Top Opening Weekend Games
Nov 12th
Morehead State at Kentucky - Tom Hodges takes the reigns as the youngest head coach in Division I women’s basketball with one of the top mid majors in the country Chyna Bozeman. Kentucky is coming off a big elite 8 appearance last year and now is trying to repeat the success of last year. McDonald’s All American point guard Jennifer O’Neil will make her debut for the Wildcats likely starting in place of out-for-the-season Amber Smith. Matthew Mitchell was the head coach at Morehead State prior to coming to Kentucky. The Pick: Kentucky by 15
St. John’s vs. Marist - St. John’s is looking to repeat on the successes of last year retuning Shekinna Smith, Marist has been one of the top mid majors in the country for the last several season which makes this match up of athleticism versus system play all the more interesting. The Pick: St John’s by 8
Ohio State vs. Temple - Another game of a solid mid versus Goliath, Ohio State is the early favorite to win the Big 10 lets see how Temple stacks up to the challenge of the Buckeyes. The Pick: Ohio State by 12
Georgia State at Georgia Tech - Sharon Baldwin Tenor a Atlanta native makes her return to the metro area facing off with top 25 Georgia Tech and while this game may not be the most competitive the addition of football at Georgia State makes them a program which could make the leap in to the BCS if the situation is right in the next 10 years. The Pick: Georgia Tech by 19
Missouri at Memphis - The coach who got the Missouri job versus the coach rumored to be heavily involved in it. At Illinois State that staff did a great job coaching those kids up and while they may not have the talent right now they play a Memphis team who’s atop conference USA to start the year. The Pick: Memphis by 6
Xavier at South Carolina - While 8 months ago this looked like a mammoth of a game Kelsey Bone vs. Xavier front line, it looks a little more one sided now but South Carolina is rumored to have had a good pre-season and if there is one thing Dawn Staley can do is get a lot out of a little. Kevin McGuff and Xavier have a brutal non-conference schedule this year which starts tomorrow in Columbia. The Pick: Xavier by 9
East Tennessee at Chattanooga - While no one really knows either program too well except for Wes Moore was that guy who took the ECU job then went back, Chattanooga and ETSU have both won the last few conference championships in their respective conferences. ETSU lost all conference players Siarra Evans and Taronda Wiles and Chattanooga lost a fair amount of their team as well. Chattanooga got beat pretty good last year it’ll be interesting to see the result of the this game this year to kick off the season. The Pick: Chattanooga by 7
Tennessee vs. Louisville - The resurgence of Tennessee versus the resurgence of Louisville…if Louisville is competitive then it is good news for them … it will be fun to see freshman Shoni Schimmel take the floor for the first time for the Cardinals. The Pick: Tennessee by 11
Seton Hall vs. Florida Gulf Coast - Seton Hall and Anne Donovan take a team picked pretty low in the Big East down to play the upset giant Karl Smesko and Florida Gulf Coast who’s won as many games in the last 10 years as any program in the country. The Pick: Florida Gulf Coast by 8
Rutgers at Cal - A big early season game for both teams to see where they are at both have had strong recruiting classes but havnt translated that into post season success yet we will see where they are at quick! The Pick: Cal by 4
Illinois vs. Illinois State - State turned over this year and Illinois has gotten a ton of talent but yet to translate that to the wins and losses column a very important game for the Illini … The Pick Illinois by 8
UCLA at San Diego State - One of the best mid majors in the West takes on the Lady Vol of the West in UCLA. UCLA has been building for 2 years to keep progressing they’ll need to go on the road and get a W. The Pick: UCLA by 3
Upset Alert: Florida A&M at Arkansas - Last year FAMU knocked off Florida and South Florida the first week of the year lets see if Arkansas can not repeat that.
Nov 13th
Central Florida at Florida - Former Florida assistant Joi Williams returns to Gainesville for the pre-season NIT, after a down year for UCF Williams wants to prove the Knights can compete if they get a chance to play in a BCS conference in the near future. On the flip side there is a lot of pressure in Gainesville for the Gators who were picked last in the SEC pre season. The Pick: Central Florida by 4
Nov 14th
South Florida at Middle Tennessee - After winning the NIT in 2009 and making the NIT last year the Bulls have beefed up their schedule and head to Murfreesboro to play against the back to back defending Sun Belt Champs. Both teams have had significant roster changes where Middle lost Alysha Clark the nations leading scorer to graduation. Look for Andrea Smith 5-8 G who transferred in from Gulf Coast Community College one of the top newcomers in the Big East this season, last year she was National Junior College Player of the Year. South Florida also gets 6-1 W Daleisha Carn returning to action since transferring from Alabama. Middle Tennessee has had strong outings from Kentucky freshman Ebony Rowe who notched 20 points in their last pre season game. One thing for sure there will be a big crowd and a lot of points scored. The Pick: Pick Em’
Georgia Tech at Old Dominion - A solid RPI game for both teams, Georgia Tech is rather underrated in my opinion look for them to take it by double figures against Georgia native Tia Lewis and ODU. The Pick : GA Tech by 11
LSU at Northwestern - A new backcourt with Allison Hightower gone but LSU is still loaded with athletic talent. Northwestern has continued to improve and could be a player in the Big 10 later in the year but I am not sure they have enough to take out Van Chancellor and the Tigers this early. The Pick: LSU by 9
Rutgers versus Stanford - Doesn’t get any easier for C Viv on the left coast as they play #3 Stanford. I look for Stanford to score a lot against a good defensive team in Rutgers. Point guard play is a question for the Cardinals but they should over come it in this match up. The Pick: Stanford by 17
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