NCAA Basketball: Previewing the 2018 Air Force Reserve Holiday Showcase

The 2018 Air Force Reserve Holiday Showcase will feature an intriguing triple-header on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Feast Week tournaments are in the books, but there are still a handful of intriguing in-season tourneys still to come in college hoops. Including one coming up tomorrow: the 2018 Air Force Reserve Holiday Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena. The one-day affair features three interesting match-ups as teams will look to make a statement in the non-conference. Here’s a look at what’s on tap.

Rhode Island (4-3) vs West Virginia (6-3)

1:00 p.m. EST, CBS Sports Network

Players To Watch
Rhode Island: Cyril Langevine – 15.7 points per game, 11.3 rebounds per game
West Virginia: Sagaba Konate – 13.6 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game

The first showdown of the day figures to be a good one. URI is coming off their first win away from home in 2018-19 — a 16-point victory over a tough Holy Cross team. The Rams are under the tutelage of rookie head coach David Cox, and their defense has traveled well this year. The one thing they’ve been missing is three-point shooting. Rhody 20.3 shooting percentage from long range ranks dead last in the nation. The good news is they figure to have a majority of the fans on hand. Mohegan Sun is less than an hour away from the URI campus.

As for the Mountaineers, they’ve won five of their last six after starting the season 1-2. They’re also coming off a 69-59 win over Pitt last weekend. Additionally, WVU already has a win over an A-10 opponent under their belt. Bob Huggins and Co. knocked off Saint Joseph’s 97-90 back on November 18th. Tomorrow will mark West Virginia’s fifth neutral site game of the season — they’re 2-2 in their previous four.

Prediction
West Virginia 68 – Rhode Island 62

Dayton (5-4) vs Tulsa (8-3)

3:30 p.m. EST, CBS Sports Network

Players To Watch
Dayton: Obadiah Toppin – 12.1 points per game, 71.0 field goal percentage
Tulsa: DaQuan Jeffries – 13.2 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game

Game number two will feature another A-10 squad in the Dayton Flyers. UD has played a grueling schedule over the past month or so, and their record reflects it. The Flyers have dropped four of their last five, but three of those losses (Virginia, Mississippi State, Auburn) have come to ranked teams. Dayton already boasts a win over Butler this season. A victory over Tulsa would be another big one for Anthony Grant’s squad.

Hey, speaking of Tulsa, they’ve raced out to an impressive 8-3 mark in 2018-19. They also hold probably the most impressive win in the Holiday Showcase… although it wasn’t pretty. The Golden Hurricane topped Kansas State 47-46 on December 8th. But winning away from the Reynolds Center has been a problem for Frank Haith to this point. Tulsa is 8-0 at home and 0-3 in road/neutral contests so far.

Prediction
Tulsa 77 – Dayton 67

Quinnipiac (4-4) vs Drexel (5-5)

6:00 p.m., FloSports

Players To Watch
Quinnipiac: Cameron Young – 18.6 points per game, 1.8 steals per game
Drexel: Alihan Demir – 14.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game

The Holiday Showcase finale is a battle of two teams in lower-level conferences, but it should be a good one nonetheless. The Quinnipiac Bobcats have won two straight, and they’ll look to keep it rolling in their home state. QU didn’t have an envious first game of the season as they got blasted by defending national champs Villanova. But they’ve been tough since then, and they’ve already tallied a pair of true road wins. A tough non-conference slate should have the Bobcats ready for MAAC play.

Drexel rounds out the six-team tourney, and they’re coming off a home loss to UMBC. But even with that ‘L’, the Dragons have won five of their last eight — including a hard-found road win at La Salle.

Zach Spiker has seen his squad make steady improvements every year, and they’d stay on that trajectory with a win tomorrow. Drexel can’t look past QU, even though their next two games are tough ones. The Dragons will visit UConn and host Temple to close out non-conference play.

Prediction
Quinnipiac 72 – Drexel 66