Game of the Day: St. Joseph’s vs. Toledo
In a rematch from last year’s opening game, St. Joseph’s will open the season with a two-game road trip, beginning tonight against Toledo. The Hawks will enter the game with Shavar Newkirk as a game time decision, and Charlie Brown being highly doubtful. But, we’ll see the return of forward Pierfrancesco Oliva, who started in 30 games two years ago as a freshman, before missing the entirety of last season with a knee injury. Toledo will be led by the tandem of Jaelan Sanford and Tre’Shaun Fletcher, a transfer from Colorado.
This is definitely a game that St. Joseph’s should win, even if both Brown and Newkirk are unable to play. Toledo is a very young team that will improve in time, but as of now they are still working. They recently lost to D2 Findlay University in an exhibition a few weeks ago. I understand that this was just an exhibition, but the result was not promising. Expect Lamar Kimble to have a very strong game for the Hawks, and the bigs should also be able to have there way fairly easy as well, as they will be the more dominating team physically. The game could be close early, but the talented depth of St. Joseph’s should be able to pull them away as the game progresses. Main matchup to look for will be Sanford against Kimble at the guard spot.
My Prediction: St. Josephs _75_, Toledo _61__
Saint Peter’s vs La Salle
Saint Peter’s lost a ton from last season, and it will take them a while this year to get in the jist of things. Pookie Powell and B.J Johnson should both lead the way and open there seasons strongly, but it will be interesting to see if anyone else on the Explorers emerges as a potentially strong third option. Look for guard Amar Stukes to have a strong game today, and begin to take control of that role,
My prediction: La Salle 74, Saint Peters 59
St. Francis (Brooklyn) vs Duquesne
The first of a fairly weak non-conference schedule for the Dukes, they will look to get an easy victory and try to build excitement around the area. The main matchup to look for is Glenn Sanabria vs Mike Lewis and Rene Castro-Caneddy. As long as they can contain Sanabria, the Dukes should be able to cruise. Look for Jordan Robinson to dominate on the post as well.
My prediction: Duquesne 71, St. Francis (Brooklyn) 50
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