-CENTRAL ARKASNAS AT ARIZONA STATE (Saturday)
-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT WASHINGTON STATE (Saturday). Decent regional match-up.
-NORTHERN ARIZONA AT OREGON (Saturday)
-NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL AT WICHITA STATE (Saturday)
-ALBANY AT OHIO STATE (Sunday)
-SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AT WISCONSIN (Sunday)
-UT MARTIN AT CINCINNATI (Sunday)
-HOFSTRA AT PURDUE (Sunday)
-TX SAN ANTONIO AT OLD DOMINION (Sunday). Next year this will be a conference game.
-FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT NORTH CAROLINA (Sunday).
-LOUISIANA MONROE AT OKLAHOMA (Sunday)
-ALABAMA STATE AT FLORIDA (Sunday)
-MANHATTAN AT LOUISVILLE (Sunday)
-COLGATE AT MARQUETTE (Sunday)
-WEST ALABAMA (nondiv1) AT ALABAMA (Sunday)
-JACKSON STATE AT BAYLOR (Sunday).
-CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT ARIZONA (Sunday). Charleston Southern is one of the favorites to win the Big South this year, but they should be little match for Arizona.
-CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD AT CALIFORNIA (Sunday).