xubrew

today is the first day that non exempt games can be played. the season is now officially in full swing as many teams play their openers today.



-WESTERN CAROLINA AT ALABAMA. this game is way below the radar in tide country. there is a certain football game being played tomorrow that has people more excited. still, it is the season opener for a tourney favorite.

-MAINE AT BOSTON COLLEGE. maine just went through a coaching change. if they were to pull off an upset here it would do wonders for their program, especially since they have a new coach. boston college is trying to get themselves to the ncaa tournament. losing a game like this certainly won't help them. it is going to be a rough year for them in conference play because of the hard feelings that exist about their departure and they REALLY need to get it done ooc. march starts in november.

-LONG BEACH AT CHARLOTTE. charlotte is not high on the national radar yet, but they do have a VERY good team. they open their season tonight against long beach, who is in the big west, but a few notches below utah state and pacific at this point.

-VALPARAISO AT CINCINNATI. as i mentioned in my first bracket projections, i believe cincinnati will have matchup problems with a lot of teams on their schedule. people always say that teams need to win the big ones. they need to win the little ones as well. valpo will be a force in the mid con, but they are going to have a tough time winning today. still, a good rpi game for uc, especially if valpo can rack up some wins in conference.

-HAMPTON AT CLEMSON. clemson has a habit of doing well ooc, but then struggling in conference. they should win this one today.

-ALABAMA STATE AT GEORGIA TECH. alabama state won the swac tourney last year and should be a force within the conference this year. they are absolutely no match for georgia tech though. the jackets went to the title game last year, are strong contenders for the pod system this year, and should win tonight in a big way.

-PORTLAND STATE AT GONZAGA. gonzaga is a definite power in the wcc and should be in position yet again to get an at large bid at the end of the year. portland state is way overmatched in this one.

-DELAWARE STATE AT ILLINOIS. the long and agonizing football season is over for the illini and they begin their quest for the pod system tonight.

-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT IOWA. iowa has a tendency to start off strong, but then taper off when conference play begins. they need to do something and get to the dance this year. otherwise, the current coach steve alford may be the former coach a year from now. every game is important. they need to win tonight.

-FLORIDA AT JACKSONVILLE. the only thing i can think of is that florida got the memo about the selection committee putting more emphasis on road wins for the adjusted rpi a little early. VERY unusual road game for an sec team. the gators should role tonight.

-VERMONT AT KANSAS. vermont is a very well coached, well balanced team that has been a dominant force in the america east over the past two years and should be again this year. kansas, on the other hand, is a very well coached well balanced team that is going to be a dominant force throughout the entire nation. good rpi game for kansas as vermont should end up winning 20+ games, but the catamounts are WAY overmatched tonight.

-JACKSON STATE AT MARYLAND. get ready for a blood bath here. maryland could sleepwalk and win this one.

-PURDUE AT MIAMI, OH. miami should do well in the mac this year, but they have a history of being VERY inconsistent. fans should be fired up tonight with a team like purdue coming to town. purdue missed the tournament last year. they got off to a great start, but were inconsistent throughout and when the injuries set in they were pretty much done. a win tonight will start them off on the right track.

-SACRAMENTO STATE AT MICHIGAN. michigan has advanced to the semifinals of the nit. this is what one might call a sandwhich game. again, there is a certain football game being played tomorrow that the michigan nation is likely focusing on. call it a hunch, but it may be demanding more attention than this game tonight. maybe this game could be sort of a pep ralley as the students and fans are prepping for ohio state tomorrow.

-DAVIDSON AT MISSOURI. davidson is playing several big name teams ooc. they are a very respectable team within the southern conference. missouri struggled early in the season last year despite being highly ranked. as the season went on, they dropped from the rankings and continued to struggle through the rest of the season and ultimately missed the tournament. they DO NOT want to get off to that kind of start this year. they need to take care of business tonight and get the win.

-HARVARD AT NOTRE DAME. the irish had a great finish to the year last year and are strong tourney contenders this year. they play harvard tonight for the first time in sixty years.

-DELAWARE AT OHIO STATE. ohio state won their first two games. they didn't really beat anyone that impressive, but they are certainly off to a more encouraging start than last year. this would really be a big win for delaware and be a great jump start to their season. for the bucks, tonight delware. tomorrow michigan.

-NORTHWESTERN STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE. northwestern state is one of the better teams in the southland conference. unfortunately, that is a likely one bid conference that will produce a 16 seed. oklahoma state is VERY good this year and should role tonight at home.

-IDAHO STATE AT OREGON. the ducks return a lot of experience and want to get back to the dance. this is their season opener tonight.

-BROWN AT RHODE ISLAND. expectations are high for rhode island. they are looking to get back to the ncaa tournament for the first time in awhile. they are short handed tonight, but they shouldn't have too much trouble beating brown. brown is a middle of the pack team from the ivy, but as of now they don't appear to be legitimate conference contenders.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT SANTA CLARA. on their way out to the maui invitational, north carolina decided to stop off and visit santa clara. great opportunity for santa clara to get a team like the tarheels to come to their place, and they do have two pretty good wins this year, but this is a VERY tall order. north carolina is one of the best teams in the country and it would be a huge upset if they were to fall tonight.

