NCAA Basketball: 10 must-watch underrated games of Week 1

The NCAA Basketball season kicks off on Tuesday – there are plenty of games with plenty of hype the first week of the season, but don’t forget about these 10.

Rider @ UCF – Tuesday, November 6th

The Rider Broncs are coming into this season flying under the radar, returning their 6 leading scorers from a team that won the MAAC regular season a year ago. They’ll be looking to make a statement to open the year against the AAC favorites. For the Knights, not having a let-down to open the year after being voted the preseason favorites by the league’s coaches is huge, and a win over Rider might look better than it does today come March.

CCNY @ Fordham – Tuesday, November 6th

CCNY hasn’t played at the division one level since a points shaving scandal hit their school in the 1950’s, but their program is still a major part of college basketball history. They assembled some of the best teams all-time, and were the only team to ever win both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT in the same season. They’ll be visiting Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, one of the oldest basketball arenas in the world still in use, and the Rams just might be bad enough to make a game out of this one. This is a can’t-miss for anyone that loves the history of college hoops.

La Salle @ Temple – Tuesday, November 6th

Any game between Big 5 schools is a must-watch, even if it isn’t between evenly matched opponents; the Big 5 is one of the greatest traditions in college basketball, and you never know what’s gonna happen when these 5 schools square off with one another. Temple generally puts more talent on the floor than La Salle, but their games are rarely uninteresting. The Explorers overcame a double-digit second half deficit last season at Gola to beat Temple, and forced overtime in the season opener at Liacouras Center in 2016. Expect another close one this year, and for the atmosphere to be electric with both sets of fans descending on Temple’s campus.

North Alabama @ Samford – Tuesday, November 6th

The only reason to watch this game is because it’ll be North Alabama’s first as a division one program. Maybe in 50 years you’ll be able to tell your grandkids you saw the national champs’ first division one game.

I mean, probably not, but better safe than sorry.

Western Kentucky @ Washington – Tuesday, November 6th

We’re going to do our best to exclude teams in the top 25 – and yes, this game is on ESPNU and there might be a promo or two for it leading up to tip-off – but this game is bigger than most people think. The debut of Charles Bassey and a loaded Western Kentucky team on the prowl for some national attention, a Washington team ready to break a long tournament drought opening the season in front of what I can assume will be a loud and hungry crowd (don’t forget that Seattle is a basketball-mad town still with no NBA team). I’ll be looking forward to this one to cap off opening night.

Northeastern @ Harvard – Friday, November 9th

Both Northeastern and Harvard are favorites in their respective leagues, and the two campuses are separated by only 4 miles. It’s rare that both the Huskies and Crimson are this good at the same time, and Harvard will be looking to avenge the drubbing Northeastern handed them a season ago. Expect the small Lavietes Pavilion to be jumping from start to finish.

Old Dominion @ St. Joe’s – Friday, November 9th

There’s no rivalry here, no stud freshman making a debut, and it should be a run-of-the-mill crowd on Hawk Hill (which is still a great atmosphere). These are just two talented teams out to prove that they’ll be competing for a conference title come March.

Albany @ Iona – Friday, November 9th

This game wasn’t worth any special regard until the Gaels’ best player put one of their assistant coaches in the hospital. Albany, a public university with a lot of alumni in the NYC area, travels down to New Rochelle, and how the 3-time defending MAAC champions respond has become a major story line.

UTEP @ New Mexico State – Friday, November 9th

In an era of buy games and strength of schedule metrics, when every game on the calendar is studied with analytics and chosen with care, the Aggies and Miners manage to play each other twice a year, every year in the non-conference season. The Battle of I-10 is huge for both campuses, both on the court and on the football field. Don’t worry if you miss this one; the match-up will head south to El Paso on the 28th.

Hofstra @ Marshall – Sunday, November 11th

Jon Elmore for the Herd, Justin Wright-Foreman for the Pride, two schools with Tournament aspirations that probably feel they deserve more respect than they’ve been shown in the preseason. It’ll be a better option than watching Florida State spank Tulane at Devlin on Sunday night. I’m excited for this one.

Did we miss any big games that aren’t getting the attention they deserve? Let us know!