Which acronym will win the Mountain West – BYU, SDSU or UNLV? Tonight’s the night when we get our first glimpse into what looks to be one of the tightest conference races in the nation. It’s not the MAC, but it’s close.
So get ready for a show, starting with BYU at UNLV.
Winning at the Thomas & Mack center in Vegas is one of the few things Jimmer Fredette hasn’t done in his career, which is kind of a surprise. The list of teams who’ve won at UNLV during Fredette’s four seasons at BYU include: UC Santa Barbara, K-State, Utah, New Mexico, Cal, Cincy, SDSU, Louisville and Arizona.
It’s an impressive list, but one the Cougars probably should be on. They’re gonna need a fairly impressive game to do so, though. The Rebels have a nasty defense.
(The Aztecs’ MWC tests don’t start until next week. SDSU is at TCU tonight and Utah on Saturday.)
Memphis at Tennessee, 9 p.m. (ESPN2): This game has already been covered here, here and here.
Purdue at Penn State, 6:30 p.m.: If E’Twaun Moore can drop 31 on Northwestern, I shudder to think what he’ll do against the Lions. (Coming soon: An apology post on omitting Moore from our preseason All-American teams. I was too stupid to listen to Boilermaker fans.)
Drexel at VCU, 7 p.m.: According to Kenpom.com, the Dragons, not VCU, are a likelier bet to win the CAA. Just another reason why preseason prognostications should be taken with a grain of salt.
Dayton at St. Louis, 8 p.m.: The Flyers are already on the NCAA tournament bubble. A loss here keeps them there through January.
UAB at Duke, 7 p.m. (ESPN2): Yet another game without Kyrie Irving. Yet another game where Duke doesn’t need him.
(All times ET)
EAST
Purdue at Penn St., 6:30 p.m.
Harvard at Boston College, 7 p.m.
William & Mary at Delaware, 7 p.m.
Temple vs. Fordham at the IZOD Center, East Rutherford, N.J., 7 p.m.
La Salle at George Washington, 7 p.m.
George Mason at Hofstra, 7 p.m.
Yale at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Columbia at Lafayette, 7 p.m.
Hartford at Maine, 7 p.m.
Marist at Princeton, 7 p.m.
Duquesne at Saint Joseph’s, 7 p.m.
Marquette at Rutgers, 7:30 p.m.
SOUTH
Appalachian St. at Davidson, 7 p.m.
UAB at Duke, 7 p.m.
W. Carolina at Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
Towson at James Madison, 7 p.m.Seton Hall at Louisville, 7 p.m.
Elon vs. N.C. State at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum, 7 p.m.
Northeastern at Old Dominion, 7 p.m.
Charlotte at Richmond, 7 p.m.
Marshall at UCF, 7 p.m.
Georgia St. at UNC Wilmington, 7 p.m.
Drexel at Va. Commonwealth, 7 p.m.
High Point at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
Belmont at Stetson, 7:15 p.m.
North Florida at Campbell, 7:30 p.m.
Lipscomb at Florida Gulf Coast, 7:30 p.m.
ETSU at Kennesaw St., 7:30 p.m.
S.C.-Upstate at Mercer, 7:30 p.m.
North Texas at Middle Tennessee, 9 p.m.
Houston at Southern Miss., 9 p.m.
Memphis at Tennessee, 9 p.m.
MIDWEST
UMKC at Kansas, 8 p.m.
North Alabama at Missouri, 8 p.m.
Savannah St. at Nebraska, 8 p.m.
Dayton at Saint Louis, 8 p.m.
Michigan at Wisconsin, 8:30 p.m.
SOUTHWEST
San Diego St. at TCU, 7:30 p.m.
St. Bonaventure at Ark.-Little Rock, 8 p.m.
Tulane at Rice, 8 p.m.
Mississippi at SMU, 8 p.m.
Houston Baptist at Texas-Arlington, 8 p.m.
Tulsa at UTEP, 9:05 p.m.
FAR WEST
W. New Mexico at Colorado, 9 p.m.
CS Bakersfield at New Mexico, 9 p.m.
Utah at Air Force, 10 p.m.
Cal St.-Fullerton at UC Irvine, 10 p.m.
BYU at UNLV, 10 p.m.
CS Northridge at Long Beach St., 10:05 p.m.
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