-RICHMOND AT SETON HALL. both these teams got to the dance last year, and this would be a great win to start off the season for either team this year. beating another tournament team head to head can results in leverage. when both teams are fighting to get in, it's an important thing. should be a good game tonight.

-SAN FRANCISCO VS STANFORD. stanford underwent a coaching change, but it shouldn't be much of a factor. they appear to be a solid tournament team this year and should win tonight.

-AUBURN AT TEMPLE. temple appears to be stronger this year than they have in the past two seasons. they are playing a brutal ooc schedule. a win tonight would be huge for them because wins ooc are going to be hard to come by. it would also be a nice ooc win for auburn. temple's defense is never easy to play against.

-UNC ASHEVILLE AT TEXAS TECH. texas tech has a great recruiting class coming in next year, but this year they are going to struggle. every win for them will be a big win because they are going to have to fight hard to make the dance.

-TEXAS STATE AT TEXAS. texas is a very good team and should role over texas state tonight.

-STONY BROOK AT UTAH. utah is another team that will have to fight hard to get into the dance. the mwc is going to be competitive this year and the utes should be in the mix. like texas tech, every win is a big win.

-TOLEDO AT VANDERBILT. one of the more intriguing games of the day. expectations are high for toledo. they are preseason favorites to win the mac, and they could really make a statement by winning at vanderbilt tonight. it would justify the high expectations. for vandy, they are trying to build on their sweet sixteen season of last year, but they lost a lot of contributors and are going to have to fight to do it. can the best in the mac (well, preseason best) go on the road and beat a preseason middle of the pac sec team??

-OAKLAND AT XAVIER. xavier lost their coaching staff and three starters. a lot of questions for a team that went to the elight eight last year. they should win tonight. it's early, but they still don't need any eyesores on their ncaa tourney resume.




EXEMPT TOURNAMENTS:

-EAST CAROLINA AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (bca invitational championship. east carolina has six freshman on the team. they blew out pepperdine in the opener and came back to beat oregon state yesterday. as young as they are, they may be building something at east carolina. nc state appears to clearly be the better, more experienced team. they are hosting this tournament and breezed through their first two wins. they should get a stronger challenge tonight, but they should still win the game. if east carolina were to pull the upset over an in-state heavyweight, their campus and fans will be buzzing.

-SAINT MARY'S VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (coaches vs cancer consolation game). saint mary's is without three of their best players, which is unfortunate because this is a great opportunity for them to pick up some wins that would likely put them in position to get an at large. they looked impresive against memphis, but still lost. mississippi state is battling injuries of their own. lawrence roberts played yesterday, but he had a broken nose and it obviously effected his play. for saint mary's it's a big game because they have far fewer shots at quality wins than mississippi state does. however, it's a big game for the bulldogs as well. as they found out last year, there is little margin for error if a team wants a #1 seed. three or four losses could be too many, and they don't want this to be their second.

-MEMPHIS VS SYRACUSE (coaches vs cancer championship game). these are two teams who are going to contend for the pod system. a win gives them an early start on obtaining the quality wins they need to do it. syracuse played well in the second half last night. this should be a really good game.

-TULANE AT LSU (louisiana tournament semifinal). in state rivalry here. lsu was well on pace to make the ncaa last year, but injuries at the end of the season sent them into a tail spin and they were not selected. they need to start the season off with a win and get back on track this year.

-SAM HOUSTON AT MARQUETTE (marquette semifinal). marquette should role here. if they win, they face the winner of binghamton vs kent state in the finals. kent state could give them a run for their money, but marquette should role tonight.

-WINTHROP VS ARKANSAS (paradise jam semifinal). arkansas is playing a rather weak ooc schedule, but they are trying to build up their program. winthrop could give them a nice rpi boost if they are able to play well in the big south.

-AUSTIN PEAY VS SAINT LOUIS (paradise jam semifinal). saint louis is in year two of the soderberg era. they are a terrific team on defense. seeing as how they are in a building process, if they were to win this tournament it would give them quite a boost and give their fans something to be excited about. austin peay dominated the ovc last year, but they lost in the conference championship game, then lost several contributors due to graduation. expect slu to win tonight.

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IT'S MILLER TIME!!!

Brian34Cook

Actually there's still a useless game tommorow vs Northwestern but yes it's over and has been for a while..

Yippie Delaware State, a team I know NOTHING about.. Oh well.. I'm expecting a blowout anyways.. Who isnt?

mattmo

I think the Catamounts proved they were legit on the national stage last night, only losing by 7.

xubrew

yes they did. that is the best game i've seen this year as far as quality of play goes. i didn't see santa clara vs north carolina. vermont proved they could play with the top ranked teams on the road last night. i thought they were going to pull it out.

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IT'S MILLER TIME!!!

Brian34Cook

That Illinois game turned out closer than I expect.. 20 point win for Illinois 87-67.. D State didnt play all that bad.. They'll be a solid team. They shot like 75% in the first half..

Our defense has to get better, plain and simple.. Then again it's only the first regular game. We'll be fine.