Week 2 Game of the Week Previews
Previewing the best game for each team for the week of 11/9 to 11/15
As some maybe able to notice, we are starting a new series for the website.
Game of the Week Previews!
We will provide these previews for the non conference slate, then once conference play starts, we will (try) to preview every game in two separate articles. One article for the Wednesday/Thursday Tip Offs and One article for the Saturday Slate of Games.
Housekeeping Notes for Game of the Week Previews:
All previews will be available in the Game of the Week tab on the site until season end.
Records and KenPom Rankings on the graphics are based on time of posting, not time of the game as I do not have a crystal ball.
Nov 10th:
Nov 10th - 7pm EST- Charleston Southern at The Citadel
Charleston Southern Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd - Charleston Southern falls to Virginia Tech 98-67
Notes:
Brycen Blaine led the team with 22 points including 6-12 from behind the arc, along with 8 rebounds and 1 assist.
A’lahn Sumler scored 13 points along with 9 rebounds in his return from an injury last season.
Charleston Southern was only down 4 in the 1st half before a 56-29 second half propelled Virginia Tech to the win.
Nov 6th - Charleston Southern beats Toccoa Falls 106-71
Notes:
Luke Williams led the team in scoring with 22 points, followed by Jesse Hafemeister with 19 points.
Brycen Blaine ends the game with a double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
25 assists for the Bucs, more than any game last season.
The Citadel Breakdown:
Beat Erskine on opening night 105-61, breaking both the nations longest losing streak.
Also broke the school record for 3PT Attempts in that win over Erskine with 59 attempts.
The Citadel fell to Boston College 76-47 on Nov 6th, Christian Moore led the Bulldogs with 16 points.
Game Breakdown: First I want to give props to Saah Nimley and Ed Conroy for setting up this game (maybe my begging on Twitter worked). This is a big step in the right direction for the Charleston area to have these local schools face off.
Now onto the game, I do like Charleston Southern to win this one. The Citadel has not beaten a D1 foe since Stetson on Nov 11th, 2024. We saw the wheels fall off shooting wise for The Citadel vs Boston College and I see those wheels staying off for this game.
Official Prediction: Charleston Southern 72 - The Citadel 65
Nov 10th - 7pm EST - Presbyterian at Georgia State
Presbyterian Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd - Presbyterian falls to Navy 76-55
Notes:
Triston Wilson led the Blue Hose with 13 points, the only player in double figures for the Blue Hose.
Jonah Pierce and Jaylen Peterson both hauled in double digit rebounds with Pierce having 13 and Peterson with 10.
After a bad 1st half start, being down 37-17. Presbyterian showed some good promise in the 2nd half only losing that half 39-38 cutting their turnovers in half and shooting 25% better in the 2nd half.
Nov 5th - Presbyterian beat Bluefield 105-76
Notes:
Johan Pierce led the Blue Hose with 27 points along with nearly getting a double double with 9 rebounds.
Jaylen Peterson almost broke the Presbyterian Single Game Rebound Record, falling just two short.
Freshmen JD Bowden scored 10 points in just 7 minutes during the game vs Bluefield.
Nov 8th - Presbyterian beats ETSU 68-64
Notes:
Carl Parrish and his 17 2nd half points led the team in scoring, Jonah Pierce joined him in double figures with 15 points.
Jonah Pierce with his first double double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds, also his 2nd 13 rebound performance of the season.
Josh Pickett scored 9 points, with a 100% FG percentage making all 3, 3 point shots he took.
Georgia State Breakdown:
Lost to Eastern Michigan opening night 71-49, including shooting an abysmal 29.3% from the field along with 17 turnovers.
On Nov 7th, Georgia State lost to Cincinnati 74-64, Jelani Hamilton led the team with 26 points and the only other player in double figures was Joah Chappelle with 10 points.
Game Breakdown: Both of these teams are VERY sketchy, both have seemed really bad in their openers but have seemed to look better. I do like how Presbyterian looked in the 2nd half vs ETSU, but Georgia State also played a good Cincinnati team very close. I do think Presbyterian has more momentum than Georgia State, but with a quick turnaround, I do lean Georgia State to take this one.
