By Kyle Beery | 97.1 The Ticket
The first week of the college basketball season was an eventful one -- highlighted by the Champions Classic, a late-night thriller in Alaska and a top-10 upset on Sunday -- and week No. 2 is shaping up to be pretty entertaining itself.
As I'll be doing each week this season, here's a look at the games you should be watching this week -- from a local perspective, as well as the other top games around the country.
Garnering most of the attention on the docket this week? The Gavitt Tipoff Games, the Big Ten-Big East conference challenge, named in honor of Big East founder and Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt. After the conferences split each of the first three challenges with four wins apiece, the Big Ten finally took a 5-3 advantage last year.
This year, the fifth of the eight-year deal, features perhaps the best full slate of games. Each Big East team will participate a minimum of six times over the eight-year deal, and each Big Ten team a minimum of four times. Michigan State makes its Gavitt Games debut in a big way Thursday night.
See the full Gavitt Tipoff Games schedule here
LOCAL GAMES
Tuesday, Nov. 12
Creighton @ Michigan -- 6:30 p.m., FS1
The Wolverines' season-opening win over Appalachian State was a tale of two halves, as they let a 30-point lead nearly slip away, thanks to a 27-3 run by the Mountaineers, only to hang on late for the win.
This next game only gets tougher against a Bluejays team that should compete near the top of the Big East and likely end up in the NCAA Tournament. Jon Teske, who had a solid season debut, will benefit from the absence of Creighton big man Jacob Epperson, but the Jays still have a good amount of frontcourt size in transfer Kelvin Jones and a scary guard trio of Ty-Shon Alexander, Davion Mintz and Mitch Ballock.
Thursday, Nov. 14
No. 3 Michigan State @ No. 12 Seton Hall – 8:30 p.m., FS1
The Spartans lost the marquee season-opening matchup with Kentucky, and despite sticking around with a very good Kentucky team, left a lot to be desired. There are questions in terms of the frontcourt, as well as perimeter shooting, through two games. Cassius Winston showed a lot of resolve in Sunday's win over Binghamton, playing less than 24 hours after learning of his brother's death.
While basketball may seem unimportant to the Spartans for the time being, they're faced with a big test in Kevin Willard's Pirates, who were picked to win the Big East over Villanova. Some of this game's luster was likely taken away over the weekend when Seton Hall's top player and national player of the year contender Myles Powell suffered a severe ankle injury that is expected to keep him out for the foreseeable future. But Seton Hall still has a talented roster with guard Myles Cale and two monsters inside in Taurean Thompson (6'11") and Sandro Mamukelashvili (7'2") that the Spartans will need to find answers for inside a hostile Prudential Center.
Other local games to keep an eye on
- Elon @ Michigan – Friday, 7 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Oakland @ No. 7 Maryland -- Saturday, Noon, BTN+
- Detroit Mercy @ Clemson -- Sunday, 3 p.m., ACC Network
NATIONAL GAMES
Tuesday, Nov. 12
No. 14 Oregon vs. No. 13 Memphis – 9 p.m., ESPN
What will happen with James Wiseman and Memphis, regarding his possible suspension by the NCAA, by Tuesday night was still unclear as of Monday morning. The 7-foot-1 top recruit in the country was allowed to play for the Tigers Friday night and showed just how good he is, with 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
Even if Wiseman does not play Tuesday against the Ducks, this will be an entertaining game – the Tigers still have four other top freshmen that made up the country's top recruiting class, going head-to-head with an upstart Payton Pritchard-led Oregon squad. This is a defacto home game for Oregon, played in Portlnd for the Phil Knight Invitational.
Wednesday, Nov. 13
No. 23 LSU @ VCU – 6 p.m., ESPN2
Aside from the on-court intrigue – and there's plenty, with LSU returning a good bunch of guys that played on last season's Sweet 16 team, and VCU boasting an exciting backcourt -- it will be interesting to see Will Wade return to VCU, where he led the Rams to two NCAA Tournament appearances before leaving for LSU. Interesting factoid -- VCU adds a clause to its coaches' contracts that if they leave for another job, they must return to Richmond for a game with their new team.
No. 10 Villanova @ No. 16 Ohio State – 7 p.m., FS1
This is the second best game of the Gavitt Tipoff Games slate behind MSU-Seton Hall. Villanova freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl lived up to the hype in his Wildcats debut, with 24 points and 13 rebounds, while Cole Swider seems to have taken a step forward from last year's underwhelming freshman campaign.
It will be fun to see Robinson-Earl go toe-to-toe with OSU's Kaleb Wesson, while both teams have a handful of guys capable of lighting it up on the perimeter. Chris Holtmann had Jay Wright's number in his final year at Butler, knocking off the Cats twice in the same season, and will look to keep that mojo going.
Purdue @ Marquette – 9 p.m., FS1
The Boilermakers are still trying to find their identity in life after Carse Edwards, and that was very apparent in Saturday's home loss to Texas. But Purdue still has a capable squad centered around Nojel Eastern and Matt Haarms, and this one could turn into a shootout. Marquette's Markus Howard had 38 points in the season opener (30 in the first half) on 7-of-10 3-point shooting. While his 3FG% was down the last two years (still 40%-plus) from his scorching 54.7% clip his freshman year, he can still absolutely fill it up from distance.
Thursday, Nov. 14
Penn State @ Georgetown – 6:30 p.m., FS1
This game features a pair of teams that could find themselves in the middle of their conference standings and in tournament bubble talks by March.
Georgetown's Omer Yurtseven, a 7-footer from Turkey, by way of NC State, is filling it up at an efficient rate through two games, while Mac McClung – the high school YouTube dunking sensation from a few years back – is turning out to be a solid player for the Hoyas. They'll square off with Lamar Stevens, who may be Cassius Winston's biggest challenger for Big Ten Player of the Year if the Nittany Lions can win enough games.
Saturday, Nov. 16
No. 20 Washington @ Tennessee – 5 p.m., ESPN+
You'll need to have ESPN's paid digital service for this one, but it may be worth it. The Huskies grinded out a beauty of a win over Baylor Friday night in Alaska, thanks in large part to Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, two of the most under-the-radar freshmen in the country. Their length, along with Naz Carter's outside shooting will win them a lot of games this year.
The Vols lost a lot from last year's team – arguably the best in Tennessee history – but still have a nice core built around Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden. This could be a nice break from your college football Saturday.
Sunday, Nov. 17
Marquette @ Wisconsin – 1 p.m, FS1
Don't feel like watching the Lions on Sunday? Can't necessarily blame you. Howard and the Golden Eagles take their offensive attack 80 miles west for an in-state showdown against Brad Davison and the Badgers, who lost a heartbreaker to Saint Mary's in the season opener. Marquette might struggle a bit with Nate Reuvers, who can hold his own down low and stretch things out to hit some outside shots.
No. 15 Florida @ UConn – 3 p.m., ESPN
Fed up with the Lions by the time the 4th quarter rolls around? Can't necessarily blame you. The Gators are certainly in the discussion of national title contenders, with Virginia Tech transfer Kerry Blackshear, Andrew Nembhard and Tre Mann leading the way, but fell flat in Sunday's loss to Florida State -- their 6th straight in the series.
UConn has some nice pieces to build around as the Huskies move back to the Big East next season – namely freshman Akok Akok and Brendan Adams – but might still be a year away from being in the NCAA Tournament. Their size might give the Gators fits, and if it all comes together right, a Gampel Pavilion upset could be in the works – maybe.
