Stetson (5-3) at Charleston (10-1) – 7:00 PM ET (FloHoops)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day returns to Charleston where the hometown Cougars host the surprising Stetson Hatters. To recap, Stetson began their season with wins at Florida State and at South Florida, although they were not able to claim a trifecta after losing at Florida shortly thereafter. The Hatters also split a pair of games in Dublin, Ireland; they beat Rider but lost to Niagara in the A-Sun/MAAC Dublin Basketball Challenge. Luke Brown averages 11.8 points a game for Stetson through their first 8 games.
Charleston enters tonight’s game on a 9-game winning streak; their season has been highlighted by wins against Davidson, Colorado State and Virginia Tech to claim the championship of the Charleston Classic. Prior to a home win against non-D1 North Greenville, the Cougars won back-to-back road games against Citadel and Presbyterian. Dalton Bolon averages just over 12 points a game for Charleston.
OTHER NEWS NOTES AND GAMES (From the Puppet):
-I’ve been critical of Memphis all year. I’ve been critical of Memphis for the last several years. I know they didn’t win last night, but after beating Auburn over the weekend, and taking Alabama to the wire ON THE ROAD I am now a firm believer in Memphis! Alabama won 91-88, but there are probably less than five teams in the entire country that would even have a one-in-four chance of beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I don’t want to say it was a moral victory, but I will absolutely say it is an indication of just how good this Memphis team is capable of being.
-UMass Lowell didnt’ get the win at Rhode Island, and fell to 11-2 on the season after losing 77-75 in overtime. It was a game many of us were expecting Lowell to win. Still, it’s been a good season for the River Hawks.
-Other than those two games it was a pretty chalky night. As for tonight…
-JACKSON STATE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE. A different sport, but we at Hoops HD are all very sad at the passing of Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach. We know this will be an emotional night for them as they try to remain unbeaten.
-UCF AT OLE MISS. These are two teams that have shown some signs of life, but still have some work to do in order to prove themselves. Tonight is a good opportunity for both teams as both come in at 7-2.
-UCLA AT MARYLAND. This is what I like to call a ‘Protected Seed Caliber Game.’ If a team wants to get a protected seed, this is the kind of game they ned to be able to win. It’s a VERY tough road challenge for UCLA, but they’ve been tested this season already. As has Maryland. This one should be fun!
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT SAINT MARY’S. Saint Mary’s will likely be tested a little bit tonight, but they should be able to hold serve and pick up the win.
-Stetson @ Charletson – Charleston can improve to 11-1 and keep inching toward the Top 25
-DePaul @ Duquesne – likely a bit of a tough road game for the Blue Demons against a Duquesne team that isn’t good, but that doesn’t stink either
-Drexel @ Seton Hall – The Pirates need to hold serve at home
-South Carolina @ UAB – The Blazers need to hold serve at home
-Appalachian State @ Wake Forest – I’m still a bit of a believer in this Wake team, but they need to hold serve at home tonight
-Sam Houston @ UL Monroe – a winnable road game for Sam Houston, which would be their 3rd of the season and get them to 8-2 overall
-Georgia State @ Auburn
-Western Kentucky @ Louisville – WKU can get to 9-1 on the year and pick up their third true road win
-UC San Diego @ Nevada
-Long Beach State @ USC