I know it’s been a long time since I’ve contributed to BSB.\u00a0 Can I blame a newborn, a two-year old, a second job, and TWO job changes?\u00a0 Well, I’m going to, whether I can or not.\u00a0 And, while my first post back should be a post-mortem on the Phillies season or my take on the Chip Kelly Era, I’m really just going to start fresh.\u00a0 A brand-new college hoops season kicks off on Friday with 136 games on the slate.\u00a0 With 58 more on Saturday and 31 on Sunday, that is 225 games this weekend alone!\u00a0 So, let’s take a look at the slate.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Friday 6:30 – Maryland vs #18 Connecticut (in Brooklyn, NY)<\/span><\/em>\u00a0 Friday 7:00 – St. John’s\u00a0vs #20 Wisconsin (in Sioux Falls, SD)<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00 – Georgetown vs #19 Oregon (in South Korea)<\/span><\/em> Friday 10:00 – Colorado at #25 Baylor<\/span><\/em> Saturday 2:00 – Manhattan at LaSalle<\/span><\/em> Saturday 5:00 – Temple at Penn<\/span><\/em> Friday 5:00 – Oklahoma at Alabama<\/em> Friday 6:00\u00a0– Boston College at Providence<\/span><\/em> Friday 7:00 – Gardner-Webb at Xavier<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00 – Lehigh at Minnesota<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00 – Lafayette at Villanova<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00 – Buffalo at Texas A&M<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00 – Mercer at Texas<\/span><\/em> Friday 9:00 – Oakland at #12 North Carolina<\/span><\/em> Friday 9:00 – Florida Gulf Coast at Nebraska<\/span><\/em> Friday 9:00 – Northern Colorado at Kansas St.<\/span><\/em> Friday 10:00 – Cal Poly at #6 Arizona<\/span><\/em> Friday Midnight – Drexel at #22 UCLA<\/span><\/em> Saturday noon – USC-Upstate at Virginia Tech<\/span><\/em> Saturday 4:00 – Wagner at Penn St.<\/span><\/em> Saturday 7:00 – St. Joe’s at Vermont<\/span><\/em> Friday 3:00\u00a0– North Florida at #10 Florida Friday 7:00 – UNC-Asheville at #1 Kentucky Friday 7:00 – McNeese St. at #2 Michigan St. Friday 7:00 – Davidson at #4 Duke Friday 7:00 – UMass-Lowell at #7 Michigan Friday 7:00 – Cornell at #8 Syracuse Friday 7:00 – Illinois St. at #14 VCU Friday 7:00 – Miami (OH) at #21 Notre Dame<\/span> Friday 7:00 – James Madison at #24 Virginia<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00\u00a0– LA-Monroe at #5 Kansas<\/span> Friday 8:00 – Mississippi Valley St. at #8 Oklahoma St.<\/span> Friday 8:00 – Christian Brothers (D2) at #13 Memphis<\/span><\/em> Friday 8:00 – Southern at #17 Marquette<\/span><\/em> Saturday noon – Morgan St. at #11 Ohio St. Saturday 1:00 – College of Charleston at #3 Louisville Saturday 2:00 – Emporia St. (D2) at #16 Wichita St. Saturday 7:00 – Bryant at #15 Gonzaga Saturday 8:00 – #23 New Mexico at Alabama A&M Sunday 1:00 – Stetson at #21 Notre Dame Sunday 4:00 – Northern Kentucky at #1 Kentucky Friday 7:00 – Chicago St. at Indiana Friday 9:00 – Murray St. at Valparaiso Friday 9:00 – USC at Utah St. Friday 9:30 – UNC-Wilmington at Iowa Friday 10:00 – Bucknell at Stanford Sunday 3:00 – UMass at Boston College Friday 7:00 – Delaware at Richmond Friday 7:00 – Belmont at Lipscomb Friday 7:30 – Navy at Towson Friday 8:00 – Coastal Carolina at Akron Friday 8:00 – Viterbo (D2) at North Dakota St. Friday 8:00 – Marist at Stony Brook Friday 9:00 – Weber St. at BYU Friday 10:00 – Fresno St. at UC-Irvine Friday 10:00 – South Dakota St. at San Diego Friday 1:30 am (Sat)\u00a0– New Mexico St. at Western Michigan Saturday 2:00 – Northern Iowa at Ohio Saturday 2:00 – Iona at Cleveland St. Saturday 6:00 – Norfolk St. at Texas-Southern Saturday 6:30 – South Dakota St. vs Loyola Marymount (in San Diego, CA) Sunday 12:30 – Boston U at Northeastern Sunday 1:00 – Youngstown St.\u00a0vs Eastern Kentucky (in Kennesaw, GA) Sunday 2:00 – Haverford College (D3) at Stony Brook Sunday 2:00 – Charleston-Southern at Delaware Sunday 5:00 – Elon at Marist Sunday 5:30 – Harvard at Holy Cross Sunday 6:00 – Oral Roberts at Tulsa I know it’s been a long time since I’ve contributed to BSB.\u00a0 Can I blame a newborn, a two-year old, a second job, and TWO job changes?\u00a0 Well, I’m going to, whether I can or not.\u00a0 And, while my first … Continue reading
\nIn the first collegiate edition of a great season of hoops scheduled for the Barclay Center this year, this is an interesting matchup of one probable tournament team and one potential tournament team.\u00a0 Dez Wells might be a star this year and, if so, the Terps should be dangerous in their final year in the ACC.\u00a0 On the other side, the Huskies have one of the best (albeit undersized) backcourts in the country with Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright.\u00a0 And, both team return a lot of core players other than their stars, so this should be decent basketball right out of the gate.<\/p>\n
