VCU

State of '08: Virginia

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:11:33 -0700

Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

VIRGINIA

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH - VCU is in the middle of a great run that started in 2002. Besides making the 2004 & 2007 tourneys, the Rams also made the NIT in 2005 & 2008. More impressively, 6 of the last 7 teams have finished in the RPI Top 90 as the program has had a lot of success in non-conference play.

GEORGE MASON - Everyone remembers GMU's shocking 2006 Final Four run, but that was not an isolated case of success under Jim Larranaga. In the last decade, the Patriots have made 4 NCAA Tournaments, 2 NITs, and finished at or above .500 in CAA play every season

VIRGINIA - In the last 10 years Virginia has made 2 NCAA Tournaments (winning just 1 game) and a bunch of NITs, but haven't really had a breakout season (at least by BCS standards). Similarly, they've never really been very bad.. expect for now. Last year's team finished below the RPI Top 100 (127th) for the 1st time since the 90's, and this year's team will most likely not even crack the Top 150 or so.

OLD DOMINION - Except for a bad spell in the early part of the 2000s, ODU has been consistently solid over the last 20 years. The '05 & '07 teams made the Big Dance, while the '04 & '06 squads finished in the RPI Top 100. After some slippage last year, ODU is once again considered one of the league favorites (behind VCU).

VIRGINIA TECH - The Hokies have come a long way under Seth Greenberg, making the move to the ACC and making the Big Dance in 2007 (their first in a dozen years). The last 2 teams were also the first in that long gap to finish in the RPI Top 100 or to finish above .500 in conference play. This year's team should once again be competitive in league play.

6. RICHMOND - Richmond has some good history, but the last four years have been rather blah. 2007 was the program's worst year in a decade, and this year's team might have to settle once again for the CBI at best.

7. HAMPTON - The Pirates have been the MEAC's best team over the last decade. In 2001, 2002, and 2006, they won the league tournament and made other close runs in 2003 & 2005 (& were good once again last year before being shocked by Coppin in the league quarters). No surprise that most experts project them to win the league once again in 2009.

8. LIBERTY - Beginning in 2003, Liberty has been consistently solid in the Big South, never finishing below .500. In 2004, they reached the NCAA Tournament after blowing through the conference tournament.

9. WILLIAM & MARY - The Tribe are still looking for that elusive first NCAA trip, but have been making strides the last few seasons. Last year's team made a surprising CAA title game run, after finishing over .500 in league play for the first time in over a decade. They've also dominated the recent series against JMU.

10. JAMES MADISON - A once decent program, JMU has endured a brutal slump that began around '01 or '02. Last year's team won 10 games for the first time since 2003, and also set a high in that period with a whopping 5 wins in the CAA. New coach Matt Brady was hired in the off-season to turn things around.

11. RADFORD - Outside of a mediocre 2006 campaign, the last handful of seasons have been very uneventful for Radford fans. 5 out of 6 seasons seasons below .500 in Big South play, and a pair of consecutive 300+ RPI seasons won't cut it.

12. VMI - VMI is known for high-scoring offenses, but unfortunately they're not known for wins. From 2004-2006, this was one of the country's worst teams. Although the last two years have been better (thanks in part to Reggie Williams), there's been little to write home about outside of a decent run in the 07 conference tourney.

13. NORFOLK STATE - The Spartans have been very consistent over the last decade, hovering around 10 or wins in the MEAC. In that time they never finished below .500 in conference play, but also haven't really come close to making the Big Dance. Last year's win over Richmond was probably their best non-conference win since 2002 (when they beat ODU on the road).

14. LONGWOOD - The Lancers are still trying to find their groove in D1. They've never finished above 300th in the RPI or won more than 8 D1 games. At least they knocked off in-state rivals Liberty & Norfolk State last year.

Last: Utah - Next: Washington

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Clip of the Day: Eric Maynor Beats Duke

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 01:22:12 -0700

Clip of the Day

Thanks to the genius of YouTube, the world has access to thousands of great college basketball videos to keep us busy every second of every day. We'll be featuring daily movies to whet your college basketball appetite. Even if you've seen them before, some clips are just too good not to watch again and again.

