No big upsets or vitally important games went down, and most people were opting to watch the election rather than the college basketball slate. I am glad to say that I did both! Let’s check out some of the action that occurred last night!

Close Games

Cal Poly, now led by head coach Mike DeGeorge, put up a strong fight against San Francisco, losing 78-86. For a team who has had no success whatsoever in recent years, this is a super positive sign, and could be a sign that a turnaround is underway for the Mustangs. For the Dons of San Francisco, this isn’t something to be too concerned about yet, but with a strong start for Santa Clara, the WCC could be much more competitive, making the path for the Dons much more difficult.

Another mid major who put up a strong performance was UC Davis, who lost in a close battle to Washington, 73-79. TY Johnson put up a big time performance as the teams leader, with 35 points on 10/25 shooting. Sadly, that couldn’t keep up with the Huskies big time transfer, Great Osobor, who finished with 15 points and 17 rebounds, after following his head coach Danny Sprinkle to UW. Another bright spot for the Huskies was a solid first collegiate performance by freshman Zoom Diallo, who had 12 points and 4 assists.

The final tight game was Arizona State vs. Idaho State. Arizona State, after an embarrassing exhibition loss to Duke, was looking to bounce back to start the year. However, this performance definitely won’t inspire hope for Sun Devils fans. A tight 55-48 win, with 5 star freshman Jayden Quaintance, who finished with 2 points, 2 steals, and 6 blocks, on 0/6 from the field. With the amount of money the school has invested in him, this is looking like a possible disaster. On a positive note, Milwaukee transfer BJ Freeman and freshman Joson Sanon. Freeman had a stat filling 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, along with 2 blocks. Sanon had 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, playing 30 minutes.

Other Top Performances

• Kansas State senior wing David N’Guessan is finally getting some more offensive responsibility, and it worked out in game one, where he finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Wildcats win over New Orleans.
• BYU freshman Egor Denim had high expectations coming into the season, and he absolutely met them in game one, with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, and 4 steals in a 38 point crushing of Central Arkansas. He could push this team to the big stage just like they were last year, even after the departure of Mark Pope.
• Freshman sensation at New Mexico JT Toppin transferred up to Texas Tech, but his production didn’t dip a bit, opening the season with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a big win over Bethune-Cookman.
• Malik Thomas continued his leadership on both sides of the ball for San Fran, with 23 points and 5 steals in their win.

Best Bets for Today

First addition of this to the blog- but here are some lines that I like for the slate of games this evening.

• Campbell +18

Yes, I am a UVA fan, but I am also a realist. I don’t see how we beat any team by 20+ in the current state of the program, and especially Campbell, who isn’t a completely terrible team. Another good bet here would be largest lead u20.5 !

• Georgia Tech -23.5

I really do like the Yellow Jackets this season, and West Georgia isn’t a very good team. I can see Georgia Tech going up big, and possibly already covering this spread right around halftime. For context: West Georgia lost to Mississippi State 95-60. Not saying Georgia Tech is as good as Mississippi State, but they also aren’t 10 points worse, at least in my opinion.

• Auburn -15

The Auburn Tigers are a very good basketball team. Although they are playing Vermont, a northeast powerhouse, I don’t think the Catamounts can keep up with the depth of the Tigers, and that’ll lead to around a 20 point win when it’s all said and done. The size of Auburn is also a large part of this for me. The versatility they have should really get the job done.

(P.C. BYU MBB)