\nLike the UConn-Maryland game above, this pits one team that is likely a tournament team against another team that – if the pieces come together – might actually have a higher upside.\u00a0 The Johnnies could be really good this year…or barely mediocre.\u00a0 The Badgers will always be good as long as Bo Ryan is there.\u00a0 I guess it’s more of a home game for Wisconsin, but a neutral-site game in Sioux Falls, SD, is anyone’s guess.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nIn probably the game of the weekend, the Otto Porter-less Hoyas travel to South\u00a0Korea to face\u00a0a really, really<\/em> good Oregon team.\u00a0 The Ducks lost\u00a04 starters from last year’s team, but have the potential to be better this year because of the new faces to Eugene that aren’t that new to the college hoops fan.\u00a0 With sophomore sensations Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson in the backcourt, they bolstered their squad with UNLV transfer Mike Moser and Houston transfer Joseph Young (who led the Cougars in scoring last year at 18\/game).\u00a0 They also added a couple stellar JUCO transfers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nIf the South Korea game isn’t the best of the weekend, this one is.\u00a0 The Buffs lost Anthony Roberson, but return Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker in one of the more underrated backcourts in the nation.\u00a0 Baylor is – as always – INCREDIBLY athletic, but will probably be rather undisciplined.\u00a0 Even on the road, this might be a signature win for the Buffs right off the bat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThis is more of a Philly-centric pick here, as the Explorers will try and build off of the Sweet 16 run from last year (with everyone except Galloway back) against a really tough Manhattan team that is the favorite to win a solid MAAC this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAnd, in a complete homer pick, the Temple Owls open their season with a Big Five game in the greatest basketball arena in the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nGAMES THAT MIGHT MATTER COME SELECTION SUNDAY<\/h2>\n
\n<\/span>Come early March, when the word “bubble” is the most oft-used word in sports, this game may be referenced more than you might imagine.\u00a0 Neither of these teams are probably good enough to compete in their respective leagues, but they both are definitely good enough for Tournament consideration.\u00a0 And, if they are both on the bubble a head-to-head game – regardless of it taking place on November 8th – could be huge.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nA very interestesting game at the Dunkin Donut Center, as two teams that are kind of forgotten on the global college hoops landscape have legit chances to be relevant this year.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nUPSET ALERTS<\/h2>\n
\nXavier is in complete rebuild mode, which is the only reason a Big South team would even have a shot to go in and beat them.\u00a0 And GW is a veteran team that should be decent this year.\u00a0 Watch out, Muskies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nC.J. McCollum is gone and the Mountain Hawks are kind of in rebuild mode, but they brought in one of the best recruiting classes in program history, so if they can gel early enough, they have a shot against a shaky Gopher team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nDidn’t Lafayette beat the ‘Cats last year?\u00a0 Well, the Leopards are even better this year (though, so is ‘Nova), so who knows?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nTexas A&M hasn’t recovered from the departure of the incredibly underrated Mark Turgeon and could struggle this year.\u00a0 Whereas, the Bulls of Buffalo are a decent MAC program that has another decent roster this year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nRick Barnes might actually be on the hot seat if not for the incredibly hot seat of UT’s football coach, Mack Brown.\u00a0 Either way,\u00a0Barnes has\u00a0not recruited well lately, which is a death sentence to a guy\u00a0who has had Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustin, B.J. Tyler, Terrence Rencher, etc, etc, etc, and never made a Final Four.\u00a0 And, they welcome an experienced, outstanding Mercer team that returns 4 starters (including their stud PG Langston Hall) from a team that finished ahead<\/em> of the “Dunk City” FGCU team in the A-Sun last year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nOakland returns\u00a04 starters from a decent team a year ago for their inaugural season in the Horizon League.\u00a0 UNC is a little in flux with off-the-court issues\u00a0 surrounding guys like P.J. Hairston and on-the-court issues surrounding guys like J.M. McAdoo.\u00a0 I don’t think the Heels will lose in the Dean Dome here, but they better come to play.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nNot sure if anyone’s ever heard of FGCU, but they’re not bad.\u00a0 And, while Nebraska is improving, they are still not really a competitive Big Ten team and are vulnerable here.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nIt’s hard to say enough about the coaching job Bruce Weber turned in\u00a0in his first season in Manhattan, KS, last\u00a0year.\u00a0 But, Rodney McGruder and Angel Rodriguez are both gone,\u00a0and it remains to be seen if Will Spradling and Shane Southwell can step up and lead this\u00a0team.\u00a0 And, they have to find out real fast, as the other UNC\u00a0is one of the more under-the-radar mid-majors this year and might challenge the perennial top dogs in the Big Sky.