Iona Gaels vs. St. John's Red Storm 12:00 PM Eastern
St. John's is without question the far better team with loads of talent, but they looked a bit disjointed in their season opening 78-63 win over Monmouth as the team has lots of players that fought court cases to either get a fifth year of eligibility, or eligibility as an international player. Iona meanwhile is 2-0 with much better post play than a season ago with the addition of Keyshawn Mitchell, who had 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game at Bryant two seasons ago before being on VCU's bench last season.
Picks: Iona +29 and Over 151.5 (Greg's Handicap Iona +24.5 and Total 156.5)
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Virginia Cavaliers 1:00 PM Eastern
This will be a battle between a pair of teams looking to play at a different tempo as Arkansas was 13th in the nation in possessions per game while Virginia was 232nd with Virginia being the more balanced team, ranking 32nd in points per possession on offense while on defense they were 35th in points per possession allowed on defense. While Arkansas should have the same type of explosive offense as last season when they were third in the nation in points per possession, they are relying on a lot of freshmen and underclassmen while Virginia returns four of last season’s top six scorers.
Picks: VIrginia -2.5 and Under 162.5 (Greg's Handicap Virginia -3.5 and Total 155.5)
Princeton Tigers vs. Siena Saints 1:00 PM Eastern
Princeton returns the highest percentage of minutes and points of any of the 365 Division I college basketball teams from last season and goes up against a Siena unit that had a coaching change in the offseason with Nevada Smith taking over the program after being an assistant for Marquette last season. While the change to Smith represents a tempo change after Siena was 359th in possessions per game, they may not be able to run on a Princeton group that was 343rd in total possessions per game last season.
Picks: Princeton Moneyline and Under 154.5 (Greg's Handicap Princeton -4 and Total 142)
Butler Bulldogs vs. Boise State Broncos 2:00 PM Eastern
The first two games of the Ronald Noard era have been impressive for Butler with a pair of 30+ points wins, but the competition they played was Lafayette and Fairleigh Dickinson, both of which were home buy games. They face a Boise State unit that was seventh in the nation in defensive rebound percentage with opponents grabbing only 22.1% of their missed shots as an offensive rebound and Boise State usually has a big home court edge, shooting 37.3% from 3-point range at home compared to 31.5% away from home last season.
Boise State -2 and Under 157.5 (Greg's Handicap Boise State -5.5 and Total 147.5)
Idaho State Bengals vs. Air Force Falcons 3:00 PM Eastern
While Air Force retains much of last season’s roster, they may not be a good thing considering the team was 363rd in points per possession on offense, 352nd in points per possession on defense, and 354th in rebound percentage and with the hiring of former Penn State assistant Joe Crispin as their new coach, will look to play uptempo. Idaho State will bank on a lot of non Division I transfers in the backcourt but were 105th in defensive rebound percentage last season.
Picks: Idaho State +6.5 and Under 160.5 (Greg’s Handicap Idaho State +2.5 and Total 148.5)
RIchmond Spiders vs. Temple Owls 5:00 PM Eastern
Coach Adam Fisher had a rough first two seasons with Temple, but might have things figured out this season with Derrian Ford after he averaged 18.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season for an offense that was 16th in points per possessions allowed. Richmond was without star transfer Jack McCaffrey in their season opening game and is a team that is traditionally a slower paced team, ranking 253rd or lower in total possessions per game in four of the past five seasons.
Temple Moneyline and Under 152.5 (Greg's Handicap Temple -5.5 and Total 143.5)
North Dakota State Bison vs. CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners 6:00 PM Eastern
It is a new look CSU Bakersfield team with former South Dakota coach Todd Lee to lead the program, who was 66-52 in four seasons at South Dakota. In Lee's last season at South Dakota, the team was 282nd in percentage of shots that came from 3-point range and 256th in possessions per game, but the team did the little things well, ranking 18th in defensive rebound percentage and 23rd in turnovers per possession but the defense was 298th in points per possession allowed. North Dakota State was 69th in points per possession allowed on defense last season and return point guard Andy Stefonowicz after averaging 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game on 37.7% 3-point shooting a season ago.
Picks: North Dakota State -2 and Under 158 (Greg's Handicap North Dakota State -7.5 and Total 149.5)
Houston Cougars vs. California Golden Bears 8:30 PM Eastern
Points are always at a premium in Houston games as the team was second in the nation in points per possession allowed and 330th in possessions per game last season, and while California is going to be at a big disadvantage in the post, are catching too many points with this being a neutral court game being played in their home state and California was 77th in points per possession allowed on defense last season and of offense 29th in 3-point shooting percentage.
Picks: California +20 and Under 145.5 (Greg's Handicap California +15.5 and Total 139.5)
UT Arlington Mavericks vs. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 11:00 PM Eastern
UT Arlington played an uptempo game against Portland to kick off this event 89-85, but with playing their third game in as many days, they'll likely be slowing down and relying on stout defense, one that last season was number one in the nation in opponent 3-point shooting percentage at 26.9% and 29th overall in points per possession allowed. Hawaii is also a strong defense, ranking 12th in defensive rebound percentage and 11th in points per possession allowed last season and both teams have issues on offense as Arlington was 323rd in points per possession on offense last season and Hawaii was 316th in turnovers per possession, which continued in their season opener against Seattle when they committed 16 turnovers.
Picks: UT Arlington +10.5 and Under 150.5 (Greg's Handicap UT Arlington +7.5 and Total 143.5)
