Week 3 Game of the Week Previews
Previewing the best game for each team for the week of 11/16 to 11/22
Week 3 is here, and we now enter MTE SZN. both neutral site, and the non neutral kind so I will provide this WARNING!!!
WARNING!!!
Game Previews, only cover CONFIRMED GAMES, not hypothetical games during these MTE’s.
example: High Point plays in the Boardwalk Battle, I can only predict their UIC game, not their potential game vs either UIW or Southern Indiana.
So with that housekeeping note out of the way, lets get into it.
Nov 16th: No Games of the Week.
Other Games in the Big South:
Radford vs Cleveland State - 2:30pm EST - PassThaBall Live
Presbyterian at Sacramento State - 4pm EST - ESPN+
Nov 17th: No Games of the Week.
Other Games in the Big South:
Canisius at High Point - 7pm EST - ESPN+
Nov 18th:
Nov 18th - 7pm EST - IU Indy at Charleston Southern
Charleston Southern Weekly Recap:
Nov 10th: Charleston Southern beats The Citadel 96-86
Brycen Blaine led the team in scoring with 42 points, rebounds with 11, and assists with 8. Brycen is the first player to do this feat in over 30 years.
A’lahn Sumler (18) and Luke Williams (13) both ended up in double figures.
The Bucs shot 43.8% from behind the arc, along with having 24 assists.
Nov 13th: Charleston Southern falls to Alabama A&M 68-64
Brycen Blaine with 22 points led the Bucs
Reis Jones with a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Jesse Hafemeister with 10 points rounded out the double figure scorers.
Rough night for the Bucs at the free throw line ending the night 11-19 from the charity stripe.
Nov 14th: Charleston Southern falls to Lindenwood 83-77
Brycen Blaine led the Bucs with 22 points, but also turned the ball over 8 times.
Nate Brafford, A’lahn Sumler and Jesse Hafemeister all ended the game with 10 points.
Charleston Southern had a 20 point lead early in the 2nd half before losing the game.
IU Indy Breakdown:
In their first year coached by former D2 Powerhouse West Liberty HC Ben Howlett, known for their up tempo, almost breakneck pace.
IU Indy picked up their first win of the season on Nov 11th for IU Columbus.
Matt Compas leads the team in scoring with 16.4 PPG.
IU Indy leads the nation in Tempo according to KenPom.
Game Breakdown: This is a game I personally have had circled for a while, IU Indy is one of the most entertaining teams to watch under Ben Howlett. If I could teleport to this game, I would do it without doubt. This game will likely be one of the highest scoring games of the season, but I don’t think that moves the cards too much out of Charleston Southern’s hands.
Official Prediction: Charleston Southern 95 - IU Indy 90
Nov 18th - 7pm EST - UMES at Longwood
Longwood Weekly Recap:
Nov 12th: Longwood beats James Madison 82-72
The Lancers were led 4 player with 12 points in Tucker, Nziemi, Hutchinson and Redd Thompson.
The lone non 12 point, double figure scorer was Alphonzo Billups with 10 points.
Longwood forced the Dukes to commit 27 fouls, leading a massive free throw advantage of 42 to 19.
Nov 15th: Longwood beats Binghamton 90-82
Emanuel Richards led the Lancers with 22 points.
Hutchinson with 12 along with Tucker, Benard and Thompson round out the double digit scorer with 11 each.
UMES Breakdown:
Head Coach Cleo Hill Jr is entering his 2nd year at UMES after going 6-25 last season.
UMES picked up it’s only win of the season so far against Cheney on Nov 8th.
Joseph Locandro leads the Eagles in scoring with 8.8 PPG
In last years matchup against Longwood, UMES lost to the Lancers 80-76.
Game Breakdown: Last year, UMES kept this one pretty close due to a very hot shooting performance. Could UMES get extremely hot again? Potentially, but I do not think it’ll happen. UMES is usually one of the bottom 10-20 teams in all of college basketball and I believe you can’t change your viewpoints off 1 single game for 1 season ago.