\u00a0 Also to note\u00a0– if the refs actually start calling the game the way they have\u00a0been asked to, then depth could be at a premium this year, and UNC is one of the deeper teams in the country, whereas K-State is not.\u00a0 Hmm…\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThis is kind of crazy because Arizona is loaded this year, but Cal Poly is a dangerous team that returns a large part of the team that knocked off UCLA last year around this time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSpeaking of knocking off UCLA, the Drexel Dragons will try and erase the awful memories of a terribly disappointing season last year with one big midnight victory.\u00a0 But, aside from playing in Pauly Pavilion, there might be a body-clock issue here, as a midnight game will probably\u00a0favor the\u00a0West Coasters.\u00a0 Then again, these are college kids and when I\u00a0was in college, I was at my best in the early hours of the morning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nI’m not even sure this would be a huge upset.\u00a0 Va Tech\u00a0has fallen on\u00a0really hard times (shouldn’t have fired Mr. Greenberg), while USC-Upstate\u00a0is a program that is really on the rise (despite a disappointing setback last year) that returns all 5 starters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nThe best team in the NEC versus possibly the worst in the Big Ten.\u00a0 Still a big advantage for the Big Tenners,\u00a0but would you be that surprised?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nI love to kick St. Joe’s when it’s down, so let me just say that Vermont should probably be favored in this game (I haven’t seen a line, so they might be).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/span>This probably won’t be a very competitive game, as the Ospreys of North Florida are a mediocre team from the A-Sun, but it will give us our first look at dynamic freshman PG for the Gators, Kasey Hill.\u00a0 And, we should get a prolonged, 40-minute\u00a0look at him, as they may have as few as five players dress for this game with all the issues going on in Gainesville.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Our first look at the WildKittens.\u00a0 Even the best UNC-Asheville teams of recent memory wouldn’t have a shot at Rupp Arena, but this Asheville team is gonna get BLOWED OUT.\u00a0 Should be fun to see just how athletic and cohesive this new-look UK team is.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>While the raw, uber-talented #1 team is beating up on Asheville, the veteran, experienced #2 team should be doing the same to McNeese St.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Our first look at Jabari Parker and this year’s Dukies is against an always-tough Davidson team.\u00a0 The Wildcats lost a lot from last year, including 2-time SoCon POY, Jake Cohen, so they probably won’t put up more than 10 minutes of fight.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>The first ever D-I game for UMass-Lowell probably won’t be one to remember.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Wait, Syracuse is playing a non-conference game against a lower-level team in the Carrier Dome?\u00a0 No way…\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Shaka Smart’s havoc-filled Rams are loaded yet again.\u00a0 They get an opening day opponent that is only scary in reputation, as the Redbirds lost all 5 starters and are in compete rebuild this year.\u00a0 <\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>I’m not 100% sold on the Irish this year, but they\u00a0should have no trouble with a rebuilding Red Hawks team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nLast year’s JMU team that made the tournament wasn’t that good, while last year’s UVA team that didn’t make the tournament was that good.\u00a0 This UVA team should be better, while the JMU team is worse.\u00a0 Should be a nice-looking win early for UVA that might not seem as good later on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Welcome to our college hoops lives for a couple months, Andrew Wiggins.\u00a0 He\u00a0has a cushy start, as ULM is terrible.\u00a0 Aside from Wiggins, I might be more eager for the collegiate debuts of dynamic SG Wayne Selden and 7-foot monster Joel Embiid.\u00a0 While not as heralded (or as good) as Wiggins, they will probably be in our lives a little bit longer before jumping to the Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Another terrible team on the road against arguably the nation’s best player.\u00a0 The only unanimous selection to the All-American team, Marcus Smart, might only play a half in this one.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nHey, Josh, you’re a big-time program\u00a0 who is now in a big-time conference.\u00a0 Act like it and stop playing D-II teams.\u00a0 This Memphis roster boasts maybe the best backcourt in the nation, but it’s pretty crowded with the addition of Michael Dixon from Mizzou, so playing time could be interesting all year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nI’m officially sick of the massive overrating of Buzz Williams, so I will not be tuning into this one even if it is on one of my 1000 cable channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/em><\/span>At first, I didn’t\u00a0understand the decision of DeSean Thomas to leave OSU for the\u00a0NBA draft.