Official Prediction: Georgia State 71 - Presbyterian 66
Other Games on Nov 10th:
North Greenville at Gardner Webb - 7pm EST
Nov 11th:
Nov 11th - 6:30pm EST - Lipscomb at UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville Weekly Recap:
Nov 4th - UNC Asheville falls to Wichita State 58-75
Notes:
Toyaz Solomon led the team in scoring with 14 points also led the team in rebounds with 7.
DJ Patrick was the other double digit scorer with 13 points.
Nov 8th - UNC Asheville falls to Georgia Southern 93-90
Notes:
Led by Justin Wright with 33 points, 3 scorers scored 76 of Asheville’s 90 points. Justin Wright with his 33, Kameron Taylor with 29 and Toyaz Solomon with 14 points.
Along with his 14 points, Toyaz Solomon hauled in 10 rebounds earning his first double double of the season.
DJ Patrick was injured early in the first half after getting his leg tangled up with a Georgia Southern player and did not appear for the rest of the game.
Lipscomb Breakdown:
Lost to Vanderbilt on opening night 105-61, including only shooting 30% from the field and 23% from behind the arc.
Ross Candelino led Lipscomb in scoring with 15 points and former High Point guard Titas Sargiunas followed with 14 points.
Game Breakdown: This game is very hard to look at, UNC Asheville is clearly a very solid team who has lost to two very talented roster in WSU and Georgia Southern. Lipscomb has played a total of ONE game vs Vanderbilt in which they were blown out 105-61. I do think UNC Asheville is the better team and I think they pull this one out in front of their home crowd.
Official Prediction: UNC Asheville 81 - Lipscomb 71
Other Games on Nov 11th:
Radford at North Carolina - 7pm EST
Winthrop at Coastal Carolina - 7pm EST
Jacksonville at High Point - 7pm EST
Nov 12th:
Nov 12th - 7pm EST - James Madison at Longwood
Longwood Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd - Longwood beats Mary Baldwin 92-55
Notes:
Johan Nziemi led Longwood in scoring with 16 points, followed by Jacoi Hutchinson with 15, Jaylen Benard with 14 points and Elijah Tucker with 11.
Two players were one rebound away from a double double, Nziemi with 16 points and 9 rebounds and Jaylen Benard with 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Despite only being up 10 in the first half, Longwood found a spark in the 2nd half winning that half 48-21 propelling them to their 92-55 win.
First win of Ronnie Thomas’ Head Coaching tenure at Longwood and his head coaching career.
Nov 7th - Longwood falls to Pittsburgh
Notes:
Johan Nziemi once again led the team with 16 points, Jacoi Hutchinson and Alphonzo Billups both ended up in double digits.
Longwood limited turnovers to 7, while forcing Pittsburgh into 14 of their own.
Longwood’s shooting struggles reared their ugly head only shooting 4-20 from 3 and 22-69 from the field.
James Madison Breakdown:
As apart of the MAC/SBC Challenge on opening night, James Madison lost to Akron 85-71, James Madison had 4 players in double figures including Justin McBride and Cliff Davis both leading the team with 14 each.
On Nov 5th, James Madison escapes Washington and Lee, 70-56. Gabe Newhof led the team with 20 points, Justin McBride was the only other Duke in double figures with 12 points.
Game Breakdown: Despite James Madison being viewed by many as the better team, I do like Longwood in this spot. It’s very hard to pick against the school that is doing a striped arena, which Longwood is doing for this game. Simply, I think Longwood packs this arena and that home crowd is one of the toughest in mid major basketball.
Official Prediction: Longwood 75 - James Madison 69
Other Games on Nov 12th:
Bob Jones vs USC Upstate - 7pm EST
Presbyterian vs South Carolina - 7pm EST
Nov 13th:
No Games of the Week
Other Games on Nov 13th:
Bryan (TN) vs UNC Asheville - 6:30pm EST
Charleston Southern at Alabama A&M - 8pm EST
Nov 14th:
Nov 14th - 7:30pm EST - High Point at UAB
High Point Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd - High Point beats Furman 97-71
Rob Martin led the Panthers in scoring with 22 points, followed by Conrad Martinez with 17 points off the bench, Aquino (17), Anderson (12) and Fletcher (11) all also ended up in double figures.
