clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

On The Menu: November 21, 2015

Saturday's slate includes more tournament action, with the Hall of Fame Tip-Off semifinals taking center stage, a potential trap game for No. 1 UNC, and some intriguing mid-on-mid matchups.

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Game information courtesy Matt College Sports on TV Website, which has even more games listed.

All times listed are Eastern, adjust accordingly.

Hall Of Fame Tip-Off Semifinals

Naismith Bracket

No. 21 Purdue Boilermakers vs. Old Dominion Monarchs, 12 p.m. (ESPN3)
Florida Gators vs. Saint Joseph's Hawks, approx. 2:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Amazingly, all four teams made it to the Mohegan Sun with perfect records, though the Hawks' one-point win over Drexel in their opener is the most any of the quartet has been challenged so far. Purdue will challenge Old Dominion with their size in game one, while Florida will have to stop Saint Joseph's DeAndre Bembry, one of the most versatile players in the entire country.

Springfield Bracket

Buffalo Bulls vs. North Carolina A&T Aggies, 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Vermont Catamounts vs. Niagara Purple Eagles, approx. 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

On the flip side, these four teams are a combined 3-9 so far, with the Bulls, in particular, crashing back down to earth after last season's MAC Tournament crown. In fact, Niagara and Vermont, who meet in game two, have this group's only two Division I wins on the season. The Catamounts, who will, as usual, be right there with Stony Brook and Albany in the America East race, are the favorites in this bracket.

Paradise Jam Consolation

Ohio Bobcats vs. Norfolk State Spartans, 4 p.m. (TVGN TV on YouTube)
Florida State Seminoles vs. DePaul Blue Demons, approx. 6:30 p.m. (TVGN TV on YouTube)

The Bobcats will look to bounce back from their epic second-half collapse against Tulsa in yesterday's first quarterfinal against the Spartans, who didn't have enough to beat Indiana State in game four. In the nightcap, look for the Seminoles to take their quarterfinal loss to Hofstra out on a Blue Demon team routed by South Carolina.

Other Intriguing Entrees

North Florida Ospreys at Louisville Cardinals (Brooklyn Hoops Classic), 12 p.m. (ESPN3)
The Ospreys have already won at Illinois in this young season, so this might not be an automatic win for the Cardinals, even if they look a bit more polished offensively than forecast during the preseason.

Stony Brook Seawolves at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 1 p.m. (HSSN/WKYU/FCS Central)
On Thursday night, the Seawolves took ranked Vanderbilt to overtime. The night before in another part of Nashville, the Hilltoppers didn't have enough to win at Belmont, falling by five. This should be an entertaining one between two quality non-Power 6 squads, who met last year on Long Island in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Stony Brook won that matchup by 10.

Belmont Bruins at Evansville Purple Aces, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
The Aces look to pick up a decent win before heading out to California for the Directv Wooden Legacy over Thanksgiving weekend. Evansville won at the Curb Events Center in 2014 by a 65-62 count.

No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels at Northern Iowa Panthers, 2 p.m. (CSN Chicago Plus/ESPN3)
Wouldn't it be something if the Panthers went from losing to Colorado State to upsetting the top-ranked team in the country in the span of a week? This isn't the warmup for the CBE Hall of Fame Classic I would have scheduled, Tar Heels.

William & Mary Tribe at Dayton Flyers, 2 p.m. (TWCS Ohio)
Since dominating North Carolina State on Opening Night, the Tribe have recorded a pair of easy wins over low-quality opposition. They'll definitely be challenged again by a Flyer team that looked incredible against an Alabama team that might not be so bad after all (at least based on their easy win over Sun Belt favorite UL Lafayette last night).

Lafayette Leopards at NJIT Highlanders, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
The Highlanders welcome the defending Patriot League Tournament champions to the Fleisher Center, looking to avenge a 76-71 road loss from a season ago.

Oregon State Beavers at UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 5 p.m. (BigWest.TV)
The Gauchos lost by 18 to Cal on Monday night. Look for them to play the Beavers a lot closer at the Thunderdome. OSU won last season's meeting by 12 in Corvallis.

Brown Bears at Providence Friars, 7 p.m. (select FSN outlets)
The Friars fell by 10 to the Bears back on December 8, 2014, the final setback of a three-game losing streak that looked like a bad sign for Providence's March hopes.

Chattanooga Mocs at Illinois Fighting Illini (at Springfield, Ill.) (Emerald Coast Classic), 8:30 p.m. (BTN)
The Mocs head to Springfield for the first of two Emerald Coast Classic road games in a three-night span. Given how the Illini lost to North Florida and struggled with North Dakota State, John Groce's team might just be on upset alert again tonight.

New Mexico Lobos at USC Trojans, 10:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National and L.A.)
The Trojans defeated the Lobos by 12 at The Pit last season. I'm not sure they'll be able to do the same at home, since New Mexico looks significantly better in 2015-16.

Be sure to follow @ChrisDobbertean on Twitter and to like Blogging the Bracket on Facebook and Google Plus.