Eric Maynor: The Dagger

Sure this took place back in 2007, but Maynor's game-winner against Duke in the NCAA Tournament was sweet..

- Watch all of CHN's favorite College Basketball Videos!

- Also check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- And finally the Picture of the Day!

College Basketball: Top Ten Sleepers

Joey Whelan — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:00:40 -0700

Perhaps because they were reserves last season, or hidden in the shadows of bigger-name teammates, or simply not yet ready to shine.. these 10 Sleepers are ready to the steal the national headlines and emerge as legitimate NBA Draft prospects.

TOP TEN SLEEPERS: 08-09

1. Austin Daye: 6’10”, Sophomore, Small Forward, Gonzaga

Most other years a freshman like Daye would have gotten plenty of attention nationally, even playing in the WCC. Of course, with a class like last season’s, the 6’10” small forward was just another player lost in the shuffle; expect to here this name much more often in the future though. Right now, Daye does a lot of things well, but nothing exceptionally. He shoots better than 40% from beyond the arc (off the charts for a player his size in college), but does so on a limited number of shots. His ball handling skills are excellent for a player at his stage of development with his frame and he shows the ability to dribble with either hand comfortably in the open floor. If Daye can add a little weight (he weighs a rail thin 190), improve his decision making on offense, and sure up his defense, he could develop into one of the top wing players in his class.

2. Dar Tucker: 6’4”, Sophomore, Small Forward, Depaul

If you haven’t heard of Dar Tucker yet, keep your eyes peeled as the highlight reels start to pile up. Despite being an undersized small forward, the sophomore can elevate with any player in the Big East. He is a versatile scorer and finished 8^th amongst a very deep freshman class in points per 40 minutes. The two biggest knocks against Tucker last season were his average ball handling skills and his tendency to get a little too trigger happy on the perimeter, both issues that he could have resolved in the off season. He has good looking form on his shot, so if he does a better job of picking and choosing his shots this season, there should be a significant rise in his 32.1% three point shooting mark from last year.

3. Gani Lawal: 6’8”, Sophomore, Power Forward, Georgia Tech

Lawal may be the top returning pro prospect in the ACC not from North Carolina or Duke. Packing 220 pounds onto his 6’8” frame and possessing a wingspan greater than 7-feet, he is a physical specimen. He saw limited action last season, but showed some real flashes of ability at points during the year (13 points, 6 rebounds in 16 minutes vs. UNC). At this point Lawal’s offensive game is very raw and underdeveloped. He possesses quick feet, good open floor speed and a tremendous motor. He relies on his strength and athleticism to get easy points around the rim, but as he starts to refine his skill set Lawal will become a much more effective post player. On the defensive side of the ball he primarily sticks in the paint, altering shots with his length and holding his position well on the block. Expect more playing time and great production out of Lawal this year with a season under his belt.

4. Chandler Parsons: 6’9”, Sophomore, Small Forward, Florida

With the departure of Marreese Speights to the NBA, fans outside of the Gainesville area will likely get their first introduction to Parsons this season. The sophomore has great size for a perimeter player and has proven he can be a dangerous outside shooter. His release is a bit slow, so when Parsons has time to set his feet and shoot he is fine, but his percentages drop considerably when he is forced to either rush his shot or shoot off the dribble. Parsons has shown flashes of ability to attack the basket with a good first step and decent touch around the rim; he needs to get more consistent with both of these skills. In the post, he has struggled do to his lack of strength, but off season reports have him reportedly bulking up to about 215 pounds which will help him considerably on the block.

