Drake (1-1) vs. Southern Utah (1-2)
Sullivan Arena; Anchorage, AK
10:30 PM CT
Great Alaska Shootout
The Bulldogs will take part in the 8-team field in the Great Alaska Shootout. Besides Southern Utah, the field includes St. John’s, Arizona State, Ball State, Houston Baptist, Weber State, and the host Alaska-Anchorage. It has been a week since the Bulldogs last saw the court. They will need to erase the 48-point loss to Iowa State from their memories and focus on the games up in Alaska. They take on Southern Utah from the Summit League. Ramell Taylor leads the Thunderbirds at 16.7 ppg and tied for the team lead in rebounds at 5.3 rpg. The lone Thunderbird win came on the road at Cal State Bakersfield.
Middle Tennessee (2-3) vs. Evansville (2-1)
Murphy Athletic Center; Murfreesburo, TN
7:05 PM CT
ESPN3.com
Marty Simmons has to be pleased with Evansville’s showing at Indiana over the weekend. Hanging tough for 20 minutes, the Purple Aces trailed by 6 at the break. A 31-8 Hoosier run did them in and they were not able to recover and lost the game by 13. Colt Ryan lead the team with 15 points. They face a Middle Tennessee team that plays well at home.
Middle Tennessee could easily be 4-1 early in the season. They lost by 5 to UAB and by 2 on the road at Auburn. The Blue Raiders, from the Sun Belt Conference, are led in scoring by senior guard James Washington III.
Wichita State (2-1) vs. Virginia (3-2)
Maui, HI
6:30 CT ESPNU
EA Sports Maui Invitational
The Shockers were able to rebound after a tough loss to UCONN as they took down host school Chaminade in impressive fashion, 79-58. Lead by David Kyles’ 19 points and 7 boards, WSU had three players in double figures as they put a little fear in the Cavaliers, whom they will face tonight.
Virginia is coming off a pretty impressive win themselves, as they dominated Oklahoma 74-56. This tournament has not turned out as either team would have liked, but going home 2-1 will be much better than the long flight home with two losses under your belt.
Bradley (4-1) vs. Eastern Illinois (1-3)
Carver Arena; Peoria, Ill.
7:05 CT
Sure, Bradley is 4-1. But they have yet to really be tested this season. They will enter tonight’s game after a loss to TCU 74-68, and will look to keep the home magic alive as they host Eastern Illinois.
The Panthers enter the game after their first win of the season. They took down UI South Bend 57-40. I think that is where Rudy went to high school. This game should be a blow out, but I guess crazier things have happened.