We couldn’t just choose one game for tonight – there are extremely pivotal games in the Coastal, SoCon and Big West involving first place.
Samford (20-3, 9-1) at UNC-Greensboro (17-6, 8-2) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPNU)
Our first stop takes us to Greensboro for a 1-2 matchup in the SoCon between the Samford Bulldogs and the UNC-Greensboro Spartans. Samford won the first meeting 79-70 between the two teams in Birmingham and a win here would not only virtually lock up all the meaningful tiebreakers, but it could also give the Bulldogs and Bucky Ball a lifeline to an at-large NCAA bid should they stumble in the SoCon Tournament in a month.
Drexel (15-8, 8-2) at UNC-Wilmington (16-6, 7-3) – 7:00 PM ET (FloHoops)
Our other early game features the Drexel Dragons and the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Drexel has lost two of their last three games to make the Coastal race competitive again. Wilmington is riding high after a two-game sweep of Charleston, but they will be looking to avenge a 78-63 loss that was played on Drexel’s on-campus arena back in January.
UC-Irvine (17-6, 10-1) at UC-Santa Barbara (13-8, 6-5) – 10:00 PM ET (ESPN+)
It’s the GauchEater Cup! UC-Irvine has a one-game leader over both UC-San Diego and UC-Davis in the conference standings, but it feels almost like a two-team race with UCSD still in their transition up to Division 1. The Gauchos will be playing more of a spoiler role right now, but the Thunderdome has never been an easy place for UC-Irvine to get a road win.