GAME OF THE NIGHT: Dayton at No. 21 Vanderbilt, 9:00 p.m.
On paper, Vanderbilt looks like the much better team here. They have the potential lottery pick at center. They have the myriad of shooters on the perimeter. Wade Baldwin IV has been awesome. But the thing about Dayton is that Archie Miller always seems to get this group playing better as a whole than the sum of their parts. And after that embarrassing loss to Xavier, the Flyers will be looking to make a statement.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR
- UNLV at Wichita State, 9:00 p.m.: The most intriguing game of the night. UNLV has looked really good through the first month of the season, but the Rebels have broken our trust before. A win at Wichita State would make us believers. The Shockers, on the other hand, desperately need the win after dropping four of their first six games. For Wichita State, the question is will Fred VanVleet back and healthy?
- Boston College at No. 15 Providence, 7:00 p.m.: Coming off of a bout of Norovirus is definitely not an ideal way to prep for Kris Dunn.
- Howard at No. 11 Purdue, 7:00 p.m.: Purdue has the best front line in the country, but Howard has the nation’s leading scorer in James Daniel.
- Fresno State at No. 13 Arizona, 9:00 p.m.: Arizona is coming off of a win at Gonzaga, but Fresno State might have the best player on the floor in Marvelle Harris.
- Nebraska at Creighton, 8:00 p.m.: Even though both programs are a bit down this season, this is still an intense rivalry game.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25
- Maryland-Eastern Shore at No. 1 Michigan State, 7:00 p.m.
- Holy Cross at No. 2 Kansas, 8:00 p.m.
- Eastern Kentucky at No. 5 Kentucky, 7:00 p.m.
NOTABLES
- IPFW at Indiana, 7:00 p.m.
- Yale at Illinois, 8:00 p.m.
- Utah State at BYU, 9:00 p.m.
- Milwaukee at Wisconsin, 9:00 p.m.