Wednesday, November 25, marks the opening night for NCAA basketball. The only conference not slated to take part in the season is the Ivy League, which announced the cancellation of all winter sports on November 12. The biggest event for opening night is set for the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, where Baylor will take on Arizona State. Florida was also set to take on Virginia there in the first round of the 2K Empire Sports Classic, but COVID-19 cases in the Florida program has led to the delay of the Gators’ season start, and so Villanova will play Boston College there instead.
Let’s take a look at some of the top matchups as you consider your college basketball betting for this holiday week.
NCAA News: Top Games for College Basketball’s Opening Night
Wednesday, November 25
Mohegan Sun Casino (Uncasville, Connecticut)
#3 Villanova vs Boston College (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Villanova posted a 24-7 record last year, just another team that saw its NCAA title hopes dashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The only major contributor they lost from 2019-20 was Saddiq Bey, who entered the draft and was picked #19 overall by the Detroit Pistons. However, such key contributors as Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl are all back. Given that there are no scrimmages ahead of the openers this year, expect some rusty play from all the teams as they open. Gillespie led the Wildcats in scoring last year with 15.1 points per game.
Boston College comes in facing a major challenge; in 2019-20, they finished 13-19 (7-13 ACC). However, their starting five should be solid. Guard Jay Heath scored 13.1 points per game last year, and Wynston Tabbs, who scored 13.9 points per game two seasons ago, returns after missing 2019-20 with a knee injury. Graduate transfers to the program include Rich Kelly, who comes in from Quinnipiac after shooting almost 40 percent from downtown last year, scoring 16.7 points per game. The teams have not met since 2006, when they tangled in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Villanova won that meeting by one point in overtime. They should win this game much more handily.
#2 Baylor vs #18 Arizona State (9:00 pm ET, ESPN)
Baylor had looked ready to make it to the Final Four last spring before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the men’s basketball tournament. Arizona State enters its sixth year under coach Bobby Hurley and is one of the favorites to contend for the Pac-12 championship. Both teams have terrific backcourts — but Baylor will be without coach Scott Drew, who tested positive for COVID-19. Assistant Jerome Tang will coach the team in Drew’s absence. Baylor returns four starters, including Jared Butler, preseason Big 12 Player of the Year. He is a junior who shot 38.1 percent from behind the arc last year. He had thought about heading to the NBA but reconsidered without hiring an agent, thereby retaining his amateur status. He joins backcourt colleague MaCio Teague (13.9 points and 4.6 boards per game) in returning. Davion Mitchell, who had 114 assists last year and was known as a shutdown defender, returns for Baylor.
Arizona State added five-star recruit Josh Christopher and four-star recruit Marcus Bagley to their perimeter, and Remy Martin and Alonzo Verge also return on the perimeter. Martin scored 19.1 points per game, and Verge went off for 43 points against Saint Mary’s as well as 26 points each in games against Oregon and UCLA. The interior for Arizona State is a question mark, as Jalen Graham will need to improve his game as a sophomore. Pavlo Dziuba is a JUCO transfer who is expected to contribute. Baylor lost Freddie Gillespie in the middle, and Tristan Clark, who could not recover from a knee injury, walked away from the sport last week. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, a transfer from UNLV, is expected to start inside. Expect a bunch of shooting and scoring in this opener.
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