Opening Weekend!! November 11th, 12th, and 13th Highlighted Games

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

-MILLIGAN (nondiv1) AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  This is a buy game and is highlighted only because it officially tips off the season.

-LESLEY (nondiv1) AT NEW HAMPSHIRE.  It’s the Team of the People!!  This is also a buy game, but all games by UNH get full coverage!!

-UMASS-LOWELL AT MASSACHUSETTS. This is the first matchup today involving 2 D-I teams and also the first matchup between both schools since UMass-Lowell moved up to Division I. The River Hawks are a dark horse pick in the America East and would love nothing more than to start their season off with a win against the Minutemen.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  SC just missed the tournament a year ago.  This is the kind of game they can’t be losing if they want to get back in the picture this year.

-VANDERBILT VS MARQUETTE (Annapolis, MD).  Marquette is looking to take a huge step forward.  A win against a rebuilding Vandy team would be a good way to start.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT KENTUCKY.  It’s technically a buy game, and it’s a huge mismatch considering how SFA is completely rebuilding, but we’ll put it with the highlighted games due to SFA’s recent success.

-CHATTANOOGA AT TENNESSEE.  We feel Chattanooga is good enough to make the NCAAs with or without the automatic bid.  If that’s true, this is the kind of road game they need to be able to win, so it’s a good test right out of the gate.

-ARIZONA VS MICHIGAN STATE (Honolulu, HI).  Arizona is dealing with injuries right out of the gate, and Michigan State is young but still very talented.  This is a great first game for both teams because the winner is off to a big start, and the loser isn’t really hurt by the loss.

-GEORGIA AT CLEMSON.  This is a rivalry game between two teams who are looking to get over the top and make the NCAAs.

-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT PITTSBURGH.  This is a buy game, but with Eastern Michigan being one of the better teams in the MAC, we’ll go ahead and highlight it.  It’s probably a mismatch, but it’s worth highlighting.

-VIRGINIA AT UNC GREENSBORO.  Once again, Virginia is playing an early season road game.  In this case they wanted to play at a site where they believed they’d be placed for the NCAA Tournament, but since it was moved out of Greensboro it may have backfired somewhat.

-LA SALLE AT TEMPLE (Big Five).  La Salle should be much improved, and Temple should be rebuilding.  Gotta love Big Five action on opening night!

-DREXEL AT MONMOUTH.  Monmouth has a lot of players back, and has a chance to once again contend for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  Like last year, though, they don’t have many strikes, so every game will have a sense of urgency to it.

-FLORIDA GULF COAST VS FLORIDA.  This is technically a buy game, but FGCU is one of the better teams in the ASun so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.  If this is the year the Gators can finally get to the NCAA Tournament, then they need to dominate games like this.

-FORT WAYNE AT ARKANSAS.  This is a buy game, but Arkansas better not overlook IPFW, who is one of the better teams in the Summit League.  I think they can pull off the upset if Pig Sooie overlooks them.

-KANSAS VS INDIANA (Honolulu, HI).  Two teams that are high in the rankings and who could both end up as protected seeds in the NCAA Tournament!  It’s a great opening night match-up where the winner gets a big win, and the loser is probably just fine.

-OHIO STATE VS NAVY (Annapolis, MD).  Ohio State is looking to rebound this year, and having a winnable road game on opening night is a good way to start things off.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT TULANE.  This game isn’t on campus, but it’s a very winnable road game for a UNC team that has struggled in early season road games in recent years, albeit those struggles have come against teams that are generally much better than this Tulane team.

-NORTH FLORIDA AT AUBURN.  For the last two years we’ve started off thinking Auburn is going to be good, and they ultimately haven’t been.  They should be tested tonight by a North Florida team who will contend for the ASun title.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT CALIFORNIA.  Cal should get a decent test from a South Dakota State team that could make some noise in the Summit League this year.

-HARVARD VS STANFORD (China).  Harvard should contend for the Ivy again this year.  Don’t be surprised if they really give Stanford a scare.

-NEVADA AT SAINT MARY’S.  This is an underrated match up between a nationally ranked Saint Mary’s team, and a Nevada team that we think will finish near the top of the Mountain West and contend for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  Picking up a win tonight would really give the Wolfpack a boost.

-SAN DIEGO AT SAN DIEGO STATE.  This appears to be a huge mismatch, but San Diego did pull off the upset last year.  SDSU doesn’t want this loss on their profile.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

-GRAND CANYON AT DUKE.  Last year’s team of the people, who will once again contend for first place in the WAC, travels to Duke.  They’re probably way overmatched, but it’s still a good litmus test for a GCU program that is growing very quickly.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH

-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT SMU.  Eastern Michigan will contend for first place in their division in the MAC, and can pick up a notable road win to really help their NCAA Tournament Profile and give their season a huge momentum boost if they’re able to pull this one off.

