UNI (2-1) vs. Boston College (3-1)
UVI Sports and Fitness Center
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 2:30 PM CST
Paradise Jam
UNI looks to head back to the States with a winning record in the Paradise Jam. They’ve split two games there so far, losing to DePaul and defeating East Carolina. Adam Koch shouldered the load for the Panthers with a team high 25 points in the 74-68 victory over the Pirates. Jordan Eglseder chipped in 19 points and a team high 10 rebounds. The Panthers saw both ends of the spectrum out of Egleseder. In their opening round loss to DePaul he went just 1-9 from the field and finished with 2 points and 6 rebounds.
A win over Boston College should give the Valley a decent victory over a team from a BCS school. The Eagles are trying to finish 2-1 in this tournament themselves. They lost their opening round game to St. Joe’s (84-80) and then came back to defeat South Dakota St. (75-58). The Eagles have 5 players averaging double figures lead by Joe Trapani at 16.3. He finished with 21 against the Jackrabbits. Reggie Jackson out on the perimeter does all the little things for this squad, averaging over 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and nearly 15 points from the guard spot. He’ll need to be prepared as the Panthers may throw different defenders his way.
UNI needs a big win here today so they don’t get off to a similar start they did last year. With their veterans they should be in this game. On a neutral court it’s anyone’s game but being the third game in four days, there may not be a lot left in the tank for either squad.
– Panon
Coastal Carolina (3-1) @ Indiana St. (3-1)
NIT Season Tip-off
Bowling Green, KY 4:30 CT
Coastal Carolina will be “coasting” into the match up with Indiana State (sorry, it was right there), as they are coming off an embarrassing 43 point victory over Voorhees. But Indiana State, whose defense has really caught my eye this season, is coming off a pretty solid victory of their own, but this one was over a team you may have heard of before, Colorado State. ISU was able to put one in the win column for the MVC in the MVC / Mountain West Challenge as another great defensive performance shut the Rams down in the second half. Assisted by Dwayne Lathan’s 18 points off the bench, ISU shut the Rams down, allowing them to shoot a measly 28.6% from the field in the second stanza.
As I mentioned before, if ISU can keep up this amazing defense, they should be in every game this season. As for tonight, let’s just say I may check the score on my Blackberry while I’m watching the WSU-Pitt game.
– Paul Liberty
Wichita St. (2-0) vs. Pittsburgh (2-0)
O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic
Kansas City, MO 6:30 CT ESPN 2
Toure’ Murry has made a statement in the first two games of the season. He is going to be the go to guy for WSU this season. In the first two games hes has put up 16 and 15 points respectively. He has shown tremendous athleticism and unselfishness, and play like that will get you some solid minutes from Coach Marshall. Although the opponents in the first two match ups have not been the stuff of champions, the Shockers will have their hands full as they make the short trip to Kansas City to take on the Pitt Panthers in the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
Pitt, who had a bit of a scare from Wofford, only winning that game by 3 points, will have a good opponent on their hands when they step on the court to face the shockers. This is a big game for both WSU and the Valley, and should be a great match up to watch. As a Jays fan, this will be one of those game you would like to see WSU win, but wouldn’t be caught dead cheering out loud. I will be watching this one in the basement with Mrs. Liberty, and let’s just say I will be pulling for the Valley.
– Paul Liberty
Illinois St. (2-0) @ Illinois-Chicago (1-1)
Chicago, Ill. 7:00 CT
Get use to this line sports fans: Osiris Eldridge lead all scorers for the Redbirds in a to victory. I have a feeling I may be saying that quite a bit this season. Much to the dismay of North Florida, Osiris showed up for the basketball game on Saturday night, and dropped 24 points while going 10-16 from the field in a decisive 71-55 win.
The Redbirds have yet to play a very tough opponent this young season, and it won’t get much tougher when they travel to play Illinois-Chicago tonight. Last season the Redbirds went undefeated in a weak non-conference schedule, and many believe that schedule kept them out of the big dance. Well, this season looks to have some improvements, as they will play Utah, Central Michigan, and Niagara, but two of those three are at home. With lack of big name opponents on the schedule yet again this season, the Redbirds will need to win the majority of these non-conference games handily, and I don’t think they should have much trouble tonight.
– Paul Liberty