5. James Anderson: 6’6”, Sophomore, Shooting Guard, Oklahoma State

Anderson announced his presence at OSU right away by eclipsing 20 points in five of his first eight games. He cooled down significantly once the Big 12 schedule started which is why he is still relatively unknown amongst many college basketball fans. Anderson is a fantastic athlete with good size and length for the position. While he got a large percentage of his points last season from hustle plays on the offensive glass and running in transition, he has the makings of a big time scoring threat thanks to the potential he shows as a shooter. Anderson attempted over five three’s per game last season and still connected on 37.9% of his shots from this range. He has a real nose for the basket and great offensive instincts; improving his handles would add a tremendous amount to his game.

6. Evan Turner: 6’6”, Sophomore, Shooting Guard, Ohio State

In Turner, the Buckeyes have a young, developing all-purpose player who performs exceptionally well on the defensive end of the floor. With pretty good size and length for the off guard spot, Turner is a crafty player, able to get to the basket despite lacking an explosive first step. His shooting numbers aren’t anything special, but he did show improvement as the season progressed last year. Defense is where Turner made his biggest mark last season, pulling down over 4 rebounds and swiping 1.3 steals per game. He has a good knack for anticipating where opponents will be moving and with his wingspan is able to deflect a lot of passes. The biggest thing to keep an eye on this year will be if he starts making the move over to the point guard spot. Turner struggled with turnovers last year, but with the departure of Jamar Butler, he will be expected to handle some of the floor general responsibilities.

7. Lee Cummard: 6’7”, Senior, Shooting Guard, BYU

It can be hard to make a name for yourself on the national scale when you call the Mountain West Conference home. Trent Plaisted did it last season, now it’s time for Lee Cummard to join him. The senior is one of the deadliest perimeter shooters in the country, connecting on 47.2% of his 127 attempts from beyond the arc last year. Only four players in the country who shot at least 100 three’s last season shot a higher percentage than Cummard did. His shooting form is absolutely text book and he is equally effective shooting from a standstill or off the dribble. Cummar’s good size for the 2-guard position makes it very easy for him to pull up and fire over other defenders. He is a good athlete, showing good open floor speed and explosiveness. He needs to improve his ball handling skills though in addition to getting a little stronger in his upper body.

8. LaceDarius Dunn: 6’4”, Sophomore, Shooting Guard, Baylor

Dunn flew under the radar last year playing behind a loaded Baylor backcourt that included the likes of Curtis Jerrells and Henry Dugat. After a season in which he was the third leading scorer per 40 minutes amongst all freshmen, expect Dunn to get more playing time this year. His frame may be a little undersized for the 2-guard spot from an NBA standpoint, but his solid strength allows him to be effective at the college level. The sophomore is a deadly shooter from the perimeter, connecting on 41.6% of his 5.7 three-point attempts per game. In addition to his long-range shooting prowess, Dunn is pretty effective from mid-range, able to knock down floaters with relative consistency when attacking the basket. His handles and athleticism aren’t spectacular, but on a guard-rich Bears team, he should be able to spot up beyond the arc and let the other guys do the rest.

9. Chris Johnson: 6’11”, Senior, Center, LSU

Johnson reminds one of last season’s lottery pick and former teammate Anthony Randolph. The senior possesses the exact same type of frame, 6’11”, is very thin and has a tremendous wingspan. A player like Johnson is a real roll of the dice for this type of list because he shows some amazing potential but at the same time has glaring weaknesses in his game. In one of his better games last season (19 points vs. Oklahoma State) he showed he can shoot from the outside (3-4 from beyond the arc) while also being able to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket. A player as tall and as athletic as Johnson, with that combination of developing skills, particularly in a conference like the SEC, is an alluring prospect. But he still needs a lot of polishing, particularly in the consistency of his jumper. He severely needs to add weight and strength to his frame as well if he wants to improve on his 6.6 rebounds per game mark from a season ago.

