SoCon Monster Game of the Week Preview: Davidson at New Mexico

This is the night that college basketball really tips off. This is the 24 hour marathon on ESPN. This is when the season gets going in earnest.

The SoCon is a part of it this year. Davidson heads to New Mexico at 2 AM Eastern to play in one of the more intriguing match-ups of the non-headline games on Tuesday night when Kansas plays Michigan State and Kentucky plays Duke.

It's one of the great venues in all of college basketball. The Pit is one of the great home court advantages in the country. Combine that with the altitude and the late tip time, and this game really has a lot to overcome for the Wildcats.

But this game is a huge opportunity for the Wildcats too. Sure, it's not Duke. That comes later. But this is a real opportunity for the Wildcats to come up with a win to boost their tournament resume. This is game that could help the limping SoCon in their overall strength and perception nationally. This is that kind of a game.

 For those that follow Davidson, the names will be familiar. Jake Cohen and De'Mon Brooks are the two team leaders. They each won a SoCon Player of the Year Award last year. In Scanning the SoCon's Preseason Awards, they were the top two vote getters for Player of the Year this year. Cohen was named to eleven of twelve first team All SoCon ballots, while Brooks was named on all twelve, and won the Player of the Year preseason award. These two are the two best players.

Brooks lead the team with 24 points against Emory. Chris Czerapowicz scored 15 points. He made three of five from three point range. Cohen scored 13 points, had eight rebounds, with six blocks. Nik Cochran did not score, but had seven assists. JP Kuhlman scored 14 points, had five rebounds and four assists.

The Wildcats outrebounded Emory by seven. Davidson committed just six turnovers. They shot nearly 80% from the free throw line. They made nearly 46% from three point range. They simply do not beat themselves.

New Mexico has Kendall Williams back as the leading returning scorer with 12.1 points per game. He gets 3.3 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. He was named to the preseason All Mountain West team. Tony Snell averaged 10.5 points per game and had 2.7 rebounds per game. Hugh Greenwood is the other returning starter for the Lobos. Alex Kirk started two years ago, but had a back injury and redshirted last year.

Cam Bairstow was a top player in the exhibition games for the Lobos. Bairstow shot 62.4% from the free throw line. Bairstow and Kirk scored 18 points per game and had 16 rebounds per game combined in the exhibition games, while shooting over 90% from the free throw line.

The Lobos are expected to be lead by their guards, but with the way Bairstow and Kirk have played inside in the exhibition games, this team could be almost unstoppable.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Wildcats should be able to control the inside with Clint Mann and Cohen.
--Williams and Snell will have dynamic games for the Lobos.
--Cochran vs. the  Lobo guards will be one of the major keys to the game.
--If Czerapowicz is hitting, look out.
--New Mexico 69, Davidson 64. The late night game, the place, and the opponent make this a very difficult setting for the Wildcats. The Wildcats just can't overcome the whole setting. It's simply too much. That being said, the Wildcats are good enough to keep it close. They are very good. Snell and Williams will be too much for the Cats to handle.