-CHATTANOOGA AT NORTH CAROLINA.  As we mentioned in their Friday write up, we feel that Chattanooga is an NCAA Tournament caliber team, but as good as they are they’re probably swinging over their heads today.  We feel Chattanooga can make the field as a bubble team, whereas we feel UNC will contend for a #1 seed.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT COLORADO STATE.  This is a chance for what appears to be a pretty good New Mexico State team to pick up a somewhat notable road win.

-YALE AT WASHINGTON.  Yale had a big season last year, and will try and carry that into this year despite some of what they lost.  We feel Washington will be much improved as well, so this will give us a chance to learn something about both teams.

-LONG BEACH STATE AT WICHITA STATE.  Long Beach is one of the better teams in the Big West, and as per usual they are playing an absolutely killer out of conference schedule.  Wichita, on the other hand, appears to be the Missouri Valley frontrunner, but is going through a major rebuilding period after losing so much from last year.  It’s a chance for us to learn something about both teams, and for both teams to get a notable early win.

BUY GAMES

-Lafayette @ Villanova (Friday)
-UT Martin @ Ole Miss (Friday)
-American @ Maryland (Friday)
-McNeese @ Purdue (Friday)
-Western Carolina @ Miami FL (Friday)
-Georgia Southern @ NC State (Friday)
-Colgate @ Syracuse (Friday)
-Marist @ Duke (Friday)
-Evansville @ Louisville (Friday)
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ West Virginia (Friday)
-Oral Roberts @ Baylor (Friday)
-Wagner @ UConn (Friday)
-Brown @ Cincinnati (Friday)
-UNC Asheville @ VCU (Friday)
-Austin Peay @ Dayton (Friday)
-Lehigh @ Xavier (Friday).  Lehigh should be a force in the PL, but they are way overmatched in this one
-UMES @ George Washington (Friday)
-Dartmouth @ Rhode Island (Friday)
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Seton Hall (Friday)
-Radford @ Wake Forest (Friday)
-Houston Baptist @ Texas Tech (Friday)
-Norfolk State @ Mississippi State (Friday)
-Incarnate Word @ Texas (Friday)
-Central Arkansas @ Wisconsin (Friday)
-Savannah State @ Iowa State (Friday)
-Southern Utah @ Valparaiso (Friday)
-Gardner Webb @ SMU (Friday)
-Morgan State @ Houston (Friday)
-Pine Bluff @ UAB (Friday)
-Coastal Carolina @ Alabama (Friday)
-Northwestern State @ Texas A&M (Friday)
-Howard @ Michigan (Friday)
-Maine @ Virginia Tech (Friday)
-Sacramento State @ Colorado (Friday)
-Prairie View A&M @ Oregon State (Friday)
-Portland State @ Arizona State (Friday)
-Pacific @ UCLA (Friday)
-Utah Valley @ Gonzaga (Friday)
-Western Illinois @ Kansas State (Friday)
-UMKC @ Creighton (Friday)
-SEMO @ Illinois (Friday)
-Kennesaw State @ Iowa (Friday)
-South Carolina State @ Wichita State (Friday)
-Idaho State @ New Mexico (Friday)
-UTSA @ Fresno State (Friday)
-Montana @ USC (Friday).  USC is rebuilding and needs to win games like this if they want to repeat last year’s success
-Army @ Oregon (Friday)
-Bryant @ Notre Dame (Saturday)
-South Carolina Upstate @ Georgetown (Saturday)
-Charleston Southern @ Florida State (Saturday)
-NW Nazarne (nondiv1) @ Utah (Saturday)
-Northern Colorado @ Butler (Saturday)
-Appalachian State @ Davidson (Saturday)
-Trinity (nondiv1) @ Valparaiso (Saturday)
-IUPUI @ Michigan (Sunday)
-Saint Francis Brooklyn @ NC State (Sunday)
-Bucknell @ Wake Forest (Sunday)
-Cornell @ Siena (Sunday)
-Central Connecticut @ Seton Hall (Sunday)
-Savannah State @ Iowa (Sunday)
-UTSA @ Oregon State (Sunday)
-Northwestern State @ Oklahoma (Sunday)
-Canisius @ Kentucky (Sunday)
-Holy Cross @ South Carolina (Sunday)
-Northern Kentucky @ Illinois (Sunday)
-Omaha @ USC (Sunday)
-Mercer @ Florida (Sunday)
-Cal State Northridge @ UCLA (Sunday)