Today's Marquee Match Up features a former Player of the Week going up against a very tough NYC team on the rebound. Find out who else is playing right here ...
Marquee Match Up
7:00pm Wagner @ St. John’s
Tyler Murray has been the star of the Wagner Seahawks this season and the talented guard will have a big challenge tonight when they take on the Red Storm on their home floor. Now this may not be the renaissance of St. John’s basketball, but since having had about a decade of less than good teams in an ultracompetitive Big East Conference, new head coach Steve Lavin has his team at 4-1 and playing some great ball. This all means that Murray will have has hands full against a very quick and savvy wing heavy lineup. St. John’s likes to run on offense and trap on defense so it will be no picnic for the Seahawks. Murray is a two way player but he’ll have to keep his game sharp for the 30+ minutes he’ll be on the floor for this one. He hasn’t scored less than 14 points this season and is coming off a near triple-double on Monday when he went off for 16 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists in the win over Bucknell so he should be on a high. But the Red Storm will be looking to gain another game for a rebuilding team that is poised to make some noise this season and with little else in the ways of an inside presence for the Seahawks, it will be on the shoulder of the backcourt to get this win.
7:00pm Fordham @ Harvard
7:00pm Elon @ Furman
7:00pm Richmond @ Old Dominion
7:00pm Susquehanna University @ Lafayette
7:00pm Columbia @ Bucknell – This game is worth watching because there will be two Canuck starters here: Bryson Johnson for Bucknell and Max Craig for Columbia. Both play some minutes with Johnson being an outside bomber and Craig being the 7-footer in the middle.
7:00pm Akron @ Detroit – If you’re not on the Jason Calliste train now, get on it. He may be my surprise player of the first few weeks with the way he’s played for Detroit in the shadow of Indiana transfer Eli Holman and the wake of stud freshman Ray McCallum Jr. If you want a dark horse player to root for, Calliste is the guy.
7:00pm St. Joseph’s @ Drexel
7:00pm George Washington @ George Mason
7:00pm Northeastern @ Providence
7:00pm SIU-Edwardsville @ Tennessee Tech
8:00pm Drake @ Colorado State
8:00pm Lamar @ Texas – This should be a feast game for the Longhorns. Winning by three against Rice this past Saturday was good for the team to get back on track. Both Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph had good games: Thompson had his first collegiate double-double (10 pts, 10 rebs) and Joseph had 14 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. I’m sure that Lamar will not just roll over but with the talent assembled for the Longhorns this should be a win but then again …
8:00pm Central Arkansas @ Oklahoma State – I’m surprised at the new role that Imad Qahwash has taken with the Central Arkansas Bears this season only because he’s never seemed to be an offensive option in the past. With that being said, Qahwash has been nothing short of amazing this year. He’s the team’s leading scorer going into this game and he will be going up against a very tough Oklahoma State team who are coming off a tough loss to Virginia Tech will be looking to take out their frustrations on someone. Look for Qahwash to possibly get the start tonight against the Cowboys.
8:00pm Southern Methodist @ Louisiana Tech – It’s been a while since I’ve extolled the virtues of Olu Ashoalu so now is as good a time as ever. Olu will never win any style points because he just goes out and gets it done, on the glass and at the hoop. Louisiana Tech played SMU’s Conference USA neighbor Houston earlier last month and beat them handily where Olu had 10 pts and 7 rebounds. This will be a tough win to get for the Bulldogs and Ashoalu will need to get all the glass he can to help his team win this one.
8:00pm Louisiana-Lafayette @ McNeese State
8:00pm Iowa State @ Northern Iowa – Canadians Jamie Vanderbeken and Melvin Ejim are off to hot starts this season. I don’t expect this to be a close game but watching it you may get to see some good stuff from both players.
8:05pm Arkansas-Little Rock @ Missouri State
10:00pm UC-Irvine @ San Diego
10:30pm UC Davis @ Cal