Cam Fletcher had a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
High Point had 17 steals, the most in a single game since 2017 for the Panthers
First win of Flynn Clayman’s tenure at High Point.
Nov 8th - High Point beats Averett 127-52
Notes:
Cam’ron Fletcher led the team with 25 points and was 1 rebound short of his 2nd double double of the season with 9.
5 other Panthers scored in double figures, including Youssouf Singare with 10 points, those being his first points in a High Point uniform.
Scored 127 points, which is the most in D1 history for High Point.
UAB Breakdown:
Beat Mississippi Valley State on opening night 106-55 with two players in with 20+ point performances: Chance Westry with a team high of 23 and Jacob Meyer with 22.
Three other players were in double digits: Salim London, Ahmed Robinson, and Daniel Rivera.
UAB lost to NC State on Nov 7th by the score of 94-70. Jacob Meyer led UAB in scoring with 15 points, Daniel Rivera and Chance Westry joined him in double figures.
Game Breakdown: Last year these teams put on an amazing game in the Qubein Center ending in a High Point win 68-65. I do think this game will live up that game billing, UAB is always pretty good especially for a Mid Major program. I also think this game ends similar to last years, with High Point picking up the win. High Point’s roster has improved, and UAB lost their best players to the portal, for that reason I do like High Point.
Official Prediction: High Point 81 - UAB 75
Other Games on Nov 14th:
Lindenwood vs Charleston Southern (Huntsville, AL) - 6:30pm EST
Nov 15th:
Nov 15th - 2pm EST - Mercer at Winthrop
Winthrop Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd: Winthrop beats Queens 81-74
Notes:
Daylen Berry led the Eagles with 23 points, Logan Duncomb had 12 points and a team high 8 rebounds, and Tommy Kamarad ended the game with 10 points off the bench.
Winthrop forced 17 turnovers against Queens, 11 of which coming off steals.
Extended Winthrop’s winning streak over Queens to 5.
Nov 7th: Winthrop falls to George Mason 96-90
Notes:
Daylen Berry and Josh Meo co-led the team with 17 points each, Logan Duncomb not far behind with 16.
Rozier and Clouet also ended in double figures, Rozier with 12 points and Clouet with 13.
Only 6 turnovers, many coming late in the game as Winthrop tried frantically to comeback and win.
Mercer Breakdown:
Mercer fell to #18 Tennessee, 76-61 on opening night. Baraka Okojie led the team with 15 points, Armani Mighty and Zaire Williams also ended the game with double figures.
Mercer beat LaGrange 101-62 on Nov 5th. Quinton Perkins led the Bears in scoring with 17 as 5 players ended the game in double figures:
(Armani Mighty, Zaire Williams, Kyle Cuffe, Baraka Okojie)
Game Breakdown: Last year these two squads faced off in an amazing game that resulted in a Winthrop victory by a score of 102-97. While I don’t think the score will be that high this go around, I do think we see a similar final result with a Winthrop win. I expect Winthrop to really put a ton into this game with it being homecoming and that extra motivation pushes them ahead.
Official Prediction: Winthrop 92 - Mercer 81
Nov 15th - 3:30pm EST - Wright State vs Radford
Radford Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd - Radford beats Western Illinois 80-75
Del Jones led the Highlanders with 22 points followed by fellow ACC transfer Dennis Parker Jr with 14 points, and Tyson Brown rounds out the double digit scorers with 10 points.
This was Radford’s first opening night win against a D1 foe since 2015.
First win of Zach Chu’s Head Coach tenure at Radford and first win of his career.
Nov 7th: Radford beats West Virginia Wesleyan 99-61
Notes:
Jaylon Johnson led the team with 16 points, but Radford ended up with 5 double digit scorers including Dennis Parker with 15 points and Frederik Erichsen with 13 off the bench.
Del Jones led the team with 8 assists, while only having 2 turnovers, Jones also had 8 points.
All of Radford’s 12 players who appeared in the game scored.
Wright State Breakdown:
Wright State opened this season against Franklin (Non D1) with a 86-37 win in which Michael Imariagbe led the team with 13 points.
For the other double digit scorers, Alex Bruskotter with 11 points and the duo of Michael Cooper and Logan Woods round out the double digit scorers with 10 each.
