NO. 18 MICHIGAN @ NO. 8 VILLANOVA (Wednesday, November 14 at 6:30 PM EST on FS1)
Does this matchup look familiar? Yep, it’s a rematch from last year’s National Championship, which found Villanova on top 79-62. The two will be squaring off on Wednesday, prepping to be the best game to watch this week.
The defending champions return seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth, aiming to be the leaders on the court for the Wildcats. Paschall is the teams top returning scorer, boasting a modest 10.6 points per game in his junior season. Both Booth and Paschall will have to step up this year on a team that lost four double figure average scorers, including three starters. Villanova also has a senior transfer, Joe Cremo, who averaged 17.9 points per game last season with Albany. The team was third in the nation in three-point field goals during their championship season, and will look to continue shooting the deep ball.
The Wolverines are looking for revenge as they face Villanova, especially returning starters Charles Matthews and Zavier Simpson. Matthews has shown to be a great scoring threat, averaging 13.0 points per contest last year. Simpson averaged just 7.3ppg, and averaged almost four assists per game. With a relatively young team, freshmen Brandon Johns, Ignas Brazdeikis and Colin Castleton will have to step up and provide depth for the Wolverines in order to beat Villanova.
NO. 24 MARQUETTE @ INDIANA (Wednesday, November 14th at 8:30 PM EST on FS1)
Indiana will host Marquette in Bloomington this Wednesday, kicking off the 2018 Gavitt Tipoff Games. This will be the tenth matchup between the two teams, with Indiana leading the series 7-2.
Juwan Morgan, senior for the Hoosiers, has the task of leading the team this year. After deciding not to enter the NBA draft, Morgan has returned to a team that he led in scoring last year with 16.5 points per game, and adding a team high 7.4 rebounds per game. His senior presence will be vital for the Hoosiers as they try to defeat the highly talented offensive Marquette.
While Marquette is missing their leading scorer from last season, Andrew Rowsey, they return Markus Howard, who will look to improve upon his 14.1 point per game average. Howard drilled 40 percent of his three-point attempts last season over 275 shots, and also tallied an average of 5.7 rebounds per game. The Golden Eagles were ranked fifth in the nation last year in three-pointers per game and third in three-point percentage, so shooting beyond the arc will be critical in order to beat the Hoosiers.
NO. 13 OREGON VS IOWA (Thursday, November 15th 9:15 PM EST on ESPN2)
This Thursday, the Hawkeyes will meet Oregon in a contest at Madison Square Garden.
The Ducks, moving from No. 14 up to 13, will look to extend their record to 3-0 after easy defeats of Portland State and Eastern Washington. Payton Pritchard, making the All-Pac-12 Second Team last year as a sophomore, is their only rotational player remaining from last season. Pritchard averaged 14.5 points, while adding 4.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. For the Ducks to succeed this season and beat Iowa, he’ll have to continue to lead the team. Both of Oregon’s centers from their Final Four team return, Paul White and Kenny Wooten, but have to split time with Bol Bol, the 7’3’’ monster freshmen. Bol Bol has two double-doubles this year in as many games, and will try to record his third in a row Thursday.
The Hawkeyes are more than capable of upsetting the Ducks, returning two freshmen who were members of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season. Tyler Cook ranked second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points, and Jordan Bohannon added 10.9 points a contest as well. Bohannan will look to shoot the long ball against Oregon, shooting an outstanding 41.6% as a freshman. If these two sophomores can effectively lead the team, then the Hawkeyes have a good chance of stunning Oregon in New York City.
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