Saturday, November 17th Highlighted Match-ups

-Games are alphabetized via the home team

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-VIRGINIA AT ARIZONA. These two played each other early on last year, and Virginia ended up getting a big time win. Arizona is in the rankings and is at home, but Virginia already has two games under their belt. Both teams are trying to establish themselves as strong, Top 25 caliber teams, and this would be an early statement win for whoever pulls it off.

-BELMONT AT AUSTIN PEAY. This game is interesting because it matches one of the best from the Atlantic Sun against one of the best from the Ohio Valley. Belmont is looking for their fourth road win, whereas Austin Peay has only played once and is still looking for their first win.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT BOSTON U. Saint Joseph’s took Syracuse to the wire, but came up just short. Boston is one of the better teams in the America East, and will be up for this one at home. SJU doesn’t want to make it two straight losses because according to the preseason rankings they appear to be a bubble caliber team. A win on the road would help, and a loss in a game like this could potentially hurt.

-NORTHWESTERN AT DE PAUL. This is an inner city match-up between two teams who lost their openers and are looking for their first win.

-BUTLER AT EVANSVILLE. Butler has one road win already, and has played great in their first two games. A win here gets them to 3-0, and gets them one step closer to breaking into the coaches’ poll. Evansville is 0-1 on the year and this would be a big win for them, but it looks as though they are overmatched.

-RUTGERS AT FLORIDA. Both teams are 3-0 and both managed wins against rather weak competition. That being said, it looks as though Florida is much better, and should have the advantage playing at home. This is definitely the toughest test of the season so far for both of these teams.

-DAYTON AT GEORGE MASON. Dayton won their opener against East Tennessee State, but it was a struggle. I have George Mason projected on the bubble right now (I know it’s early) and believe they could end up making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large. Their first two games were struggles as well, however, and they may be in for a tougher test tonight. Next week George Mason is playing in the Old Spice Classic, which is a great opportunity for them, but they don’t want to get caught looking ahead.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT MISSOURI STATE. Missouri State dropped their season opener to Toledo and is still looking for their first win. Today’s game may be tougher than they expect, though. UNC Greensboro is one of the better teams in the Southern Conference and surprised Georgia Tech in their season opener. This would be the second notable road win for UNCG if they can pull it off.

-SANTA CLARA AT NEVADA. Both of these teams are in rebuilding mode, and it’s possible that we won’t be hearing from either one come March. Nevada is 1-1 and Santa Clara is 2-0, but this is their first game against a div1 foe.

-INDIANA STATE AT NORTH TEXAS. North Texas is unbeaten, and is coming off a win against Oklahoma State. They may not be an at-large caliber team, but they definitely look good right out of the gate, and if they keep it up, who knows?? Indiana State lost their opener to Butler and is still looking for their first win against a div1 team.

-CORNELL AT OHIO. Ohio won impressively against what I thought was a good New Mexico State team. Cornell won their opener as well, so this is a match-up between two teams that are looking to remain unbeaten, and Ohio looks like they might be pretty tough this year.

-OREGON VS PORTLAND. When I saw this game, I thought that the two would be playing at the Rose Garden Arena where the Trailblazers play and that the majority of the crowd would be for Oregon, but according to Portland’s schedule, Oregon is actually coming to their campus. It should be a pretty fun scene, especially if Portland can keep it close. Oregon is unbeaten, and will likely remain that way, but I must say I admire that they’d play an in-state foe like this in a true road game.

-USC AT SOUTH CAROLINA. USC rebounded from their early season loss to Mercer with a win in their next game, but has a tough road assignment today, especially considering how young they are. South Carolina is unbeaten, but hasn’t really played anyone of note yet, so this will be their toughest game of the season so far as well.

-MURRAY STATE AT WESTERN KENTUCKY. This is an in-state rivalry, and although both teams won their opener, Western KY clearly looks like the better team. They may have a shot at contending for an at-large bid this year, but one thing that needs to improve is their defense. They also need to take care of business in games like today when they’re playing teams they should be able to beat. WKU didn’t always play up to their potential last year.

-COLORADO AT WISCONSIN. Wisconsin is off to a 2-0 start and Colorado hasn’t looked all that impressive, so the Badgers should be able to remain perfect on the year and win this one going away.


EXEMPT TOURNAMENTS

-The only significant action going on in exempt tournaments today is that it is the second day of the Glen Wilkes Classic. CLEVELAND STATE will be squaring off against FLORIDA STATE, and UAB will face GEORGIA SOUTHERN.


BUY GAMES

-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE AT CREIGHTON. Creighton had a nice win against De Paul in their opener and can improve to 2-0 with a win today.

-UC RIVERSIDE AT GONZAGA. Gonzaga is off to a 2-0 start and today’s game should be a breeze. It gets much tougher after this, though.

-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT KANSAS STATE. Kansas State is 2-0, but still hasn’t had a real true test. They won’t get one today either.

-HARTFORD AT LOUISVILLE. This game is part of the Las Vegas Invitational, but it begins at the campus sites. It’s the season opener for a very talented Louisville team, and it shouldn’t be much of a game.

-WISCONSIN GREEN BAY AT MASSACHUSETTS. UMass can improve to 4-1 on the year with a win today, but none of their wins really jump out at you. It’s hard to say how good they’ll end up being this year.

-TENNESSEE MARTIN AT MISSISSIPPI STATE. Mississippi State dropped a close one to a pretty good Clemson team in their last game, but should be able to win this one big.

-ALABAMA A&M AT NEBRASKA. A win gets the Huskers to 2-0.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT NEW MEXICO. The Lobos are looking to remain unbeaten on the year. This is the second of a three game round-robin tournament and New Mexico isn’t likely to be challenged by any of the teams.

-FURMAN AT SAINT LOUIS. SLU’s only loss was at Pittsburgh in a game where they played pretty well. They look to be much improved and could be a force in the Atlantic Ten.

-UC SAN DIEGO (nondiv1) AT SAN DIEGO STATE. San Diego State already has three wins away from home, one of which was a 17 point win against Fresno State. This is their home opener and it should be a blowout. SDSU wasn’t getting a whole lot of kudos in the preseason from what I could gather, but early on they appear to be pretty good.

-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. It’s the season opener for the Salukis, and it shouldn’t be a difficult game to win.

-OUACHITA BAPTIST (nondiv1) AT TEXAS A&M. TAMU will be playing in the semifinals of the NIT next week and the competition there will be much tougher than what they’ll face today.