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 match-ups.

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 as reliable:

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Yesterday’s results

St. Joseph’s 80, Columbia 78
--Quick report
--Ndao's return helps St. Joe's win on the road

Central Bucks West 54, Spring-Ford 42
Central Bucks South 67, Pottstown 40
--PAC-10/SOL Challenge Recap

Cheltenham 58, Central 30
--Pitts' impactful debut helps Cheltenham past Central

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Today’s games

Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2) vs. Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-2)
When: 12 p.m.
Where: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pa.
Watch: Big Ten Network
KenPom prediction: 67-65, Penn State (61%)

The Skinny: The Lions are coming off their best win of the young season, downing Boston College, 67-58, on Wednesday night. Shep Garner (Roman Catholic) went off for a career-best 30 points in the win, knocking down eight 3-pointers. Penn State also got nine points off the bench from big man Jordan Dickerson, who lost his starting spot to Julian Moore. Saturday presents a good opportunity for the Lions to get their third straight win before traveling to George Washington next week.

Temple Owls (3-3) at Wisconsin Badgers (5-3)
When: 12:30 p.m.
Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wisc.
Watch: CBS
KenPom prediction: 67-60, Wisconsin (80%)

The Skinny: It’s another early season opportunity for Temple to notch a resume-boosting victory. We broke down the keys for the Owls here.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks (0-7) vs. Rochester College Warriors (8-0)
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem, Pa.
Watch: N/A
KenPom prediction: N/A

The Skinny: Lehigh is 0-7. If that doesn’t change Saturday, then the Mountain Hawks are really in trouble. Rochester is an NAIA school from Michigan, and this game gives the Hawks a chance to finally leave the court in a winning fashion this season. It also can be an opportunity for Brett Reed to iron out other issues which have plagued his squad in the season’s first three weeks.

Lafayette Leopards (2-5) at Cornell Big Red (4-4)
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Newman Arena, Ithaca, N.Y.
Watch: Ivy League Digital Network
KenPom prediction: 81-78, Cornell (60%)

The Skinny: The Leopards were unable to build off a win over Penn as they fell to St. Francis (NY) on Wednesday. Lafayette shot 45.2 percent in the loss, but went just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc. The Leopards are 9-for-38 on 3-pointers in their last two games, and that will likely need to change if their going to return from Ithaca victorious. Cornell is coming off a one-point win against Siena which featured a 31-20 run to close the game.

La Salle Explorers (4-2) vs. Drexel Dragons (0-6)
When: 2 p.m.
Where: Tom Gola Arena, Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch: N/A
KenPom prediction: 75-67, La Salle (78%)

The Skinny: Drexel has had a week off since falling to 0-6, and the Dragons lost all three games they played in the Great Alaska Shootout last week. It’s been a rough start for Brusier Flint’s team, but Drexel has kept it relatively close in five of the six losses. La Salle, meanwhile, is also coming off a loss, but one against the CAA favorite in Hofstra. Jordan Price scored 37 points in the defeat, and the junior is second in the country in scoring with 27 points per game.

Penn Quakers (4-3) vs. George Mason Patriots (3-5)
When: 6 p.m.
Where: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va.
Watch: N/A
KenPom prediction: 71-64, George Mason (74%)

The Skinny: Penn enters the game coming off a loss to Navy in which the Quakers had a sloppy first half and allowed 18 points off turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Penn beat Delaware State away from the Palestra this season, but the Quakers have fallen on the road to Washington and Lafayette, allowing an average of 98 points in those defeats. Led by first-year coach Dave Paulsen (formerly of Bucknell), George Mason has wins this season against Oklahoma State and Mississippi.