For all of the In-Season Tournament Brackets and Schedules – CLICK HERE
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SAINT JOHN’S VS GEORGIA (Nassau, Bahamas). Georgia is coming off their first loss of the season to Marquette, and has another tough test today against a Saint John’s team that is really playing well and who is looking to add another notable win away from home to their profile.
-CHARLESTON AT RHODE ISLAND. Charleston has picked up some decent wins, but they were all on their home court. This is their first test away from home. Rhode Island hasn’t really been tested at all yet, and they probably didn’t anticipate this game as being a challenge when they scheduled it. Rhody is unbeaten, but all they’ve played so far are home buy games. It’s a win that both these teams could use.
-MIAMI FL VS VCU (Charleston Classic). Both teams have been disappointing in this event, but both have a chance today to at least get out of it with a notable win. Both could still end up having decent years, which would make this an important win on either team’s resume even though it’s the 7th place game.
-VILLANOVA VS MARYLAND (Empire Classic – Newark NJ). Neither team has a win of note yet, although Maryland has probably shown more promise seeing as how they nearly beat Marquette. Nova has failed virtually every test they’ve faced and has even lost a few buy games. You get the sense that Nova should be coming into this one with a bit of desperation to get a win and turn things around even though it is still only November.
-UCF VS LSU (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Both teams are looking to bounce back from a loss, but UCF has shown some promise this year and LSU also has a notable win against Kansas State, so it’s still an opportunity for each team to add what should be a resume-building win to their resume.
-OKLAHOMA STATE VS NEVADA (Charleston Classic). Both teams have decent records and should end up having halfway decent years. This is a chance for each of them to pick up what should be a decent win.
-MISSOURI STATE VS HIGH POINT (Cayman Islands Classic). High Point is a really good team and this event is a huge opportunity for them. If they can win the whole tournament, which we certainly think they are good enough to do, it will go a long way toward them landing inside the bubble come March.
-PITTSBURGH VS WISCONSIN (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Both teams are unbeaten and both have been tested, but this is perhaps the biggest test for either team so far considering that it’s away from home. Wisky did have a nice win against Arizona earlier this season and got here by beating UCF on Friday whereas Pitt was able to get past LSU.
-LONGWOOD VS MCNEESE (Paradise Jam). Longwood is 6-0 after a somewhat surprising win against UAB on Friday, which I think means that Longwood is better than we thought and UAB isn’t anywhere near as good. McNeese is a team that we thought would be VERY good, but they haven’t quite shown it yet. This is just a fascinating game given the season the two teams have had so far versus where we thought they’d be in the preseason.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS BRADLEY (Myrtle Beach Invitational). We weren’t expecting much from either team this year, but both come in with just one loss and both can leave this event with a fairly impressive resume and start to the season if they’re able to get the win today.
-FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS SETON HALL (Charleston Classic). Both teams have shown promise, but both need to put some wins on their profile, and both could really use this one today
-LIBERTY VS KANSAS STATE (Paradise Jam). Liberty has looked impressive this year, and this game is the type of opportunity an event like this can give them. It’s a chance to beat a notable team on a neutral floor, which is something they need to do in order to build their resume up and get them inside the bubble.
-DRAKE VS VANDERBILT (Charleston Classic). Both teams are unbeaten, both have been tested this year, both have picked up nice wins in this event, and both appear to be a hell of a lot better than what any of us thought about three weeks ago! This one should be fun. For Drake, it’s probably more important because they won’t have the same types of opportunities at quality wins that Vanderbilt will have throughout the year.
BUY GAMES (and other games of note):
-Portland vs Princeton (Myrtle Beach Invitational) – Princeton has struggled throughout this whole event
-Hampton vs Boise State (Cayman Islands Classic)
-Northeastern @ Cal State Bakersfield (Homewood Suites Classic) – Northeastern can improve to 6-1
-Rutgers @ Kennesaw State – this is the first road game for Rutgers, but it still hardly qualifies as a test. Having said that, Kennesaw is a surprising 4-1 so far
-South Dakota State vs Duquesne (Cayman Islands Classic) – South Dakota State can improve to 5-1
-Bryant @ Saint Bonaventure – Bona can get to 6-0 with a win
-Florida State vs UMass (Hall of Fame Tip-Off) – FSU should roll in this one and get to 6-1
-Sacramento State @ California
-Arkansas Pine-Bluff @ Missouri
-Grambling @ USC
-Old Dominion @ Boston College
-Texas Southern @ New Mexico