Official Prediction: Longwood 91 - UMES 67
Nov 18th - 8pm EST - Gardner Webb at DePaul
Gardner Webb Weekly Recap:
Nov 10th: Gardner Webb falls to North Greenville 92-81
Jacob Hudson, Jacob Hogarth, and Julius Clark all had a team high with 15 points each.
Colin Hawkins (11) and Spence Sims (10) both also ended the game in double figures.
Gardner Webb was beat on the glass 41 to 28, beat in assists 21-13 and gave up 50% from behind the arc.
This marks Gardner Webb’s first lost to a Non D1 opponent since moving to D1 in the 01-02 season.
Nov 15th: Gardner Webb falls to Elon 95-84
Jacob Hudson led the Runnin Bulldogs with 22 points, 16 of which coming in the 2nd half.
Jamias Ferere with 13, Hogarth and Williams with 11 and Clark with 10 rounds out the double figure scorers.
Despite being outscored 49-27 in the 1st half, Gardner Webb did not quit and outscored Elon 57-46 in the 2nd half.
DePaul Breakdown:
Head Coach Chris Holtmann enters Year 2 at DePaul after going 14-20 last season, including making The Crown.
Holtmann is a familiar face for Gardner Webb fans having coached their from 2003-2008 as an assistant and 2010-2013 as a head coach.
CJ Gunn leads the Blue Demons with 15 PPG.
Gardner Webb won the only meeting between the two programs 71-59, in which Chris Holtmann was coaching Gardner Webb.
Game Breakdown: This truly probably isn’t the most interesting game for Gardner Webb, nor would be the closest this week. I just really like the storyline of Gardner Webb facing their old coach in Chris Holtmann, and Gardner Webb winning the only meeting is pretty cool. Sadly I think DePaul takes this one pretty handedly.
Official Prediction: DePaul 85 - Gardner Webb 61
Nov 18th - 8pm EST - Winthrop at Arkansas
Winthrop Weekly Recap:
Nov 11th: Winthrop falls to Coastal Carolina 72-66
Logan Duncomb led the team in scoring with 21 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for his first career double double.
Daylen Berry ended the game with 20 points and Kareem Rozier tallied 13 of his own to round out the double digit scorers.
Winthrop lost the rebounding battle to Coastal Carolina 45-28.
Nov 15th: Winthrop beats Mercer 105-69
Kareem Rozier tied his career high with 20 points, along with having 0 turnovers.
Josh Meo with 18, Kody Clouet with 14, Daylen Berry and Tommy Kamarad with 11 each and Seifeldin Hendawy with 10 rounds out the double figure scorers for Winthrop.
105 points marks the 4th highest in a Winthrop Home Opener and extends Winthrop’s home opener streak to 8 wins.
Arkansas Breakdown:
Coach John Calipari is entering Year 2 at Arkansas after going 22-14 in Year 1 and making the Sweet 16 before losing to Texas Tech in Overtime.
John Calipari enters this game at the 20th winningest coach in college basketball history including 1 National Title (2012) and 6 Final Fours
Darius Acuff Jr leads the Razorbacks with 19.8 PPG.
Arkansas won the only matchup between the two program, 72-49 in 2002.
Game Breakdown: This was the only game to pick from for Winthrop this week, so I had to breakdown this one. I do like Winthrop to keep it pretty close, Winthrop looks really good and Coach Calipari is known to play some mid majors pretty close, but in the end I side with the SEC Talent and take Arkansas.
Official Prediction: Arkansas 91 - Winthrop 79
Nov 18th - 10pm EST - Presbyterian at California
Presbyterian Weekly Recap:
Nov 10th: Presbyterian beat Georgia State 63-61
Carl Parrish led the Blue Hose with 22 points, including a buzzer beater with 2.6 seconds to go to lift Presbyterian past Georgia State.
Jonah Pierce (14), Erik Taylor (11) and Jaylen Peterson (10) all ended the game in double figures.
Carl Parrish made 5 of the Blue Hose’s 6 three pointers, the other being made by Erik Taylor.
