-MICHIGAN AT DUKE (Big Ten vs ACC Challenge). Duke hasn’t managed a big win yet, and Michigan has some good wins, but none that would likely turn out to be as big as this. It’s a great early season test for both teams.
-NOTRE DAME AT IOWA (Big Ten vs ACC Challenge). This is about as untraditional as a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game an be, but it’s a great match-up. Notre Dame has not looked that good this year and could really use a notable win. Iowa played well the Battle 4 Atlantis, but the rest of their OOC schedule is kind of weak, so picking up another notable win would really help them out as well.
– BELMONT AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. Belmont is 6-2 with no bad losses and a win at UNC. They’re in good shape, but the problem is their schedule will become watered down once conference play begins. Middle Tennessee isn’t a solid tournament team by any means, but they are 6-1, they do play well at home, and it’s a win that Belmont would get some credit for if they pull this off. It wouldn’t’ be a bad win for MTSU either.
-FLORIDA STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten vs ACC Challenge). Both of these teams have looked good early. Florida State has a nice win against VCU, and barely missed getting additional big wins against Michigan and Florida, all away from home. Minney has a decent win at Richmond, but could definitely use another. I expect both teams to have bigger years than what was originally expected.
-BOISE STATE AT UTAH. Both teams are unbeaten. Whether either of them are any good has yet to be determined.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UCLA. UCSB’s big win at UNLV isn’t looking so big anymore. They’re still a formidable big West team and they don’t have any terrible losses yet. Their next three games are against good teams, so if they can pull off some big wins and run through the Big West they may be on the fringe of the bubble.
-UMASS AT EASTERN MICHIGAN. Eastern Michigan’s only loss came at Kentucky in a game where they put up a fight for about thirty minutes. Whether or not they can continue to win is yet to be determined. UMass is unbeaten on the season. This may be one of those games that’s more difficult for UMass than what many realize.
-USC UPSTATE AT CINCINNATI. This is a buy game, but USC Upstate has been the most impressive team in the A-Sun so far, so it’s worth mentioning. A win for Cincinnati gets them to 7-0.
-NCCU AT OLD DOMINION. I don’t know if this is worth getting excited over or not, but NCCU is 5-1 on the year with a win at NC State under their belts. Therefore, they are on our radar. For now.
-INDIANA VS SYRACUSE (Big Ten vs ACC Challenge). Indiana is 6-1 and is coming off a decisive win against Evansville, but they still don’t have a big win just yet. Syracuse just won the Maui Invitational and is off to a great start.
-ILLINOIS AT GEORGIA TECH (Big Ten vs ACC Challenge). Illinois is 7-0, but they haven’t managed a whole lot of quality yet. Georgia Tech is hardly solid, but this is probably Illinois’s toughest test so far.
-PENN STATE AT PITTSBURGH (Big Ten vs ACC Challenge). Penn State is 6-2 and although they haven’t faced any strong tests yet, they did win on a neutral floor against Saint John’s and took Ole Miss to the wall. Pitt is unbeaten. Both teams have good records, but they need some good wins.
-COLORADO AT COLORADO STATE (Front Range). Both teams have good records, and Colorado has a nice home win against Harvard, but both are somewhat lacking in quality wins. This is always a fun rivalry, especially since both teams have been NCAA Tournament caliber teams in recent years.
-TEXAS TECH AT ARIZONA. This isn’t a buy game, but it may as well be.
