NCAA Basketball: 10 best bets to make on opening night of 2022-23 season
2. Memphis (-2.5) vs Vanderbilt
The lone game featuring teams from the top six conferences, Memphis and Penny Hardaway are looking to make a statement on opening night after a lot of ups and downs the year prior. One of the reasons for those “ups and downs” was the lack of a quality point guard. They appeared to fix that with the pickup of Kendric Davis, the AAC Player of the Year at SMU. With him, Deandre Williams, and several wing transfers, the Tigers should be a top-25 caliber roster.
Vanderbilt had a star point guard of its own in Scotty Pippen but he’s gone, replaced by UC-Davis transfer, Ezra Manjon. He’ll need to have a big impact to keep the Commodores in contention against better teams. With Memphis usually being a quality defensive unit, it’ll be a rough test for Manjon and Vandy on opening night.
1. VCU (-18) vs Manhattan
The Rams aren’t a great scoring unit, thanks to its style of pace and lack of elite offensive players. But with a healthy Ace Baldwin, Jayden Nunn, and a pair of Michigan transfers in Zeb Jackson and Brandon Johns. They take on a Manhattan squad that two weeks ago, would’ve given them a legit battle but now is in complete disarray.
Head coach Steve Masiello was suddenly fired, with an assistant resigning as well this past weekend. Jose Perez, the team’s leading scorer and the Preseason MAAC Player of the Year, transferred out and is now at West Virginia. Others have also left and quite frankly, it’s unknown who’ll suit up on Monday night.
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And there are fewer programs the Jaspers would want to go against than the Rams, an elite defensive unit with high expectations. This one will get ugly soon and while 18 points is a lot for a slower-paced team, it’s hard to envision how Manhattan will be competitive and competent to give them a fight. It wouldn’t be a shock if this is a disaster that VCU takes advantage of.