Georgia State was struck by The Epitome of Brutality with this loss.
Nov 12th: Presbyterian falls to South Carolina 81-61
Johan Pierce led the Blue Hose with 19 points and ended the game 1 rebound shy of a double double with 9.
Carl Parrish once again was a pivotal piece with 15 points, 12 of which coming in the 2nd half.
Chidi Chiakwelu notched his first career double figure scoring night with 11 points rounding out the double figure scorers.
Jaylen Peterson hauled in a team high 11 rebounds, his 3 time with double digit rebounds this season.
California Breakdown:
Mark Madsen enters Year 3 as Cal’s Head Coach with a record of 27-38 at California.
Dai Dai Ames leads the Bears with 22.5 PPG.
This is first ever meeting between the two programs.
Game 2 of the Empire Classic for Presbyterian, all being played in California.
Game Breakdown: Truly, the Sac State vs Presbyterian is likely the true game of the week for Presbyterian but I also do think Presbyterian vs Cal will be better than people expect. This game screams look ahead spot for Cal, with them facing UCLA later that week and coming off a game vs Kansas State. I don’t think PC will pull it out, but I do think it will be a close one.
Official Prediction: California 71 - Presbyterian 65
Other Game on Nov 18th:
Radford at South Carolina - 7pm EST - SECN+
Nov 19th:
Nov 19th - 7pm EST - Tennessee Tech at USC Upstate
USC Upstate Weekly Recap:
Nov 12th: USC Upstate beats Bob Jones 119-53
Led by Mason Bendinger and Carmelo Adkins both with 17 for the Spartans in route to their highest total in their D1 history.
Other double figure scorers included: Learic Davis (15), Karmani Gregory (12), Nic Book (12) and Kanye Jones (10)
Isaiah Skinner had a team high 12 rebounds.
For the second straight game, every Spartan to appear in the game scored.
Nov 15th: USC Upstate falls to UNC Wilmington 73-60
Karmani Gregory led the Spartans with 15 points in this contest.
Carmelo Adkins scored 13 points, all of which coming in the 2nd half and Learic Davis had 12 points rounding out the double figure scorers.
Outside of a 14-2 UNCW run near the end of the first half, USC Upstate kept it close, including 34-34 in the 2nd half.
Tennessee Tech Breakdown:
In Year 7 at Tennessee Tech, Coach John Pelphrey is coming off one of his better season at Tennessee Tech going 15-16 and has a record of 67-121 in those 7 years.
Coach Pelphrey was the player who was supposed to be guarding Christian Laettner on his now famous buzzer beater, and it one of 36 former players to have their number retired at Kentucky.
Mekhi Cameron leads Tennessee Tech with 14.8 PPG.
This is the first matchup between the two programs in their history.
Game Breakdown: USC Upstate has been a pleasant surprise, even to what I expected. I knew Marty Richter would get them going but this team looks like a solid Big South team. I think they are a clear step ahead of Tennessee Tech in talent and that will be evident at home in this one.
Official Prediction: USC Upstate 90 - Tennessee Tech 80
Nov 19th - 7:30pm EST - UNC Asheville at Western Carolina
UNC Asheville Weekly Recap:
Nov 11th: UNC Asheville beats Lipscomb 69-64
Justin Wright led the team with 29 points followed by Kameron Taylor with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Toyaz Solomon had a quiet night with only 6 points and 6 rebounds but had a crucial tap out on a missed free throw to seal the game for Asheville.
DJ Patrick missed this one with a leg injury he suffered against Georgia Southern.
Nov 13th: UNC Asheville beats Bryan 92-54
Connor Dubsky led the Bulldogs with 15 points, all coming from behind the arc.
Toyaz Solomon, Myles Mayfield with 13 points, Clarke with 12 and Taylor with 10 rounds out the double figure scorers.
DJ Patrick once again out with a lower body injury.
Asheville forced 23 turnovers, 13 of which coming off steals.
Western Carolina Breakdown:
Coached by former Gardner Webb Head Coach Tim Craft, they are headed into Year 2 of his tenure for the Catamounts.
