Jim Feist

 Belmont opened its season with a win over Howard yesterday, 95-78. The Bruins hit over 50% of their shots from the field. Belmont was first in the Ohio Valley conference last year with a 26-7 overall record and 15-3 conference mark. The Bruins had a NCAA berth last year until it was pulled by Covid. There are high hopes for this club this season. George Mason plays its first game of the season here today. The Patriots looks to rebound from a 5-13 conference record last year, though they did have an overall winning record at 17-15. Mason had lots of injury problems last year that they hope to avoid this season. They return all five starters, which is great news for Dave Paulsen. This team should have much better depth with those starters returning and a healthy bench. Belmont laying points here today. For me, I’ll take Mason as they return all that experience and should gel better early with a lack of game experience most teams will have. Play George Mason.

Boise State plays its first game of the season here today. The Broncos return two starters to a team that finished 20-12 last year and 11-7 in the Mountain West. The Broncos have now won 20 games seven times in the last eight seasons. Head Coach Leon Rice said this will be his most athletic team he has had in some time. The backcourt will be excellent this year and they will have plenty of depth on the bench. Rice says they have eight or nine players that can start on this team and that makes for a great bench. The hardest part for Rice is finding which five to start. Houston had an easy tuneup with Lamar on Wednesday, winning 89-45. The Cougars held Lamar to just 30% shooting from the field and 7.7% from the 3-point stripe. Houston was 23-8 last year and 13-5 in the American Athletic, which tied them for first. They return three starters to this year’s team. HC Kelvin Sampson has built a decent program in Houston and that looks to continue this year. This will be a nice test against a very good Boise State team here today. I think Houston laying 13.5 against a good Boise team is way too many points. I’m taking the dog here in this one. Play Boise State.

 The Lasalle Explorers opened their seasson with a loss to St Johns, 65-82. Lasalle was 15-15 overall last year and 6-12 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. They return three starters to the team for Ashley Howard. Lasalle will have more depth this year and the talent level should be better also. This team will go down in their frontcourt however, where they will lack the most talent. This team is still in a building mode. St Peters also opened with a loss to St Johns, 75-76. They did cover the 11-point dog line though. The Peacocks hit over 50% from the field while holding St Johns to just 40.7%. The Peacocks returned just two starters to a team that was 4-6 in the Metro Atlantic last year and finished 2nd. This team looks to be good both in front an back courts again this year and the Bench is decent. They showed they can play with St Johns and really should have won that game. Look for a easy St Peters win here today.

Top 25 matchup here on Friday has No 2 Notre Dame taking on No 25 North Carolina. This game looks to be the most difficult thus far for the Irish. Yes they played Clemson, but QB Lawrence missed that game with Covid. The Irish are a perfect 8-0 on the season while North Carolina is 6-2 with losses coming to Florida State and Virginia. The Tar Heels are coming off a shootout two weeks ago against Wake Forest, which they won in a come-from-behind fashion, 59-53. It follows that the Tar Heels would have the 4th ranked offense in the country. Notre Dame comes in at 24th. The Irish have a much better defense though, ranked 9th overall compared to the 68th ranked defense of NCU. These teams have met just once in the last five years and that was in 2017 with the Irish winning at Chapel Hill, 33-10. I like the Irish as it appears they are destined for a New Year’s day playoff spot. They can’ afford to look past any opponent, especially the Tar Heels here today. Play Notre Dame.

Iowa State looks for its fourth straight win here on Friday at Texas. The Cyclones are coming off a shutout win over Kansas State last week, 45-0. Iowa State has just two losses this year, their opening game to Louisiana and then to Oklahoma State, 21-24. The teams last game will be next week at home against West Virginia. Texas plays its last two games of the regular season with their game today and then next week at Kansas State. The Longhorns are coming off a bye week, so they have had plenty of time to prepare for this game. They have won three straight games and are 5-3 on the season. Iowa State has the 38th ranked offense in the nation with Texas coming in at right behind them at 39th. Texas has the 59th ranked defense and Iowa State is 24th. Texas has covered the last four in this series, though they did lose at Iowas State last year, 21-23. Basically we just need to win this game here with Texas as the line is around -1 on Texas. Take Texas.