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| Furman is 1-4 all-time vs. Auburn |
With summer well past its midway point and college football about three weeks away from kickoff, college basketball non-conference and conference schedules are starting to be released, and as you might expect, it has captured the attention of college basketball fans all over the country.
With the Southern Conference having captured the attention of the nation with some big upsets, I thought it would be fun to take a look at 10 non-conference matchups that could be intriguing this season. The countdown is in order of intrigue, as well as potential upset.
The ten matchups I take a look at are against all against power five conferences, and with all the schedules still being put together, here are some of the matchups I know of.
10. Wofford at Duke (Dec. 19)—Just before the start of Southern Conference play, Wofford will get a crack at one of the big boys on Tobacco Road, traveling to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Duke Blue Devils a few days before Christmas. It will mark just the second all-time meeting between the Terriers and Blue Devils, with the only other clash between the two coming almost five years ago to the day to when the two will meet in 2019. In that New Years Eve meeting back in 2014, the Terriers were soundly defeated, 84-55.
The Blue Devils will just reload, and despite losing Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett, the Blue Devils will be among the teams favored to cut down the nets next spring. The Blue Devils have another star-riddled with more five-star recruits for the 2019-20 season, including the likes of arguably the top big man coming into college hoops once again, in 6-10, 270-lb center Vernon Carey.
The Blue Devils also welcome in Cassius Stanley, who is a 6-6, athletic guard that will present the Terriers with several matchup issues. He averaged 15.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.3 SPG during his senior season at Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles, CA.
Probability of Upset: 5%
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| North Carolina avenged its 2017 loss at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium |
9. Wofford at North Carolina (Dec. 15)—Just before heading up the road to play Duke at Cameron, first-year head coach Jay McAuley will take his Terriers to Carmichael Arena to face the North Carolina Tar Heels. It will mark the third-straight season that the two will meet on the college basketball hardwood, with the two having split the past two meetings. One of the neater things about this particular matchup is the fact that it will be played in an arena that has been a part of so much Tar Heel basketball history, and it will mark North Carolina’s first game inside Carmichael since 1986.
Last season, the Tar Heels avenged a shocking 79-75 loss less than a year earlier, handing the Terriers a 78-67 setback in the home opener last season. It turn out to be the only game the Terriers would lose all season en route to the SoCon’s first 30-win team since 1954-55. It will mark just the fourth all-time meting between the two programs, with North Carolina holding the 2-1 series edge. The first-ever meeting between came back in 2015, when North Carolina came away with a 78-58 win over the Terriers in a mid-November clash. The one really neat
Like Duke, Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams will reload, despite losing guards Nasir Little, Cam Johnson, Coby White and forward Luke Maye to either graduation or to the early enrollees into the NBA Draft. The one newcomer for the Tar Heels to keep an eye on is Day’Ron Sharpe—a 6-10, 246-lb center from Winterville, N.C., and is ranked the 22nd best recruit in the nation and fifth-best center in the country, according to 247sports.
Probability of Upset: 10%
8. UNC Greensboro at Kansas (Nov. 8)—For the first time since 2002, UNCG and Kansas will face off on the hardwood in an early test for both teams. Obviously, the Spartans will hope the game against the Jayhawks will go better than when eventual SoCon champion Wofford visited Allen Fieldhouse early on in the season. The Spartans will be one of two SoCon teams to face the Jayhawks in the 2019-20 season, with ETSU slated to visit Kansas 11 days later as a part of the Cayman Islands Classic.
For Wes Miller’s club, it will give a chance to take the Spartans into a harsh environment without his two veteran guards—Francis Alonso and Demetrius Troy—who were a part of so many big wins over the past four years. It will also give a chance for Isaiah Miller to gauge himself against some of the best of the best in college basketball, as he will enter the season as one of the top players in mid-major basketball.
Kansas head coach Bill Self will once again be one of a handful of teams expected to compete for a national title this spring. Talented guards Devon Dotson, Christian Braun and Isaiah Moss return, as does 7-0 center Udoka Azubuike. Azubuike will offer UNCG shot-blocker James Dickey his biggest challenge on both ends next season.
