NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 8 matchups for 2021 Gavitt Tip-off Games
8. Rutgers at DePaul
After finally making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in decades, Rutgers is hoping to avoid a drop-off back towards the bottom of the Big Ten. It’ll be hard after losing key guards Montez Mathis and Jacob Young to the transfer portal but the returning trio of Geo Baker, Ron Harper Jr., and Cliff Omoruyi should be enough to keep them in contention.
It’s hard to know who the key players for DePaul will be after a complete roster turnover. Leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty will be back and the team has a number of newcomers, including Minnesota transfer forward Brandon Johnson and former Kansas Jayhawk Tyon Grant-Foster. The team has several former top-100 prospects looking to make an impact and if any can break out, it’ll be helpful for the Blue Demons to avoid the bottom of the Big East.
It’s going to be hard to have an interest in this game if the Demon Deacons struggle as expected. The key storyline would be Rutgers looking to avoid an awful loss on their resume on the road. With the experience of their top players, they should be able to not have much of an issue.
Prediction: Rutgers
7. Providence at Wisconsin
It’s experience vs youth in this one as the Wisconsin Badgers have just a couple of upperclassmen (Brad Davison and Chris Vogt) on the roster after losing so many seniors. Wake Forest transfer Jahcobi Neath and sophomore guard Johnathan Davis will lead the Badgers backcourt, while former top-100 recruit Ben Carlson will look to be a breakout frontcourt player next season.
The Friars have a star big man in Nate Watson but won’t have top guard David Duke. They did add a pair of transfers in Justin Minaya and Aljami Durham, who’ll need to be impact starters in order for them to be an NCAA Tournament team. Providence’s issue last season was a lack of consistent production outside of their top two guys so the supporting case is key to back up Watson.
Speaking of Watson, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go off in this game. Vogt is going to struggle in their matchup and unless their guards can balance things out, I don’t see them scoring enough to beat the Friars.