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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Today’s games

Saint Joseph's (8-2) vs. Virginia Tech (8-3)
Where: Barclays Center, N.Y.
When: 1:00 PM
Watch it: ESPN3
KenPom Prediction: Saint Joseph's, 76-75 (57%)

The Skinny: It's been more than a decade since St. Joe's won eight of its first 10 games, and that season turned out well for the Hawks--that was the year Jameer Nelson and Delonte West led them to the Elite 8. The program's best pro prospect since then, junior wing DeAndre Bembry (15.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 4.5 apg), leads a group that's become much deeper thanks to the improved play of Isaiah Miles (15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Aaron Brown (10.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and James Demery (9.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg). One of the youngest teams in the nation, Va. Tech has five underclassmen in the rotation; sophomore Justin Bibbs (13.7 ppg) is currently second in the nation in 3-point shooting (32-of-50, 64.0 percent). A pair of juniors, USF transfer Zach LeDay (15.4 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and Maryland transfer Seth Allen (13.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), lead the way.

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La Salle (4-4) vs. No. 13/16 Miami (Fl.) (9-1)
Where: The Palestra; Philadelphia, Pa.
When: 5:00 PM
Watch it: CBSSN
KenPom Prediction: Miami, 79-65 (90%)

The Skinny: Ja'Quan Newton makes his return to the Palestra for the first time since leading Neumann-Goretti to the 2014 Catholic League championship, the fourth time in four years that the PCL's all-time leading scorer lifted the trophy in the Cathedral of College Basketball. The 6-1 guard went from averaging 4.0 ppg as a freshman to now 11.9 ppg as a sophomore, and he'll be playing in a gym where he became known for putting up big numbers in big games time and time again. Newton's the third-leading scorer on the Hurricanes, behind 6-5 senior wing Sheldon McClellan (16.5 ppg) and point guard Angel Rodriguez (12.5 ppg). That trio of guards will go up against La Salle's own high-scoring backcourt, led by redshirt junior Jordan Price (24.6 ppg); it'll be the scoring of Cleon Roberts (11.9 ppg) and sophomore Johnnie Shuler (10.5 ppg) that will determine how much La Salle can stay in this game with a team that according to KenPom has the seventh-most efficient offense in the country.

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Villanova (8-2) vs. Delaware (5-4)
Where: The Pavilion; Villanova, Pa.
When: 7:00 PM
Watch it: Fox Sports 1
KenPom Prediction: Villanova, 78-57 (97%)

The Skinny: The Wildcats are licking their wounds a little bit after losing two of their last three games, though falling to No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 5 Virginia certainly isn't a big cause for concern at this point in the season. Now it's the unlucky Blue Hens who have to play in a gym where 'Nova has been downright dominant of late; no team has stayed within single digits at Villanova since Syracuse took them to overtime last December. Delaware's led by sophomore guard Kory Holden (17.8 ppg, 4.3 apg), who's got even more on his shoulders now that classmate Chivarsky Corbett (9.0 ppg) is out for the year (ACL). Villanova's multi-faceted attack, led by Josh Hart (14.7 ppg), will benefit heavily if junior wing/forward Kris Jenkins (11.8 ppg) has more outings like the 23 points he dropped in a losing effort to Virginia.

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Drexel (1-8) vs. Penn (5-5)
Where: Daskalakis Athletic Center; Philadelphia, Pa.
When: 7:00 PM
Watch it: DrexelDragons.com
KenPom Prediction: Drexel, 72-65 (73%)

The Skinny: Despite Drexel and Penn's proximity to one another--their campuses form opposite sides of Chestnut Street, and the two hoops gyms are less than four blocks apart--this will only be the second time ever that the Quakers make their way to the DAC to face the Dragons on their home turf. Both teams could really use the win: Penn hasn't beaten a Division I opponent since Nov. 25 (La Salle), losing their next four before downing D-III Ursinus (Pa.) by only seven on Saturday, while Drexel's only win this season came on Dec. 5--also against La Salle. To make matters worse for DU head coach Bruiser Flint, he's now without junior forward Rodney Williams (7.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg) for an unspecified length of time with a foot/ankle injury. While Flint deals with a seven-man rotation, Penn coach Steve Donahue is still mixing and matching his top 11 players to see who's clicking on any given night; against Ursinus, it was junior wing Matt Howard (10.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg) who erupted for a career night with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

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Lehigh (2-8) vs. Stony Brook (6-4)
Where: Stabler Arena; Bethlehem, Pa.
When: 7:00 PM
Watch it: Patriot League Network
KenPom Prediction: Stony Brook, 75-71 (66%)

The Skinny: The America East preseason favorites come to the Lehigh Valley to face the Patriot League preseason favorites, but so far only one of these programs has played like a team that was picked to win its conference. Led by senior forward Jameel Warney (19.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg), the Seawolves already have wins over Princeton and Hofstra under their belt, with no bad losses--Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky, Notre Dame and Northeastern, all on the road. Lehigh could really use the services of junior Tim Kempton (16.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg) for this one, but the Mountain Hawks' starting center has missed the last two games with an injury, and his return date is still unknown, though the injury wasn't expected to cost him too much time. Without Kempton, senior forwards Jesse Chuku (9.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Justin Goldsborough (4.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg) will need to clamp down on Warney without getting into foul trouble; otherwise, Lehigh coach Brett Reed won't be able to do much without any other bigs on the roster.

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Penn State (8-3) @ Colorado (10-1)
Where: Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.)
When: 10:30 PM
Watch it: N/A
KenPom Prediction: Colorado, 71-65 (74%)

The Skinny: The Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic gets underway with Southern Methodist and Kent State at 8 PM EST, and then the Nittany Lions and Buffaloes will face off with the winners and losers facing off on Wednesday night. Colorado enters winners of 10 straight after beating Hampton by 42 on Saturday at home, but it has wins over Auburn and BYU under its belt as well. Penn State's won six of seven entering play in Vegas, though Pat Chambers' squad is still 0-2 against teams in the top 150 of KenPom's rankings (Colorado is 44). The Buffaloes run through 6-10 senior Josh Scott, averaging 19.0 ppg and 9.3 rpg, but they're no slouches from outside either, making 40.0 percent of their 3-point shots against D-I competition.

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