Former Runnin Bulldog Julien Soumoaro leads the Catamounts with 14 PPG.
Asheville won the most recent matchup last season, but has struggled in Cullowhee only having a 5-13 record away from Kimmel vs the Catamounts.
Game Breakdown: DJ Patrick’s availability might be the deciding factor in this one. Western Carolina looks vastly improved from last season. While, UNC Asheville looks very good, they have had little outside of Kam Taylor, Toyaz Solomon and Justin Wright and even then some of these games Toyaz Solomon has been held pretty quiet. I still do lean Asheville in a close dog fight.
Official Prediction: UNC Asheville 81 - Western Carolina 76
Nov 20th:
Nov 20th - 2:30pm EST - High Point vs Illinois Chicago
High Point Weekly Recap:
Nov 11th: High Point beats Jacksonville 85-64
Cam’ron Fletcher once again led the team in scoring with 18 points and once again fell 1 rebound short of a double double with 9 rebounds.
Terry Anderson (17), Chase Johnston (12), Conrad Martinez (10) round out the double figure scorers.
High Point had a total of 3 turnovers compared forcing 9 steals.
Nov 14th: High Point falls to UAB 91-74
Rob Martin with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists led the Panthers
Cam’ron Fletcher with his 2nd double double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
High Point had a season high 15 turnovers, along with a season low 8 steals.
Illinois Chicago Breakdown:
Rob Ehsan is entering Year 2 at UIC after going 17-14 last season.
This is UIC’s second straight season in the Boardwalk Battle, last season they lost in the 1st round, won their 2nd round game and lost their final matchup.
Ahmad Henderson II leads the Flames with 16.8 PPG.
This is the first matchup between the two program in their history.
Game Breakdown: I truly think the organizers messed up this bracket, these two teams should be on the opposite sides from each other in my opinion. According to KenPom they are the best two teams in this tournament and by a pretty wide margin. High Point also just matches up really good against UIC in my opinion so for that reason I am taking High Point.
Official Prediction: High Point 86 - Illinois Chicago 73
Nov 21st:
Nov 21st - 7pm EST - UNC Wilmington at Radford
Radford Weekly Recap:
Nov 11th: Radford falls to #18 North Carolina 89-75
Dennis Parker led the Highlanders with 23 points, Del Jones had 22 points of his own.
Jaylon Johnson rounds out the double digit scorers with 10 points of his own.
4 Highlanders fouled out, along with a total of 33 team fouls.
Cold shooting plagued the Highlanders shooting 24-70 from the field and 7-30 from behind the arc.
Nov 15th: Radford falls to Wright State 92-59
Dennis Parker once again led the Highlanders, this time with 15 points, while no other player had more than 8.
Tyson Brown led the team in rebounds with 11.
Cold shooting once against plagued the Highlanders with 20-56 from the field and 5-21 from 3.
UNC Wilmington Breakdown:
Coached by former GWU player and assistant, Takayo Siddle enters Year 6 at the helm at UNC Wilmington coming off his first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2022, UNCW took home the CBI Title under Siddle’s leadership.
Nolan Hodge leads the Seahawks with 18.7 PPG.
Radford holds a record of 4-5 against the Seahawks losing the most recent matchup 100-64 in 2016.
Game Breakdown: Radford has been very underwhelming to start the season, their UNC game really showed flaws for this team. They can’t be coached out of a shooting slump and get dominated on the boards by lack luster rosters. For those two reasons, I am going with UNCW, they just seem to be the better team as of right now.
Official Prediction: UNC Wilmington 81 - Radford 70
Other Games on Nov 21st:
USC Upstate at West Georgia - 7pm EST - ESPN+
Charleston Southern at East Carolina - 7pm EST - ESPN+
Presbyterian at UCLA - 10:30pm EST - Big 10 Network
Nov 22nd: No Games of the Week.
Other Games on Nov 22nd:
High Point vs UIW/Southern Indiana - TBD - BallerTV
Gardner Webb at Richmond - 7pm EST - ESPN+