Vanderbilt won 98-67 at Wake Forest last December, and Isaac Carr, who scored two points in that game, is the only Demon Deacon who played in it and is still on the roster. Wake Forest’s four returning players scored 63 of its 2,759 points last season. Vanderbilt kept more: Tyler Tanner, the junior guard who led the Commodores at 19.5 points a game, is one of three players back, and he scored 20 in Monday’s 93-47 win over Bellarmine. The Commodores shot 33-of-55 in that game, made 20 of 25 free throws and forced 23 turnovers, 12 of them on steals. Wake Forest beat Maryland Eastern Shore 83-62 the same night and let one guard, Bobby Gardner, score 30. Tanner now faces that same perimeter defense, and a Wake Forest roster this new has to hold onto the ball on the road against Vanderbilt’s pressure, so Vanderbilt wins.
Seton Hall held Saint Peter’s to 13-of-50 shooting on Monday and won 66-42. Long Island won 24 games and reached the NCAA Tournament last season, and the two players from that team still on this roster scored 10 of its 2,577 points. The rebuilt Sharks lost their opener 74-60 at Florida Atlantic, making 4 of 20 three-point attempts and turning it over 16 times. Elijah Fisher, one of two Pirates back from last season, started against Saint Peter’s, and Roddie Anderson led Seton Hall with 15 points. Long Island needs outside shooting to stay close against a defense that held its first opponent to 26%, and the Sharks hit 20% from three in their opener, so Seton Hall takes it.
Pittsburgh went 13-20 last season, and Macari Moore is the only player back from that team who appeared in a game. The rebuilt Panthers made 14 of 26 three-point attempts against Rider on Monday and won 95-57, with five players in double figures and Chase Foster scoring 23 off the bench. I had Marshall against Buffalo the same night, and it won 92-65. Buffalo made 5 of 27 from three in that game, and Antoine Lorick III and Drew Steffe scored 47 of its 65 points. Buffalo needs a shooting night on the road against a team that just made more than half its threes, and this game goes to Pittsburgh.
Fordham lost 95-65 at Kansas on Monday. Akira Jacobs scored 20 in that game, and the Rams made 13 of 33 three-point attempts. Fordham has seven players back who appeared for last season’s 17-15 team, more than any other team on this ticket, including Rikus Schulte and Jacobs, and they scored 46% of its points. That team outscored opponents by 4.4 points a game. Stonehill went 12-21 and was outscored by 2.2 a game, and the five players back from that team scored 10% of its points. The Skyhawks’ only game this season was an 84-56 win over Curry, a Division III school, in which they made 8 of 30 from three. A team that shot that poorly against a Division III defense does not keep pace on the road with a Fordham lineup that has played together, which makes Fordham the winner.
Northern Illinois went 9-22 last season and hired Matt Majkrzak from Division II Northern Michigan in March. No player who appeared in a game for that team is on this roster. The new Huskies lost 89-87 at Grambling in their opener, and Grambling shot 32-of-50 against them. Tulsa went 30-8 and reached the NIT final last season. Four players from that team are back, with 16% of its points, led by Jaylen Lawal, who scored 17 in a 98-50 opener over Ottawa, an NAIA school, as Tulsa made 19 of 40 threes. A defense that let a Southwestern Athletic Conference team make 64% of its shots now faces a Tulsa team that took 40 threes in its opener, and Tulsa wins this game.
Loyola Chicago went 9-24 last season, and Xavier Amos and Nic Anderson are the only Ramblers back who played on that team. The rebuilt group held The Citadel to 16-of-47 shooting on Monday, forced 19 turnovers and won 77-52, with Dayan Nessah scoring 19 and Jason Schofield grabbing 12 rebounds. West Georgia lost 75-58 at DePaul the same night after shooting 23-of-69 and attempting seven free throws. The Wolves went 15-17 last season and allowed 79.6 points a game, and five players from that team are back. A road offense that shot 33% and rarely got to the line at DePaul will not score enough against a defense that just held The Citadel to 34%, so Loyola Chicago gets the win at home tonight.
Combine Vanderbilt (-1567 moneyline), Seton Hall (-1900 moneyline), Pittsburgh (-2400 moneyline), Fordham (-2400 moneyline), Tulsa (-1329 moneyline), and Loyola Chicago (-2400 moneyline) into one six-team parlay at -300.