Probability of Upset: 15%
7. East Tennessee State at Kansas (Nov. 19)—Probable Southern Conference preseason favorite East Tennessee State will take a trip to Kansas as part of the Cayman Islands Classic.
The Bucs welcome back all five starters, and have added solid transfers to be what many feel is the deepest team in the Southern Conference entering the 2019-2020 season. The Bucs return one of the nation’s top rebounders, in Jeromy Rodriguez, who is likely to be chosen as the Southern Conference preseason Player of the Year.
The Bucs and Jayhawks will be meeting for just the third time on the hardwood, with the last coming on Jan. 4, 1996, with the Jayhawks winning the game handily, 108-73, at Allen Fieldhouse.
Probability of Upset: 20%
6. Furman at Auburn (Dec. 5, 2019)—Furman knocked two Final members from the 2018 Final Four last season. This season, Bob Richey’s Paladins get a chance at another, when the Paladins face the Auburn Tigers at Auburn Arena on Dec. 5. It will mark the third-straight season the Paladins have faced an SEC foe, having faced Tennessee and LSU each of the past two campaigns. The most recent wins over SEC programs for Furman came in November of 2006 over Vanderbilt and December of 2010 over South Carolina.
It will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the Paladins and Auburn, with the Tigers holding a 4-1 all-time series edge. The last time the Paladins knocked off the Tigers on the hardwood was 2012, with the Tigers posting a 64-50 win over the Paladins.
The Paladins have four starters back from a team that started 12-0 last season and garnered the school’s first-ever Top 25 ranking. The one loss is a major one, however, with the graduation of All-SoCon and mid-major All-American Matt Rafferty, as well as sharp-shooter Andrew Brown.
Auburn nearly made magic happen in the state of Alabama last season by coming within a possession of making the national championship game. However, the Bruce Pearl-led Tigers fell to eventual national champion Virginia, 63-62.
The Tigers lose talented guard Bryce Brown to graduation, but do return talented guards Chuma Okeke and Jared Harper. The cloud of expected NCAA infractions still hangs over the program, however, in the wake of its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Probability of Upset: 25%
5. Alabama at Samford (TBA)—One of the more intriguing matchups of the non-conference basketball schedule heading into the 2019-20 season is the one between Alabama and Samford, and that’s primarily because the Crimson Tide will be traveling to Birmingham to take on a Samford team that’s some expect to compete for a place in the top four in the SoCon in 2019-20.
It will mark the 33rd all-time clash between the two programs, with the Crimson Tide holding a commanding 29-3 all-time edge. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide haven’t met on the hardwood since the 2009-10 season, with Alabama posting a 60-45 win.
The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide have to work out a date to meet this fall, but when it happens, it will offer talented Samford rising senior Samford guard Brandon Austin to get a little bit of revenge, as the He transferred into Samford from Alabama. Austin had an outstanding inaugural season for the Bulldogs, averaging 12.9 PPG and 4.7 RPG last season. He is one of four starters returning to the fold for head coach Scott Padgett this season.
While Padgett will be entering his sixth season at the helm of the Bulldogs’ basketball program, the Crimson Tide, who barely missed the NCAA Tournament last season, will have a new coach in town to try and help the Crimson Tide climb out of mediocrity in SEC basketball. Nate Oats comes to Tuscaloosa from Buffalo, as he looks to turn around the Crimson Tide on the hardwood in a football-crazed state.
Probability of Upset: 25%
4. Chattanooga at Virginia Tech—Chattanooga will see a familiar face on the opposing sidelines when it travels to Virginia Tech to face the now Mike Young-led Hokies.
Young was a part of something special at Wofford, winning five titles in 10 years, including helping the Terriers to a school-record 30 wins last season, and now he’s charged with trying to rebuild the Hokies coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last season. The Hokies lost a majority of that talented squad either to transfer or the NBA Draft.
