Throughout the season, Heat Check CBB is providing daily coverage of college basketball scores, schedule, bracketology, highlights, best bets and much more.
What a ridiculous night it was in the world of college basketball on Thursday.
Entering what appeared to be a quiet night in the sport, Maryland and George Washington had an NBA Jam-like performance which the Terps just narrowly escaped, and then UC Riverside and San Jose State brought the madness with two stunning buzzer-beaters. More on that and everything else you need to know in our Daily Primer below.
—DPI Forecast: Predictions for every game
—Rauf Report: Duke’s defense, OSU’s red flag, more
—Mid-Major Top 25 rankings: Ohio climbs
College basketball scores, schedule
Top 25 matchups. All times Eastern.
| Thursday’s Top 25 scores | Friday’s Top 25 schedule |
|---|---|
| No. 21 Maryland 71, George Washington 64 | Army at No. 9 Duke (7 p.m.; ACCN) |
| Robert Morris at No. 10 Kentucky (7 p.m.; SECN) | |
| Niagara at No. 17 Ohio State (7 p.m.) | |
| Radford at No. 25 Virginia (7 p.m.;ESPN+) | |
| Tarleton at No. 3 Kansas (8 p.m.; ESPN+) | |
| South Dakota State at No. 14 Alabama (8 p.m.; ESPN+) | |
| Rice at No. 15 Houston (8 p.m.; ESPN+) | |
| UL Monroe at No. 22 Auburn (8 p.m.; ESPN+) | |
| Indiana State at No. 7 Purdue (8:30 p.m.; BTN) | |
| Incarnate Word at No. 8 Baylor (8:30 p.m.; ESPN+) | |
| Arkansas State at No. 11 Illinois (9 p.m.) | |
| Brown at No. 19 North Carolina (9 p.m.; ACCN) | |
| SMU at No. 13 Oregon (11 p.m.; P12N) | |
| No. 4 Villanova at No. 2 UCLA (11:30 p.m.; ESPN2) |
Thursday’s college basketball highlights
Thursday’s Disaster Index
Despite a 2-0 start, Creighton has looked far from a team that can compete in the Big East this season. After losing Marcus Zegarowski and other key contributors in the offseason, the Bluejays have a brand-new rotation that has produced questionable results through 80 minutes.
Creighton opened against Arkansas Pine Bluff, which went 4-21 and finished 351st in KenPom last season. The Bluejays trailed 27-11 out of the gate and 47-38 at the break before a second-half surge. Then, on Thursday night, Creighton trailed Kennesaw State 24-22 at the intermission, a program that hasn’t finished top 330 in KenPom since 2018. Greg McDermott’s team mustered 51 points in the win.
Friday’s Bracketology Watch
It doesn’t get much bigger than Villanova vs. UCLA. An early top-5 matchup will set the tone for the rest of nonconference play and provide a monster opportunity for an elite win in the season’s first week. Neither team was a top-4 NCAA Tournament seed last year and both have their eyes set on a national title in 2022. Resume-boosting win opportunities like Friday night don’t come around often.
Friday’s college basketball TV schedule
—DPI Forecast: Predictions for every game
Friday’s college basketball best bets
Betting odds courtesy of FanDuel.
Wager: $10.00
To Win: $49.82
Season ROI: 0.0% ($30.00 wagered for $0.00 earned)
UC Davis vs. Eastern Washington (5 p.m. ET; ESPN+)
—MONEYLINE; -315: UC Davis makes its home opener after stunning Utah State in Logan on Tuesday. The Aggies should be able to sneak out a win.
North Dakota State at Cal Poly (5 p.m. ET; ESPN+)
—MONEYLINE; -360: NDSU’s high-flying offense should be way too much for the Cal Poly defense to handle, which ranked 253rd in adjusted efficiency last season.
Bryant at Rhode Island (6 p.m. ET; ESPN+)
—SPREAD; +8.5: Bryant is underrated nationally because of its conference affiliation, but don’t sleep on Jared Grasso’s talented team.
Radford at Virginia (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+)
—SPREAD; +17.5: Virginia was dreadful in its season opener, going eight minutes without a basket down the stretch before falling to Navy. Its defense has holes as well.
You must be logged in to post a comment.