10. Larry Sanders: 6’9”, Sophomore, Power Forward, Virginia Commonwealth

Sanders, like so many other players that are picked for these types of lists, is being added purely because of his potential; added stress on the word potential. At a rail thin 6’9”, but possessing a wing span reportedly in excess of 7 ½ feet, Sanders is a shot blocking machine. He was tops in the nation last year with 7.2 blocks per 40 minutes. In all, the sophomore averaged nearly 12 points and 9 rebounds at an adjusted pace to go along with his out of this world shot blocking rate. The downside to Sanders is he is about as raw as they come. Despite his size and length he couldn’t even dunk a basketball consistently at the beginning of last season and his shot attempts are exclusively off of open looks around the rim and offensive rebounds. His footwork in the post is poor and he isn’t comfortable playing with his back to the basket yet. With all of that said though, Sanders has the potential and has shown the ability (14 points, 15 rebounds in CAA Tournament vs. Towson) to become an absolutely dominating force in the CAA.

2008-09 VCU Basketball Preview: #48

Joel Welser — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:18:57 -0700

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VCU Rams

Overall Rank: #48

Conference Rank: #1 Colonial

2007-08: 24-8, 15-3, 1^st

2007-08 postseason: NIT

As long as VCU has reigning conference Player of the Year Eric Maynor, they will be a force in the Colonial Athletic Association. The 6-3 point guard averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals last season and led his team to a 15-3 conference record. The Rams, who were three games better than any CAA opponent, stumbled in the conference tournament, but they have enough weapons to repeat last year’s success and make it to the NCAA Tournament. In fact, led by Maynor, they might not even have to win the conference tournament to get a bid to the big dance.

Who’s Out:

However, there are holes that need to be filled. Jamal Shuler was easily the team’s best outside shooter and knocked down 41.3 percent of his attempts. His 15.5 points per game was the only other double-figure average on the team besides Maynor. The Rams have to find a shooter or two in the backcourt to replace him. The frontcourt has a couple big losses of their own in Michael Anderson and Wil Fameni. Anderson was the big man who could stretch out the defense with his outside shooting ability and Fameni did the dirty work under the basket.

Who’s In:

Bradford Burgess will help replace Shuler. Burgess will not single-handedly be as productive as Shuler from beyond the arc, but the 6-5 guard can hit the outside shot. He will also use his size to get the basket effectively and can score a lot of points in a hurry. Terrance Saintil and walk-on David Hinton are the newcomers in the frontcourt. At 6-8 and 230 pounds, Saintil is a good athlete who has the strength to battle in the paint. He has some work to do as a defender and rebounder, but at VCU he will have the time to grow into his role. In a year or two, the Opa Locka, Florida product could be a special player.

Who to Watch:

For now, the Rams really do not need any more depth in the frontcourt, even with the loss of two key contributors. And it all starts with sophomore Larry Sanders. The 6-10, 220 pounder only started half of the team’s games and averaged less than 17 minutes per contest, but the Virginia Commonwealth faithful have good reason to be excited about his future. He has room to improve in the scoring department, but Sanders led the team with 5.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per contest. Going up against Sanders when he is standing under the basket is an intimidating thing for any opponent. The Rams win games with defense and it all starts with Sanders. Lance Kearse averaged less than ten minutes per game as a freshman, yet he has a ton of potential. He is the likely candidate to replace Anderson since he can hit the outside shot and stretch the defense. T.J. Gwynn is the most experienced option. Even though he is just 6-4, he is strong enough to play power forward. Junior Kirill Pishchalnikov adds some toughness to the team and Franck Ndongo, at 6-7, can give the team plenty of size at the small forward spot.

Final Projection:

The emergence of the frontcourt is important, but the most important question heading into the 2008-2009 campaign is who replaces Shuler. Outside of Maynor, no returning player on the roster averaged over five shots per game. Those shots have to go somewhere and Joey Rodriguez, Brandon Rozzell and Ed Nixon hope to answer the call. Rodriguez started 18 games a year ago, but it is his defense that keeps him on the floor, not his inconsistent outside shooting. Rozzell is a good shooter and he showed a lot of potential during his limited action as a freshman. If he can turn his successful February and March into consistency that lasts an entire season, Rozzell will be the answer and could be the other double-digit scorer that the team needs to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Eric Maynor, Senior, Guard, 17.9 ppg, 5.5 apg

