Today we have some big games on tap including Syracuse and Kris Joseph, the Bonnies with Andrew Nicholson and of course the Zags and the duo of Sacre and Pangos. Find out who else is playing when tonight right here ...
Marquee Match Ups
Remember that you can find the full list of players playing in Division 1 right here.
7:00pm Bucknell @ Syracuse
This will be a good game watch because you have two Canadian kids going at it: Syracuse’s Kris Joseph and Bucknell’s Bryson Johnson. Joseph and the top ranked Orange should win this game but if you happen to watch it, pay attention to his minutes and what he does in those minutes. The pattern that has come up is that he seems to be not as assertive on the O side when Syracuse is playing lesser teams, particularly in blowout situations. If it is a blowout, if Joseph hasn’t exploded early then we may not have much of a show from him. In Johnson’s case though, he’s been having quite the opposite season as Joseph. Bryson has endured a lengthy shooting slump that only got lifted this past Sunday when he dropped 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the trey. Before that game, he was scoreless in back-to-back games before he sat the Dec. 12 victory over Binghamton due to injury. Johnson seems like he’s back so let’s see if his shot will fall over the ‘Cuse’s zone defense.
7:00pm North Carolina State vs. St. Bonaventure
I think this is one of those games that will be a defining moment for Andrew Nicholson this season. He’s been playing well in his last four games after a bout with illness and is averaging 16.5 points and 8 rebounds in just over 28 minutes per contest with his best game coming against Top 25 Illinois on Dec. 7. NC State will likely throw big man Richard Howell at him if not CJ Leslie and these two will be a tough match up for Nicholson on both ends. They can both keep up with him since they’re both athletic and in the case of Howell he’s strong enough to really push Andrew around. How he handles himself here in this game is going to be big for the Bonnies, and give us an idea of how the rest of the season could play out. Matthew Wright has been starting in the backcourt for the last two weeks for the Bonnies and has been shooting the ball well from behind the arc averaging 2.5 threes in the last four games. Let’s see what he can do against a tough Wolfpack defense tonight.
And here is where the rest of the men are playing today …
7:00pm Samford @ Kentucky
7:00pm Old Dominion @ Richmond
7:00pm Texas State @ Long Island
7:00pm Idaho @ Wright State
7:05pm Arkansas-Little Rock @ Illinois State
8:00pm Eastern Kentucky @ Arkansas
8:00pm Western Carolina @ Bradley – In his last five games, Western Carolina’s Harouna Mutombo is averaging just less than 18 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals. The team went 3-2 in that time but is riding a two game skid now. After a week off, will Mutombo be able to lead the Catamounts over Bradley? He may get help from Keaton Cole who is averaging 13.6 points himself in the last five games.
8:00pm Northeastern @ Louisiana Tech
9:00pm Butler @ Gonzaga – This should be titanic. Mid-major royalty are going to duke it out tonight and it should be a good match up. Rob Sacre had a solid, not spectacular, week but the player that got the criticism seemed to come out in stretches the wins over Oral Roberts and Arizona. I’m sure he’ll be pumped for this game especially since it’s at home. Kevin Pangos also had a solid week but his shooting was not great. He was a combined 3-of-12 from the field but he was 17-of-20 from the free throw line and averaged 7.5 assists. I’m really curious to see how he handles Butler tonight.
10:00pm North Carolina Central @ Oregon – Devoe Joseph has been great since his return to playing. In his three games thus far, he’s shooting 16-of-31 from the field and is averaging 15.7 points to go with his 3.7 assists and he’s doing it all coming off the bench. What will he put up on the boxscore tonight?
10:30pm UC Irvine @ UCLA
And here is where the women are playing today …
3:00pm Syracuse vs. Ohio – Syracuse star Kayla Alexander recorded 6 points, 2 rebounds and 5 blocks yesterday in her team’s loss to Oklahoma. I would think that she’ll be looking to take out her frustration of the loss on Ohio today.
4:30pm Maine vs. Duquesne
6:00pm Colorado vs. Texas-Pan American
6:00pm Cleveland State vs. Murray State – Cleveland State’s Takima Keane, sister of former Big Ten Player of the Year Tamika, is averaging 16.3 points and 3.8 assists in her last three games.
7:00pm Buffalo @ Howard
7:00pm Central Florida @ Notre Dame – Notre Dame’s Natalie Achonwa has hit for double figures in three of her last four games including 15 points along with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and two blocks in 19 minutes against the then 7th ranked Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday.
7:00pm Ball State @ Green Bay
8:00pm Eastern Michigan @ Detroit
8:00pm Northwestern vs. North Dakota State
8:00pm Grambling State @ Texas
11:00pm Denver vs. Portland State
1:00am UC Davis @ Hawaii