NCAA Basketball: 2018 Paradise Jam Tournament preview and predictions

Teams in the top half of the bracket

The Paradise Jam is divided into two brackets. The top half of the bracket features four teams that will play in the afternoon session on Friday. Oregon State and Old Dominion tip-off the action at 2 p.m. Kennesaw State will face Missouri 30 minutes following the opening game.

Oregon State: The Beavers are 2-0 on the season having defeated UC Riverside (72-59) and Wyoming (83-64). The Beavers returned four of their top five players from a year ago. 6-foot-8 junior forward Tres Tinkle and 6-foot-4 senior guard Stephen Thompson Jr. have picked up where they left off last season. Tinkle and Thompson Jr. were first and second on the team in scoring last season.

Old Dominion: The Monarchs (1-1) have split their first two games for the first time since 2013-14. ODU defeated Navy (67-44) and then fell to St. Joseph’s (79-64). Senior guards Ahmad Caver and B.J.Stith are the Monarchs only two returning starters, although they appear to have a little more depth than last year thanks to a couple of transfers.

Kennesaw State: The Owls (1-2) have not won at least two of their first three games to open a season since 2010-11. Kennesaw St. defeated D-III member Oglethorpe (68-57) to earn their first win in a season opener in eight seasons. They then fell to Kansas State (56-41) and Samford (74-60).

Missouri: The Tigers are 1-1 on the season having defeated Central Arkansas (68-55) before losing to Iowa State (76-59). The Tigers, who lost sophomore sensation Johntay Porter for the season with a torn ACL during the preseason, is a very young squad with just two of their top-eight players being upperclassmen.