For Chattanooga, the program seems to be back on the right track going forward. The Mocs, thanks in large part to an outstanding recruiting class. It’s a year that should see third-year head coach Lamont Paris and the Mocs produce, thanks in large part to this recruiting class.
Freshman of the Year Kevin Easley transferred out of the program. That said, Paris definitely went out and addressed the lack of depth in the frontcourt with three solid signees for the 2019-20 class. The most significant of those is Vanderbilt transfer forward Matt Ryan. Ryan is 6-8 forward that can play right away due to him being a grad transfer. He will provide immediate support for the Mocs underneath that basket.
During his only season at Vanderbilt, he started 25 of 29 games for the Commodores, averaging 8.1 PPG and 2.7 RPG during his only season with the Commodores. Ryan spent his first two seasons at Notre Dame prior to transferring to Vanderbilt.
Probability of Upset: 30%
3. Wofford at Missouri (Nov. 18)—Wofford and Missouri will be facing off for just the second time in series history, with the only other meeting between the two coming in Fletcher Magee’s first game back in November of 2015. The occasion saw the Terriers drop an 84-73 contest.
Missouri, despite having a couple of outstanding recruiting classes under head coach Cuonzo Martin, have seen some ‘one-and-dones’ but return some impressive talents in the backcourt, in Xavier Pinson and Mark Smith. The Tigers were just 15-17 last season, but could be one of the more improved teams in the SEC.
Still, Wofford is an team that can shoot, and against a Missouri team early that is still trying to find its confident, it could offer Wofford the prime opportunity. Remember the Terriers return outstanding guards Storm Murphy and one of the league’s top players—Nathan Hoover.
Probability of Upset: 35%
2. N.C. State at UNC Greensboro (Dec. 15)—Two years ago UNC Greensboro picked up its third win ever over an ACC team, and that team just happened to be one of the ACC blue bloods, in North Carolina State. The Spartans won a 81-76 contest over the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack have won 10 of 11 games against the Spartans, but have been vulnerable in pre-conference matchups with mid-majors in the past.
The Wolfpack comes to the Greensboro Coliseum facing a UNCG team that returns three starters, with guard Isaiah Miller and big men Kyrin Galloway and James Dickey back, as the trio was a major part of that team that beat the Wolfpack two years ago.
N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts will once again have a team that should contend for an NCAA Tournament berth. After all, the Wolfpack and Spartans were two of the final teams left out of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
The fact that Markell Johnson returns for his senior season could make this one even tougher for the Spartans to pull the upset, however, they have a real shot. Johnson did not play in the NC State five-point loss two years ago.
Probability of Upset: 38%
1.East Tennessee State at LSU (Dec. 18)—ETSU will head to Baton Rouge to face off against the LSU Tigers almost a year-to-the-day that No. 24 Furman faced the Tigers in the Pete Maravich Center. Just maybe Steve Forbes will have a ranked ETSU team heading to the Maravich Center in 2019, but only time and results will determine that.
Furman lost that game 75-57, thanks in large part to LSU’s size and its SEC athleticism, however, the margin of victory is a bit deceiving with the game hovering around a 6-10 game with a little less than four minutes left. LSU’s game a month earlier with another SoCon power—UNCG—was much closer, with the Tigers posting a 97-93 win in that contest.
Still, the Bucs have four of five starters back, and coupled with transfers in from Southeast Missouri State and Central Connecticut State off a team that won 24 games last season, will likely enter the season as the preseason favorites in the SoCon.
LSU head coach Will Wade suffered massive losses to the NBA, with Tremont Waters and big man Naz Reid having opted to move on to the NBA. Talent still returns for Wade’s Tigers, with guards Javonte Smart and Skylar Mays back, as well as ultra-athletic forward Emmitt Williams.
An interesting note of interest is that ETSU assistant coach Brooks Savage was once an assistant under Wade during his two seasons in the Scenic City. Perhaps he has the scout for this game and can lend some expertise on Wade and the Tigers.
Probability of Upset: 40%
