Oakland

First place is on the line in the Colonial Athletic Association on Thursday night as Hofstra (14-6, 8-1) heads south to take on VCU (16-5, 8-1) in a matchup that features two of the best guards at the mid-major level. Charles Jenkins (23.7 ppg, 5.0 apg) is practically a household name at this point in his career and with a pro body combined with an excellent skill set the senior from Queens is a solid bet to end up on an NBA roster next season.

There should be little doubt as to what the game of the day is on Thursday with a Big 5 battle on the docket. Temple (9-2, 0-0 Big 5) makes the short trip to Villanova (10-1, 3-0 Big 5) with hopes of picking up their second win over a ranked Big East team this season, and they've got the horses to do so.

In what's traditionally the "dead week" for college basketball as many schools are in the midst of finals, we've had a far more eventful beginning of the week than many anticipated. The fun started on Tuesday with Oakland winning at Tennessee and Drexel handing Louisville their first loss of the season. In the 89-82 win in Knoxville, Greg Kampe's Golden Grizzlies went on a 13-0 second half run to take the lead for good.

Despite the amount of attention being given to ESPN's 24-hour college basketball marathon that tips off at midnight (Miami at Memphis) there are some good games on the docket Monday night. In the early window there are a two under the radar games that lack television coverage but won't lack for quality. Oakland (0-1), the preseason favorite in the Summit League, makes the trek south to take on one of the favorites in the Mid-American in Ohio (1-0). Two of the better players not in BCS conferences will be on display in Athens: Oakland center Keith Benson and Ohio guard D.J. Cooper.

Overall Rank: #98

#13 Houston over Maryland

#14 Montana over New Mexico

#13 Murray St over Vanderbilt

#14 Oakland over Pittsburgh

#14 Sam Houston over Baylor

#13 Siena over Purdue

#13 Wofford over Wisconsin

Other (Discuss Below)

Being the best player on a Top 15 team is a recipe for earning CollegeHoops.net's Mid-Major Player of the Year honors. Gordon Hayward averaged 15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 1.8 apg in leading Butler to a 28-4 record. He's joined on the Mid-Major First Team by CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, Cornell leader Ryan Wittman, and big men Keith Benson of Oakland and Art Parakouski of Radford.

 

Oakland Grizzlies

Summit League (26-8, 17-1)

 

Coastal Carolina (21-4, 11-2 Big South, 141 RPI)

IUPUI (17-8, 10-2 Summit, 103 RPI)

Lehigh (15-8, 6-2 Patriot, 169 RPI)

Morgan State (17-7, 9-0 MEAC, 133 RPI)

Oakland (18-8, 12-1 Summit, 68 RPI)

Robert Morris (16-8, 11-1 Northeast, 158 RPI)

Sam Houston St (16-5, 8-0 Southland, 76 RPI)

Stony Brook (16-7, 8-2 America East, 154 RPI)

Vermont (17-8, 8-3 America East, 164 RPI)

Other (Arkansas St, Denver, Jackson St, Jacksonville, Quinnipiac, Radford, etc)