Monday's Pregame Beat

7:00 pm: Pitt @ Cinci: Pitt and Cinci were all but written off after some early season struggles, but both the Bearcats and the Panthers have opened Big East play 2-0; Pitt with wins over DePaul and Syracuse and Cinci with wins over UConn and Rutgers. This is going to be a defensive battle. Pitt has one of their better defensive teams in the Jamie Dixon administration, and if Ashton Gibbs and Jermaine Dixon can continue to carry the bulk of the scoring load, the Panthers may be a player in the Big East. Cinci, on the other hand, had high expectations coming into the season, but are still struggling to score points as Deonta Vaughn has yet to hit his stride (although he has scored 17 in both Big East games) and Yancy Gates is still working on providing consistent effort. The Panthers are smaller than the Bearcats, and will need to compete on the glass if they want to pick up the road win.

7:00 pm: Northeastern @ VCU; UNC-Wilmington @ William & Mary: The CAA may actually be in contention for multiple bids again this season, with VCU and William & Mary leading the way. For that to happen, the Rams and the Tribe are going to have to win games like this in league play.

8:00 pm: Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Mississippi Valley State: APB is currently sitting at 0-11, but as we mentioned a few weeks ago, they may be the best 0-11 team, well, ever? They have played a ridiculous schedule, with every game coming on the road, and have yet to lose by morethan 20 against teams like Kansas State, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma State. While not many people care about the SWAC, we will be sure to follow the Lions all season long.

Other notable games

• 7:00 pm: Old Dominion @ Towson
• 7:00 pm: UNC @ Charleston
• 8:00 pm: UMES @ Oklahoma
• 8:00 pm: Utah State @ Louisiana Tech
• 9:00 pm: Mississippi State @ Western Kentucky
• 9:00 pm: Middle Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
• 10:00 pm: Harvard @ Santa Clara
• 10:30 pm: Nevada @ New Mexico State