5 Under-the-Radar Games to Watch in College Basketball’s Opening Week

Everyone knows about the heavyweight showdowns, but the true junkies need more to nosh on.

Check out our list below for five under-the-radar games to monitor next week in college basketball.

In no particular order:

UNC Asheville at Michigan (Tuesday)

This is a scary opener for the Wolverines, who will be coached by Phil Martelli until Juwan Howard returns to full strength after heart surgery. Do-everything forward Drew Pember is the focal point for this UNC Asheville team, who won the Big South last season and earned a 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-11 Pember — who started his college career at Tennessee — averaged 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds last season.

Stony Brook at St. John’s (Tuesday)

This game may not look like much on paper, but it will be the first time that Rick Pitino roams the sideline as the head coach of the Red Storm. Fans of this program haven’t had much to be optimistic about over the past two decades, but that changed the moment that St. John’s hired Pitino. The Red Storm have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000.

New Mexico at Saint Mary’s (Thursday)

Two of the best non-power conference teams in the sport will trade blows in Moraga for the second consecutive season. New Mexico was good enough to beat Saint Mary’s on its home floor a year ago, and doing it again would go a long way as the Lobos aim to put together an at-large resume for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. New Mexico hasn’t heard its name called on Selection Sunday since 2014.

Northern Kentucky at Washington (Thursday)

The Huskies have a tricky opening week, which includes this home matchup against the team that was picked to win the Horizon League. The Norse return two double-figure scorers — Marques Warrick and Sam Vinson — from last season’s team that won 22 games and reached the NCAA Tournament. This game is the equivalent of Washington hosting a really good 13 or 14 seed on the fourth day of the regular season.

Florida vs. Virginia (Friday, Charlotte)

Todd Golden led San Francisco to a win over Virginia during the 2020-21 season when he was the head coach of the Dons, and now he’ll try to do the same with the Gators. This neutral-site clash will be the first showcase game of 2023-24 for Florida sophomore Riley Kugel, who averaged 17.3 points during the final 10 games of last season as a freshman.

Looking for NCAA basketball odds? Check out all of the college basketball odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Jon Rothstein is not a FanDuel employee. The reporting of Rothstein is not subject to FanDuel’s verification and does not represent the views or input of FanDuel. Betting based on Rothstein’s reporting will not guarantee a successful outcome. Always do your own due diligence and use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.

Rothstein has been a college basketball insider for CBS Sports since 2010 and a contributor to the CBS Broadcast Network since 2016. He joined FanDuel in 2022 as a Content Creator. Rothstein is also the host of the College Hoops Today Podcast via Compass Media Networks.

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