Joey Rodriguez, Sophomore, Guard, 5.1 ppg, 2.5 apg

T.J. Gwynn, Junior, Forward, 3.4 ppg

Lance Kearse, Sophomore, Forward, 3.9 ppg

Larry Sanders, Sophomore, Forwar, 4.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Poll: Who is the Best Team in the BracketBuster Pool?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:47:46 -0700

Lots of changes at Marist...and some other Northeast news

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:41:33 -0700

Well, today marks the beginning of the Spring Signing Period, and many fans are awaiting the decision of guard Tyreke Evans. The explosive prerimeter player is said to be leaning in the direction of Memphis, and that's who I'd expect him to sign with due to the departure of Derrick Rose. But the school with the most going on in recent days has to be Marist, who will any day be gaining a head coach, but they've already lost two players. - Memphis assistant Jose "Chucky" Martin to be named Marist head coach. Many services have reported that the official announcement is coming any day now. Martin, a native of New York City, has many ties to the area due to both his playing at St. Raymond's in the Bronx and assistant stints at Manhattan and St. John's. That's the good news for fans of the Red Foxes, who head into this critical portion of the offseason with a head coach in place. As for the bad... - Guard Jay Gavin is transferring to VCU. According to Phil Strum of the Poughkeepsie Journal, star freshman guard Jay Gavin will be leaving Marist at the end of the semester to attend Virginia Commonwealth. He'll have to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules, but with the coaching change the people most instrumental in getting him to Marist are now gone (the entire coaching staff went with Matt Brady to James Madison). And speaking of James Madison, former Marist verbal commitment Andrey Semenov will follow Brady and his staff to JMU. Coach Martin will have a lot of work to do in regards to filling out his roster for the upcoming season. - G Doug Wiggins has asked to be released from his scholarship in order to transfer. A couple of weeks ago head coach Jim Calhoun talked about some imminent changes that would be coming this offseason for his program. One domino has fallen apparently, that being East Hartford native Doug Wiggins. Some moves were expected in regards to playing time/off-court issues, and Wiggins certainly had to deal with the latter during his two years in Storrs. But the main thing for Wiggins is to find a place in which he'll see a lot of playing time over his final two seasons. - "Christmas in April" for Rutgers? Maybe. Reported on Monday by Stacey Davis of NYCHoops.net, there is the possibility of St. Benedict's Prep forward and Rutgers commit Greg Echinique accelerating his coursework in order to graduate in time to join the Scarlet Knights this fall. A member of the Class of 2009, sources have told Davis that Echinique has entered an accelerated program with hopes of getting this done. If it can happen, look out for RU next season. - Sources say that Travis Ford could be the new head coach at Oklahoma State any day now. According to ESPN.com, UMass head coach Travis Ford is expected to take the same position at Oklahoma State any day now, just about a week after turning down Providence and agreeing to a new deal to stay at UMass. He replaces Sean Sutton, who was let go after two seasons in Stillwater.

2008 NIT Capsule: VCU

Joel Welser — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:03:24 -0700

Virginia Commonwealth Rams

Colonial Athletic Association (24-7, 15-3)

Seed: #4

RPI: 52

Big Wins: 11/15 vs Houston (73-72), 12/2 vs Maryland (85-76), 2/23 at Akron (57-52)

Bad Losses: 11/29 at Hampton (55-64), 1/2 at James Madison (61-62), 3/9 vs William & Mary (54-56)

Coach: Anthony Grant

Probable Starters:

Eric Maynor, Junior, Guard, 17.8 ppg, 5.4 apg, 4.2 rpg

Jamal Shuler, Senior, Guard, 15.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.5 spg

Joey Rodriguez, Freshman, Guard, 5.1 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg

Michael Anderson, Senior, Forward, 7.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg

Wil Fameni, Senior, Forward, 4.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg

Key Roleplayers:

Ed Nixon, Freshman, Guard, 1.9 ppg

Brandon Rozzell, Freshman, Guard, 2.5 ppg

Larry Sanders, Freshman, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.0 bpg

