City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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Every day during the season on which there are games featuring the 10 Division I teams that CoBL features, we’ll have a Tipping Off running bright and early, letting you know everything you need to know about the matchups.

As always, we’ll start with a wrap of the previous day’s action, followed by a look at the complete slate; as always, thanks to KenPom’s awesome site for his predictions--though keep in mind this early in the season, his predictions aren’t quite as reliable:

Last night’s results

Monmouth 82, Drexel 74
- Quick report
- Frustration builds as Drexel loses third straight

Florida 74, St. Joseph’s 63
- Quick report

Washington 104, Penn 67
- Quick report

NJIT 80, Lafayette 66
- Quick report

Today’s games

St. Joe’s Hawks (3-1) vs. Old Dominion Monarchs (3-1)
When: Noon
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.
Watch: ESPN3
KenPom Prediction: 66-65, St. Joe’s (52%)

The Skinny: The Hawks will look to leave Connecticut with at least one victory as their effort against Florida came up short Saturday. St. Joe’s went just 3-for-18 from beyond the 3-point arc in the 74-63 loss to the Gators, but there were bright spots in the form of James Demery and Isaiah Miles, who had a combined 33 points. Old Dominion – which has mutual wins against Niagara and Buffalo – was limited to just 39 points against Purdue and made just 14 field goals.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (0-3) vs. Columbia Lions (1-2)
When: 4 p.m.
Where: Levien Gymnasium, New York, NY
Watch: N/A
KenPom Prediction: 74-68, Columbia (71%)

The Skinny: Lehigh is still in search of its first win after a tough opening week, and it’s going to have to earn it in the Big Apple against a strong Columbia team. The Mountain Hawks lost earlier in the week to another team picked high in the Ivy League, Yale, and the Lions are no slouch. Columbia’s Maodo Lo is one of the top players in the Ivy League, but has been relatively quiet to start the season. Lehigh coach Brett Reed said he wants his team to start showing more personality, and a road win could certainly help build it.

Temple Owls (1-2) vs. No. 16 Utah Utes (3-1)
When: 4:30 p.m.
Where: Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, PR
Watch: ESPNU
KenPom Prediction: 71-67, Utah (67%)

The Skinny: Temple will see its second ranked opponent in as many games, and the Owls have another chance for a quality win before leaving Puerto Rico. The Utes, who we picked as the tournament favorite, sustained their first loss of the season on Friday to Miami. The Canes shot well (53.4 percent), especially from distance (9-for-17) and outrebounded Utah, 34-25. Quality outside shooting and rebounding could be a way for Temple to upset Utah, but the Owls did not do either particularly well in their Friday loss to Butler.

Villanova Wildcats (3-0) vs. Akron Zips (3-0)
When: 4:30 p.m.
Where: The Pavilion, Villanova, Pa.
Watch: Fox Sports 1
KenPom Prediction: 77-64, Villanova (89%)

The Skinny: The fourth straight home game against a lesser opponent to open the season, Sunday should not present too much trouble for the Wildcats. Daniel Ochefu has posted double-doubles in each game so far this season, and the team’s defense has looked solid for the most part. After the date with the Zips, though, Villanova’s schedule goes: Stanford, Georgia Tech/Arkansas, St. Joe’s, Oklahoma, La Salle and Virginia.