College Basketball: 5 Under-The-Radar Games on Opening Night

Yesterday, I highlighted five key games on opening night in college basketball on November 4th.

Below are five under-the-radar games on the same day -- games that may not be as highly acclaimed but still have plenty of juice for the true college basketball junkie.

In no particular order:

College Basketball: Under-the-Radar Game to Watch on Opening Night

Fordham at St. John’s

An opening night tilt between two New York City teams from the Atlantic 10 and the Big East? The buzz is already palpable. This will also be the first game for Rick Pitino to unveil his star-studded transfer backcourt of Deivon Smith (Utah) and Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall), who have the requisites to be one of the best backcourts in the country in 2024-25. Another note: St. John’s AD Ed Kull previously worked at Fordham and was just hired by the Red Storm in the same position.

Towson at Saint Mary’s

Pat Skerry privately believes that this may be the best team that he’s had since he’s been the Tigers head coach. We’ll get a pretty good indication after Towson spends 40 minutes in Moraga against Randy Bennett and the Gaels. Saint Mary’s returns a dynamite one-two punch with reigning WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis and big man Mitchell Saxen.

Quinnipiac at Yale

The Bulldogs don’t have what they had last March when they beat Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but they still have enough to be the top challenger to Princeton in the Ivy League. And Quinnipiac? Four starters return for Tom Pecora from last season’s team that won the MAAC regular season title for the first time in program history.

Bellarmine at VCU

Ever had a root canal without the Novocaine? That’s what it’s like playing Scotty Davenport’s team, who play a unique offensive style that’s exceptionally difficult to guard. VCU boasts one of the best non-power conference perimeters in college basketball with Max Shulga, Zeb Jackson, Joe Bamisile, and UTA transfer Philip Russell.

Green Bay at Oklahoma State

Doug Gottlieb’s Division 1 head coaching debut in Stillwater against his alma mater is beyond fascinating. The long-time sports media personality led the Cowboys to the Elite Eight in 2000 as a player and was a terrific collegiate point guard under Eddie Sutton. This will also mark the head coaching debut of Steve Lutz at Oklahoma State. Lutz previously led both Western Kentucky and Texas A&M Corpus Christi to the NCAA Tournament in his past two head coaching spots.

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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.