College basketball daily-Sunday, 11/18/18
There's a pretty good schedule of games today with the championship games and third place games from several early season tournaments. Here are some to watch: (all times Eastern)
GAMES OF NATIONAL INTEREST:
1. Virginia Tech vs. Purdue (-1.5) (Championship Game-Charleston Classic) at 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2). Va. Tech is ranked #16 in the AP poll and takes on Purdue (AP #23) in the championship game of the Charleston Classic. High-scoring guard Carsen Edwards and big man Matt Haarms are players to watch, as are Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Justin Robinson for the Hokies. This should be a close one and give a nice bump in the poll to the winner. I like Purdue to win as they have a little better scoring balance in defense in my opinion.
2. Indiana (-3) at Arkansas (Hardwood Showcase) at 3:30 p.m. (ESPN). The Hoosiers notched a big win at home over Marquette earlier this week in the Gavitt Games. Today they go on the road against a rebuilding Arkansas squad. The Razorbacks do have a legit pro prospect in Daniel Gafford and are 1-1 with an OT loss to Texas. Indiana has the experienced Juwan Morgan and freshman Romeo Langford. I think the Hoosiers win a close one on the road, but it's hard to win in Fayetteville so it would be a minor upset if the Hogs find a way to win it.
3. Michigan (-7.5) vs. Providence (Hall of Fame Tipoff at Mohegan Sun-Championship Game) at 1:30 p.m. approx. (ESPN). AP #18 Michigan is coming off a total beatdown of Villanova in the Gavitt Games earlier this week. Charles Matthews leads the team in scoring and gets a lot of help from a host of players including newcomer Ignas Brazdeikis. Providence is 3-1 with some nice early season wins and a close loss to Wichita State in the Armed Forces Classic. Alpah Diallo and A.J. Reeves have been the scoring leaders so far for Providence, but freshman David Duke may be the key to the game for the Friars. He will have to run the offense effectively against a Michigan defense that has been impressive so far this year. I think Michigan is on a roll and wins this one by 10 (but should be tested most of the game).
4. West Virginia (-8) vs. St. Joseph’s (Myrtle Beach Inv-3rd Place Game) at 4 p.m. (ESPNU). The Mountaineers are reeling a bit early this season with a home loss to Buffalo and a loss in Myrtle Beach to Western Kentucky. After a bit of a rough start for the Atlantic 10, the conference could use a St. Joe's win over WV here that will likely look better late in the season assuming Huggy Bear gets his guys back on track (he probably will). As I have said before, it's no fun always taking the favorites, so I am going with St. Joesph's to pull the surprise here in a very close one.
5. UCF (-1.5) vs. Western Kentucky (Myrtle Beach Inv.-Championship Game) at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2). I know some might question this game being on this list, but you have two of the better non-Power 6 teams squaring off in the title game in the Myrtle. Charles Bassey and Desean Murray (WKU) versus Tacko Fall (UCF) down low should be fun. B.J. Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins will also go up against Taveion Hollingsworth and friends for the Hilltoppers. I think this could be the most entertaining games of all the ones on this list. I have no idea who will win but I guess I am going with the preseason hype for UCF.
UPSET WATCH:
USF (+10) vs. Georgetown at noon (CBSSN)
Wichita St. (+3.5) vs. Alabama (Charleston Classic-5th Place Game) at 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Wofford (+10) at Oklahoma at 2 p.m. (FSN Regional Networks/FS Florida)
College of Charleston (+6) at Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. (FSN Regional Networks/FSSW/FS SE)
Penn (+10.5) vs. Kansas State (U.S. Virgin Islands; Paradise Jam-Winner’s Bracket) at 7:30 p.m. (FloSports)
Other games that could/should be fun to watch:
Wake Forest vs. Valparaiso (Myrtle Beach Inv.-5th Place Game) at 10:30 a.m. (ESPNU)
Siena vs. Holy Cross (Uncasville, CT; Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament-Springfield Bracket-Championship Game) at 11 a.m. (ESPN3)
Campbell vs. Austin Peay (Jamaica Classic-Mid Major Bracket) at 2:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Samford at Cleveland St. (Buckeye Classic) at 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Oregon State vs. Missouri (U.S. Virgin Islands; Paradise Jam-Winner’s Bracket) at 5:30 p.m. (FloSports)
Northeastern vs. Davidson (Charleston Classic-3rd Place Game) at 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Coastal Carolina at N. Kentucky (MTE) at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Loyola Marymount vs. Ohio (Jamaica Classic) at 6:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Montana vs. Georgia Southern (Islands of the Bahamas Showcase-Championship Game) at 8 p.m. (bdGlobal)
FAMU vs. C. Conn. St. (Jamaica Classic-Mid Major Bracket) at 9 p.m. (CBSSN)
LIU Brooklyn at San Francisco (Belfast Classic-Campus Game) at 10 p.m. (TheW.tv)
Minnesota vs. Texas A&M (Vancouver Showcase) at 10:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
It's a pretty deep schedule for today as we move towards the really big tournaments coming up this week (Maui, Batttle 4 Atlantis, AdvoCare-formerly Old Spice, etc.). Enjoy!