HIGHLIGHTED MATCH-UPS FOR FRIDAY, NOV 8TH,
-GEORGETOWN AT OREGON. Oregon is not at full strength due to suspensions. Georgetown is a team with more questions than answers. Even though Oregon isn’t at full strength it would still be a big win for the Hoyas.
-COLORADO AT BAYLOR. Both of these teams are capable of having very big years. This is a good early test for both of them. Games like this are good because a win is rewarding and a loss is not damaging.
-WEBER STATE AT BYU. Weber is a good team that will likely dominate the Big Sky. They need notable OOC wins if they want to play their way onto the bubble. The same is true for BYU.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT SAINT MARY’S. These are two teams that are good, but that don’t have too many opportunities at statement wins, although SMC’s OOC schedule is a lot better than it normally is. With that in mind, it is somewhat of a high stakes game for both teams.
-ALABAMA AT OKLAHOMA. No one is excited about either of these teams yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see one or both of them in the NCAA Tournament picture. It’s a chance to get a notable win right out of the gate.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT PROVIDENCE. This is an old Big East rivalry. Both teams have more questions than answers when it comes to how good they’ll be this year. We should learn something about each of them tonight.
-MARYLAND VS UCONN. I’m really big on this UConn team and not sure what to make of this Maryland team. This would certainly be an early statement win for the Terps if they can pull it off.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT VCU. VCU should have a monster year this year. All of their games appear to be winnable. Illinois State was talented last year, but underperformed in embarrassing fashion.
-DELAWARE AT RICHMOND. Not many people are big on either of these teams, but I think both will be better than expected. I think Richmond may be good enough to make the NCAAs.
-DAVIDSON AT DUKE. Davidson is a good program and will do very well in the SoCon, but they’re at the bottom of their talent cycle and are likely overmatched tonight.
-ALBANY AT SIENA. Not expecting much out of either team, but it’s exciting to see the two crosstown rivals open against each other.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT WISCONSIN. Wiscy will struggle with the new rule changes, and until they adjust it will probably be a factor. That makes this a curious game. Saint John’s returns a lot from a year ago and is a tough defensive team.
-TCU AT SMU. If this is going to be a breakthrough year for SMU, they need to take care of business in a rivalry game tonight.
-MERCER AT TEXAS. I’m expecting Mercer to win this game. They’re a good team, and Texas really isn’t.
-MURRAY STATE AT VALPO. Both teams have lost contributing players from a year ago, but both are still good. Both are likely long shots for at-large bids, but a win would still be a nice way to start the season.
-FGCU AT NEBRASKA. FGCU returns four starters from a team that made the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. Nebraska has a program that is improving, but is still a long way away. Interesting opener for both teams.
-USC AT UTAH STATE. It’s been a long time since a power conference team visited Utah State. Having said that, USC is a very weak power conference team.
-BUCKNELL AT STANFORD. Bucknell will likely be one of the better teams in the Patriot League this year. Stanford has struggled in recent years, but they appear to be improving.
BUY GAMES (Brought to you by Hostess)
-North Florida at Florida
-James Madison at Virginia. I think this Virginia team is going to be good, but we won’t learn much about them tonight.
-Chicago State at Indiana.
-Savannah State at Pittsburgh. How many Pitt players will foul out??
-UMass Lowell at Michigan. Welcome to div1 UMass Lowell!!
-Northern Kentucky at Purdue.
-Gardner Webb at Xavier.
-McNeese State at Michigan State. Michigan State has a lot of tough OOC games. Tonight is not one of them.
-Miami OH at Notre Dame.
-UNC Asheville at Kentucky.
-Cornell at Syracuse.
-SELA at Missouri.
-Viterbo (nondiv1) at North Dakota State. North Dakota State has a good team, but they need notable wins to get the committee’s attention. They do themselves no favors playing a game like this.
-Alcorn State at Creighton.
-Southern at Marquette.
-Mississippi Valley at Oklahoma State
-Lafayette at Villanova. Lafayette may make some noise in the Patriot League, but are likely way overmatched against what appears to be a pretty good Nova team.
-Alabama State at Illinois.
-NCCU at Cincinnati. I think this is a very good and very underrated Cincinnati team.
-Louisiana Monroe at Kansas.
-Jackson State at Southern Miss.
-Troy at Ole Miss.
-SEMO at Saint Louis.
-Oakland at North Carolina.
-Northern Colorado at Kansas State
-UC Riverside at San Diego State.
-Cal Poly at Arizona.
-UTSA at Boise State.
-Portland State at UNLV.
