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Weekend preview: Premium matchups in tourneys

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Jeff Goodman

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. Check out his Yardbarker blog. MORE>>
 
Updated Nov 20, 2009 9:27 PM ET
     
 
College basketball officially began nearly two weeks ago, but now it's truly in gear with many of the early season tournaments under way. With it, we give you a weekend preview of what you need to look for. If you are in the Los Angeles area on Saturday and want to truly be entertained, go to the Galen Center and watch two of the most intense veteran coaches in the country — Loyola Marymount's Max Good and USC's Kevin O'Neill.
Just make sure the young children aren't too close to the benches. CAN'T MISS: North Carolina vs. Syracuse on Friday night in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Both teams rolled in the semifinals and now it'll be whether Jim Boeheim's vaunted zone can neutralize the size and length of the Tar Heels. UNDERCARD: Dayton vs. Villanova in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Friday at 3 p.m. The Flyers made a late run against Georgia Tech in the first round while 'Nova, considered a Top 10 team nationally, fought from behind most of the game against George Mason and needed a 3-pointer from Isaiah Armwood to pull out the win. IVY ROLL: Cornell hosts Seton Hall on Friday night in an interesting matchup. Steve Donahue's program has already knocked off Alabama and UMass on the road while Seton Hall needed a last-second shot to get past St. Peter's. The Big Red has won 21 straight games at Newman Arena. BEST GAME NOT ON TV: How in the world is the Vanderbilt-Saint Mary's contest not on television? The Commodores are in the FOXSports.com Top 25 and the Gaels may not have Patty Mills, but they have blown out both New Mexico State and San Diego State with a new backcourt of Mickey McConnell and another Aussie, Matthew Dellavedova. HOME SWEET HOME: Former VCU coach Jeff Capel returns to the place where he spent four seasons and also recruited Eric Maynor on Saturday. Capel brings in an Oklahoma team led by All-American candidate and will try and knock off a VCU club that is coming off a bad loss at Western Michigan. HUGGINS DISCIPLES: The two guys who took over at Cincinnati after Bob Huggins was forced out a few years ago, Andy Kennedy and Frank Martin, go up against each other. Kennedy was the interim coach at Cincinnati for a year before getting the Ole Miss gig while Martin got the full-time job at Kansas State after Huggins left Manhattan for West Virginia. Ole Miss and Kansas State, two potential NCAA tournament teams, will play in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Friday night at 8:30 p.m. FOLLOW-UP: Rider has already taken down one ranked SEC club with a victory in Starkville against Mississippi State and now Tommy Dempsey's team gets a shot at Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington. HOT MATCHUP: No, not in the way you'd think. Auburn and N.C. State face one another on Sunday night in a battle of two coaches — Jeff Lebo and Sidney Lowe — trying to salvage their jobs. DANGEROUS: Last March, Radford got a shot at North Carolina in the first round of the Big Dance — and didn't fare well. Now Big Art Parakhouski and the Highlanders will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon and get a shot at the Duke Blue Devils. UPSET SPECIAL: I'm not sure it's all that much of an upset, but I'm going with Eric Reveno and the Portland Pilots to knock off Oregon. Ernie Kent had better make sure he limits the looks of Portland guards Jared Stohl and T.J. Campbell. A year ago, Oregon needed overtime to beat Portland in Eugene. BEST POTENTIAL MATCHUPS:
  • Boston College vs. Purdue on Sunday in the Paradise Jam (Virgin Islands) semifinals — If the Eagles get past Saint Joe's and Purdue beats South Dakota State, the two teams will meet in the semis. The Boilermakers are already down two players, starting point guard Lewis Jackson and reserve big man Sandi Marcius, while BC gets back starters Rakim Sanders and Corey Raji from two-game suspensions to begin the season. The winner could draw Tennessee in the title game.
  • Ole Miss vs. Villanova in Puerto Rico Tip-Off in Sunday's title contest — This would be a matchup of two of the elite backcourts in the nation. Andy Kennedy's group has Chris Warren, Terrico White, Eniel Polynice and Trevor Gaskins while the Wildcats boast Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Maalik Mayns and Dominic Cheek. Talk about an exciting, up-and-down affair. MID-MAJOR BATTLE: Utah State at Northeastern — Two terrific mid-major coaches — Utah State's Stew Morrill and Northeastern's Bill Coen — will battle in Boston. The Huskies need this one after coming up short against Siena and the Aggies could use it as well if they want a shot to be an at-large team down the road.
    • Tagged: Purdue, Manhattan, Siena, Rider, New Mexico State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Loyola Marymount, Duke, St. Mary's (CA), Utah State, Northeastern, Portland, Tennessee, San Diego State, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Dayton, Mississippi State, Mississippi, Radford, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Syracuse, Villanova, Oregon, Boston College, Virginia Commonwealth, George Mason, Seton Hall, Oklahoma, Cornell, Kansas State

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