\u00a0 He was a STUD\u00a0in Columbus.\u00a0 But, then, when\u00a0I heard\u00a0that he was signed\u00a0to a 7-figure contract in France after getting cut by the Spurs, I realized that there is so much more\u00a0to these decisions than my enjoyment<\/em>.\u00a0 Anyway, people are touting\u00a0Aaron Craft’s supporting cast (Lenzell Smith, Sam Thompson, LaQuinton Ross, etc.),\u00a0 but I am not sold.\u00a0 And, it’s just that – not sold.\u00a0 I don’t disagree, but I don’t know enough to agree.\u00a0 And, it’s not like we’ll learn anything here.\u00a0 Morgan is a contender in the MEAC, but no MEAC will walk into Columbus on Opening Day and win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I like this Charleston team (as usual) and like their\u00a0move to the CAA.\u00a0 But, Louisville’s press\u00a0should run over just about any\u00a0mid-major in the Yum! Center before they have a chance to set their rotations or learn each other’s cuts and such.\u00a0 This could get ugly pretty quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I’m interested to see how this Shocker team deals with the success of the Final Four run.\u00a0 And, did Cleanthony Early just have an amazing month or is he really THAT good?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>This is a long trip for Bryant, but I like that they scheduled up the year after breaking through to real respectability.\u00a0 It should be interesting to see if they can build on a great 2012-13.\u00a0 But, it won’t start here.\u00a0 The Zags are too good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I love the Lobos this year.\u00a0 They have everyone back, except Tony Snell, who bolted for the\u00a0NBA.\u00a0 I’m not sure why they are on the road at a SWAC team that is usually just looking for a paycheck, but they\u00a0wouldn’t have any trouble if it was played on Mars.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Another Notre Dame game.\u00a0 My same sentiments apply, though I think Stetson can hang with them for a half or so.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>The WildKittens are at it again on Sunday and should be able to put on another show.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\nOTHERS OF INTEREST<\/em><\/h2>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Should be no problem in the first game of the “year after” in Bloomington.\u00a0 I think they will be better than people think because I believe in Tom Crean, but\u00a0chances like last year don’t come along too often.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>This is a great matchup of two of the stalwart mid-major programs.\u00a0 But, Isaiah Cannon isn’t walking through that door.\u00a0 Bryce Drew isn’t walking through that door.\u00a0 Both programs are in a bit of a rebuild, but will still compete for the top of their respective conferences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Andy Enfield brings “Dunk City” to Hollywood?!?\u00a0 Hold on a second – gimme Utah St. at home to welcome Enfield to the West Coast on a sour note.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I’m very interested to see this Iowa team in action.\u00a0 I think they’re\u00a0really, really good, and possibly dark horse Big Ten title contender good.\u00a0 If you haven’t seen them play under Philly’s own Franny O’Hanlon, you should learn the names Devyn Marble, Mike Gesell, Aaron White, Melsahn Basabe, and Adam Woodbury.\u00a0 That starting five can play with anyone and they are deep, as they have at least four starter-quality players off the\u00a0bench in Anthony Clemmons, Josh Oglesby, Zach McCabe, and the most high-profile and high-upside of them all, Jarrod Uthoff – the Wisconsin transfer that Bo Ryan originally tried to block from all Big Ten schools.\u00a0 This Hawkeye team is slated to be one of my “pet” teams all year, so you might get tired of hearing about them…\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Coach Dawkins might be in some trouble out in Palo Alto.\u00a0 And, they better not open the season 0-1 because this is a Bucknell team in major rebuild mode after losing 46% of their minutes and 60% of their points from a year ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>This might be the highlight of Sunday’s slate, at least for me.\u00a0 BC is a sleeper team in the ACC, while UMass is as much of a sleeper as you can with the best player in the A-10.\u00a0 But, I guess Chaz Williams is easy to overlook since he’s listed at 5’9″ and realistically no bigger than 5’5″.\u00a0<\/p>\nEDITOR’S PICKS<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I wonder what this UD team has in store for us this year.\u00a0 They could be pretty solid.\u00a0 An Opening Day win at Richmond would be a nice start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>“The Battle of the Boulevard” is the best rivalry in sports that no one knows about.\u00a0 Now that these two teams are no longer in the same conference, they get these two WARS out of the way early.\u00a0 But, Opening Day?\u00a0 That’s ridiculous!