T.J. Gwynn, Sophomore, Forward, 3.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Lance Kearse, Freshman, Forward, 3.5 ppg, 1.6 rpg

Kirill Pishchalnikov, Sophomore, Forward, 1.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg

Franck Ndongo, Sophomore, Forward, 1.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:

The backcourt is the strength of VCU and Eric Maynor makes it tick. The Junior exploded into a clutch point guard and a great team leader last season and has kept it up this year. Maynor averages 17.8 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Yet it is his 5.4 assists per contest that make him so dangerous. He does a great job of finding his teammates and making smart passes. Maynor is always a threat to drive to the basket and earns a team high 5.3 trips to the charity stripe per game. His outside shooting is solid, but he leaves the majority of long range shooting to backcourt mate Jamal Shuler.

Shuler hits 2.4 long balls per game and is really the team’s only other scoring threat. Shuler does a lot more than just shoot three’s. He is solid on the glass and can do plenty of scoring inside the arc. Freshmen Joey Rodriguez and Ed Nixon have split starts as the third guard. Neither are prolific scorers by any means, but they will help the team in other ways.

Why They Can Disappoint:

When the guards are at the free-throw line, all is well. But the forwards get there quite a bit too and that is not a good thing. Maynor, Shuler, Rodriguez and Nixon all shoot at least 70 percent from the charity stripe. Nobody else on the team eclipses that mark. The forwards also tend to lack in the rebounding department. VCU generally outrebounds the opposition, but a lot of that is due to the guards helping out. The system lends itself to a balanced rebounding effort, but some of the bigger guys like Wil Fameni could do a little more.

Who To Watch:

Fameni was a roleplayer at Arizona State as an underclassman and now is developing into a decent big man at VCU. The 6-7 senior will do a little bit of scoring under the basket, but has been relatively inconsistent this season. Michael Anderson starts by the side of Fameni and will do the dirty work under the basket. Listed at 6-7 and only 205 pounds, Anderson does not have the body to battle inside, but will hustle on the glass and is not a horrible shooter when he takes the opportunity. The player who has made the biggest splash on the frontcourt could be freshman Larry Sanders. At 6-9, he is the tallest player on the team and has shown the potential to be a decent scorer in the post. Yet, it is on the defensive end where Sanders shines. He blocks three shots per game and that has had a huge effect on the Rams defense. With his presence in the paint, VCU ranks in the top five in the nation in opponents field-goal percentage.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 67.1 (212^th in nation, 4^th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 58.1 (8, 1)

Field-Goal Percentage: 43.6 (193, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 37.8 (3, 1)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.4 (190, 4)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.4 (75, 1)

Free-Throw Percentage: 67.5 (221, 8)

Rebound Margin: 2.1 (106, 6)

Assists Per Game: 12.6 (212, 8)

Turnovers Per Game: 13.3 (92, 6)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Elite Eight loss to Mississippi

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2008 BracketBusters Schedule

Press Release — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:15:33 -0800

2008 O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters Television Matchups

Friday, Feb 22
Davidson at Winthrop
UCSB at Utah State

Saturday, Feb 23
Creighton at Oral Roberts
George Mason at Ohio
Kent State at St. Mary’s (Ca.)
Marist at Cleveland State
Miami at Valparaiso
Nevada at Southern Illinois
Rider at CS Northridge
Siena at Boise State
UWM at Bradley
Virginia Commonwealth at Akron