On Nov 6th, Wright State fell to California 77-67, Michael Cooper led the team in scoring with 17 points and had a team high 4 assists. Michael Imariagbe had 10 points and Dominic Pangonis had 11 points off the bench.
Game Breakdown: This game is likely one of the hardest to breakdown. Wright State has played a Non D1 and Cal, Radford has also played a Non D1 and Western Illinois. I know about what to expect from these teams as I did in the preseason. So for that reason, I will side on which team has the better talent, that being Radford.
Official Prediction: Radford 82 - Wright State 73
Nov 15th - 7pm EST - USC Upstate at UNC Wilmington
USC Upstate Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd: USC Upstate falls to Cal Baptist 87-75
Notes:
Karmani Gregory led the Spartans with 24 points on 9-13 from the field.
The other double figure scorers were Learic Davis with 15 points and Mason Bendinger with 10 points.
Carmelo Adkins had 8 points but was tied with Coen Collier for most rebounds with 6 each.
Nov 5th: USC Upstate beats to Fresno State 67-66
Notes:
After staging a 2nd half comeback from being down 11 at the end of the 1st half, USC Upstate pulled off the first big upset for the Big South this season.
Karmani Gregory led the team with 15 points, Mason Bendinger put in 14 of his own and Carmelo Adkins added 13 points.
Jafeth Martinez hauled in a team 10 rebounds and led the team in blocks with 3.
Nov 8th: USC Upstate beats Southern Virginia 105-46
Notes:
Carmelo Adkins led the team with 23 points, a career high for Adkins.
Kanye Jones with 14 points, Karmani Gregory with 12 points and Mason Bendinger with 11 points rounded out the double figure scorers.
15 total steals for the Spartans, spearheaded by 4 from Tyler Smith and 3 from Isaiah Skinner.
UNC Wilmington Breakdown:
Had 5 double figure scorers in their opening night victory over Mount Olive 106-77, led by Nolan Hodge with 21 followed by Madison Durr with 18 points off the bench.
Other double digits scorers on opening night include: Patrick Wessler with 17, Greedy Williams with 14 and Noah Ross with 13.
Game Breakdown: These two teams faced off last season in the Hodge Center and it was pretty interesting game, despite the change of venue. One big thing changed, USC Upstate is very hot and looks VERY good. I still do lean UNC Wilmington but I do like Upstate to keep it close.
Official Prediction: UNC Wilmington 92 - USC Upstate 85
Nov 15th - 8pm EST - Gardner Webb at Elon
Gardner Webb Weekly Recap:
Nov 3rd - Gardner Webb falls to Minnesota 87-60
Notes:
Newcomer Julius Clark led the Running Bulldogs in scoring with 13, Spence Sims and Jacob Hudson both ended the game with 12 points each.
Despite starting the game down 23-1, Gardner Webb did not give up and even won the second half 40-34.
Nov 7th - Gardner Webb falls to Clemson 97-59
Notes:
Jacob Hudson and Spence Sims led the team with 11 points each, Julius Clark with 9 points as well.
Gardner Webb had 16 turnovers to Clemson’s 3 turnovers.
Elon Breakdown:
Won their opener on Nov 5th against Belmont Abbey, 6 double digits scorers for the Phoenix led by Chandler Cuthrell and his 21 points.
Other double digit scorers include: Ja’Juan Carr with 15 points, Kacper Klaczek with 12 along with Randall Pettus and Bryson Cokley and DeMarco Johnson with 11 points.
15 first half assists for the Phoenix vs Belmont Abbey.
On Nov 8th, Elon beat UNC Greensboro 92-90 in an overtime battle, Kacper Klaczek led the Phoenix with 25 points including a shot at the buzzer to send this game to overtime.
Three others in double figures for Elon, Chandler Cuthrell with 20, Isaac Harrell and Bryson Cokley with 11 each.
Game Breakdown: While I do think Gardner Webb gets it going because they are better than they have looked through their 2 buy games, I don’t think Elon will be that team where they get it right. Elon has looked pretty solid compared to years past and seem to be a step above Gardner Webb in the current moment.
Official Prediction: Elon 83 - Gardner Webb 70