With NCAA basketball conference play getting into full swing this week, there are plenty of matchups that will have implications on the standings come March.
NJIT at Duquesne
Monday, Dec. 31
These two surprising NCAA basketball teams will be wrapping up non-conference play with this New Year’s Eve matchup in Pittsburgh. The schools only have 5 losses between them, with wins against Marshall, Radford, and surprisingly decent Brown and Fordham teams. The Dukes were tied with Penn State with five seconds left at Consol Energy Center until Keith Dambrot’s legendary meltdown gave the game to the Nittany Lions. NJIT also kept it close at Houston for a while.
Marquette at St. John’s
Tuesday, Jan. 1
On New Year’s Day at Carnessecca, the 18th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles and the St. John’s Red Storm will clash in Big East play. This game is huge, perhaps too much so to be on this list, but I know the national media might be more focused on other games to give this one the coverage it deserves. Last time these two teams met in Queens, Shamorie Ponds dropped over 40 on Marquette in a St. John’s victory. There’s a chance these two teams could finish together atop the Big East standings, and this game might help determine the league’s regular-season champion.
Temple at UCF
Wednesday, Jan. 2
Another matchup between teams that have top three aspirations in their respective leagues, Temple travels to Orlando in a game that features two 10-2 squads. Both teams traded blowouts last season. UCF first held Temple to just 39 points in a 21-point victory at home but then by 19 on the road in the rematch.
Tulsa at Houston
Wednesday, Jan. 2
No one expected either of these AAC schools to be sitting with their current records going into conference play. Houston is a perfect 12-0 while Tulsa is 10-3 with a win over then-No. 16 Kansas State. Houston will obviously be a heavy favorite here, but Tulsa made a big statement with their non-conference performances. A competitive game, or even a win at Houston, would let the rest of the conference know Tulsa is ready for a serious top five push.
Marshall at Old Dominion
Thursday, Jan. 3
The CUSA collectively has had a disappointing start to the season. Marshall, who returned the superstar backcourt of Jon Elmore and CJ Burks, is sitting at 7-5, and Western Kentucky, who some talked about as a potential at-large team after adding five-star recruit Charles Bassey is 6-6. North Texas, Louisiana Tech, and Old Dominion have done their part to float the conference’s metrics, and Marshall will go into Ted Constant Convocation Center and attempt to break the Monarchs’ perfect home start. Both of these teams expect to be dancing come March.
Louisiana Tech at North Texas
Thursday, Jan. 3
Speaking of two of CUSA’s non-conference winners, these two will meet to kick off league play. While the Herd and Monarchs battle in Norfolk, the Bulldogs and Mean Green will be playing in Denton on Thursday. North Texas’ only loss occurred at now-ranked Oklahoma, and 10-3 Louisiana Tech opened the season with a double-digit win at Wichita State. The Bulldogs also kept it close at the Maravich Center against in-state rival LSU. Both teams are led by balanced scoring with eight players scoring in double digits per game between the two teams. This one should be fun.
Saint Mary’s at San Francisco
Thursday, Jan. 3
San Francisco has played 14 games this year and has won by double-digits in 10 of them. The hot Dons may have stumbled against Santa Barbara to close out the non-conference season, but have their only other loss to a ranked Buffalo team. They have also beaten both of the other major Bay Area teams, defeating Cal and Stanford. No one anticipated USF being in the conversation for an at-large bid, and I doubt anyone expected them to dominate all of their Northern California neighbors. They’ll have two shots at St. Mary’s, and the 8-6 Gaels might be big underdogs in both.
Northeastern at Hofstra
Saturday, Jan. 5
Northeastern and Hofstra are two of the favorites in the CAA, perhaps behind defending champion Charleston. Hofstra and Northeastern both intend on challenging the Cougars, and whoever takes this one probably likes their chances to be Charleston’s major competition.
Penn at Princeton
Saturday, Jan. 5
Penn-Princeton is one of the greatest rivalries in the history of college basketball. Until 2008, they combined to win at least a share of all but five Ivy League titles, and have played each other every year since 1903. Penn leads the all-time series 126-113 and looks to be the Ivy favorite heading into conference play, but both teams have beaten ranked opponents in non-conference play. Anything can happen when these schools get together.
Oregon State at Oregon
Saturday, Jan. 5
These two Beaver State schools were coming into the season with very different expectations; Oregon was picked to finish top of the Pac 12, bringing in five-star freshman Bol Bol who immediately looked to be one of the conference’s best bigs, and State was picked to finish near the bottom of the league. Despite this, the schools have an almost identical record heading out of the non-conference season. And while the Ducks are trending downward in the Pac 12 power rankings, Oregon State is looking to prove the preseason polls wrong heading in the other direction. The Tres Tinkle-led Beavers might not shock college basketball if they go into Eugene and beat up on the Ducks on Saturday.