Sunday, Feb 24
Wright State at Illinois State

2008 O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters Non-Television Matchups
* Times to be Announced

Albany at Canisius
Ball State at Eastern Kentucky
Binghamton at Manhattan
Boston U at St. Peter's
Bowling Green at Detroit
Bucknell at Old Dominion
Cal Poly at Fresno State
UC Davis at Loyola MD
Delaware at Toledo
Evansville at Eastern Illinois
Fairfield at Drexel
Georgia Southern at Austin Peay
Georgia State at Jacksonville State
Hawaii at Riverside
High Point at Towson
Hofstra at Iona
Idaho at Irvine
Indiana State at Murray State
LBSU at New Mexico State
Loyola Ill at William & Mary
Morehead State at James Madison
Niagara at Appalachian State
Portland State at CS Fullerton
Samford at La Tech
San Jose State at Pacific
Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Michigan
Tennessee-Martin at Elon
Tennessee State at Northern Illinois
Tennessee Tech at ETSU
UIC at Northern Iowa
Vermont at UNCW
Western Michigan at UW-Green Bay
Wichita State at Holy Cross
Youngstown State at Buffalo

Games of the Night: VCU at George Mason

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:01:50 -0800

Games of the Night

A companion to our daily Three Stars of the Day, we present the top three Games of the Night.

VCU (15-4) at George Mason (14-6)

7:00 PM ESPN2

It's rare that a great mid-major game ends up on national television for just about everyone to see. Such is the case tonight where the two best teams in the CAA meet. VCU has won 7 straight, but GMU is unbeaten at home.. so someone's streak is coming to an end. Junior guard Dre Smith could be the key to Mason's chances.. he can be feast or famine at times, but famine won't cut it against Eric Maynor.

Prediction: VCU

Miami (15-4) at Wake Forest (12-6)

7:00 PM

Both teams enter this game with 2-3 ACC records, yet Miami is still in sight of the Top 25. A home win over Clemson perhaps saved Miami's tournament hopes, but now they face road games at Wake and Duke. Wake is not a pushover right now, and should be a slight favorite in Vegas by tip-off. James Johnson is an emerging talent for Wake, but the key could be whether point guard Ishmael Smith has one of his good nights or one of his bad. This could go either way.

Prediction: Wake Forest

#8 Tennessee (17-2) at Alabama (12-8)

9:00 PM ESPN

Before the season started, this might have looked like a key SEC battle. But another Ronald Steele injury and blow chances in close games has left Alabama with a mediocre overall record and a poor 1-4 SEC mark. This game scares me a bit, because as bad as Bama has been they have the talent to cause fits on a good night. Also, Tennessee lost their last road game, but Chris Lofton finally seems to be shooting his way out of a season-long slump.. which is a major positive.

Prediction: Tennessee

Previous Game of the Night (Predictions)

January 28th - Louisville at UCONN (1-2)

January 27th - Duke at Maryland (2-1)

January 26th - Georgetown at West Virginia (3-0)

January 24rd - Dayton at Xavier (2-1)

January 22nd - Akron at Kent State (2-1)

January 21st - Drake at Creighton (1-2)

January 20th - Texas at Oklahoma State (3-0)

January 19th - Marquette at UCONN (2-1)

January 18th - Illinois State at Drake (2-1)

January 17th - Vanderbilt at Tennessee (2-1)

January 14th - Georgetown at Pittsburgh (2-1)

January 12th - Stanford at Oregon (3-0)

January 9th - Rhode Island at Dayton (2-1)

January 8th - Florida at Alabama (2-1)

January 7th - Robert Morris at Boston College (1-2)

January 6th - North Carolina at Clemson (2-1)

January 5th - Western Kentucky at South Alabama (3-0)

January 4th - American at Brown (0-3)

January 3rd - UCLA at Stanford (3-0)

January 2nd - Houston at UMASS (2-1)

Picture of the Day: Eric Maynor vs GMU

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:30:17 -0800

Picture of the Day

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, we now have access to thousands of great college basketball photos to use on the site. Each day, CHN will feature a Picture of the Day, which might include a newsworthy, funny, or simply interesting subject. At the bottom will be a caption or headline that might be informative or amusing. The possibilities are endless!

Eric Maynor vs George Mason

Last year, Eric Maynor and the VCU Rams busted George Mason's tournament dreams in the CAA Championship. Tonight those teams meet up in Fairfax (7:00 ESPN2), where the Patriots hope to get a bit of revenge.

- Check out recent Pictures of the Day!