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>This could be a banner year for Towson led by Vermont transfer Four McGlynn and all-everything forward Jerrelle Benimon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>A solid low-major program visits a solid mid-major program.\u00a0 Could be interesting, but probably won’t be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>An odd one to include here, except that North Dakota St. has a TON of talent.\u00a0 And, I am not just talking relative to their level.\u00a0 They have a TON of talent.\u00a0 This might be the best team in the history of the Summit League, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were a 12- or 13-seed come March.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Stony Brook is, again, the class of the America East, while Marist is, again, a middling MAAC program.\u00a0 But, the MAAC is\u00a0a much better league, so this is a good spot for both teams to possibly pick up a quality win right off the bat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Two trivia questions:\u00a0 1). Who is the only BYU player ever to be in the nation’s top-10 in scoring as a sophomore?\u00a0 2). Who, along with Danny Ainge,\u00a0are the only two BYU players to reach 1,000 points before their junior season?\u00a0 If you said Jimmer Fredette, you’d be wise…but wrong.\u00a0 The answer is Tyler Haws, who shared M-West Freshman of the Year honors with Kawhi Leonard four years ago, then went on his mission and came back last year to only average 21.7 points per game while shooting 39% from three and 88% from the line.\u00a0 He’s the key to the Cougars this year, and he gets it going against a good Weber team on Friday night.\u00a0 I definitely want to find this one and tune in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>The Anteaters of UC-Irvine are in serious contention for a Big West title.\u00a0 An Opening Day win over Fresno would be a nice boost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>The first game in the Post-Wolters Era for the Jackrabbits is a long trip to San Diego.\u00a0 Can Jordan Dykstra and company carry the torch?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>New Mexico State might be more likely to win their conference than any other team in America, but that’s as much to do with the rest of the WAC than the Aggies.\u00a0 They need non-conference wins to avoid the danger of being a 15-seed.\u00a0 This would go a long way to get them to 13- or 14.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Just a great clash of solid mid-majors.\u00a0 Granted, both teams are rebuilding, but this should be good nonetheless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>See above…\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>The best teams in the worst two conferences do battle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Another game for the Post-Wolters Jackrabbits.\u00a0 This time they are up against one of the best unknown talents in the country.\u00a0 If you catch this game, be on the lookout for Loyola’s Anthony Ireland.\u00a0 he might be the best player this program has seen since Gathers and Kimble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Northeastern came out of nowhere to win the CAA last year, but faltered in the conference tournament.\u00a0 Can they repeat?\u00a0 BU has moved to the Patriot League and immediately given the respect to be the coach’s pick to win the league.\u00a0 I’m interested to see what happens here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Eastern Kentucky was, quite possibly, the biggest surprise in the country last year when they challenged both Belmont and Murray St. for the OVC title.\u00a0 Now, they have a lot of that team back and should give it another run under Coach Spoonhour.\u00a0 YSU had an up and down season, and we’re still waiting for them to put it together and really compete in the Horizon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I only added this one because I grew up a stone’s throw from Haverford College and I went to a school in the D3 Centennial Conference which boasts Haverford as a member.\u00a0 They’re not a very good D3 team, so I don’t think they’d make much of a D1 team, either.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Another chance for UD to show us something early against a decent opponent.\u00a0 At least this one is in the Carpenter Center in Newark, DE.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>Another Marist game on this list?\u00a0 It’s as if I care about the Red Foxes.\u00a0 I don’t really, but I am intrigued to see Elon on the road against a decent opponent because Elon – for the first time ever – is the preseason favorite to win the SoCon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>This Harvard team could be special – REALLY special.\u00a0 This is a road game for the Crimson, but they should be heavy favorites.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/em>I like this ORU team and now that they are more accustomed to their new home in the Southland, they might really make a run at that league’s title.\u00a0 Tulsa is a nice test, as the Golden Hurricane are a decent C-USA team.\u00a0 A win here for ORU would be really <\/em>nice.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"