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Syracuse-Robert Morris Headlines Second Night Of Coaches Vs. Cancer

Nov 11, 2009, 6:24 PM UTC

Second Night Of Coaches vs. Cancer: UNC, ‘Cuse, Cal Cruise

By now, most fans -- especially those in northern cities -- are familiar with how the first three days of baseball season go. Everyone is excited when Opening Day arrives. Games are played, often in miserable weather, in front of crowds who are happy to have the national pastime back. Then the second day of the season comes, and many of those same stadiums are quiet, as MLB sticks an off day on the schedule just in case Opening Day gets scrubbed. Games then resume on day three because it evidently only rains or snows on the first two days of the baseball season.

Well, the opening three days of the college basketball season have followed a similar pattern--not because of weather, but due to a scheduling quirk. The only TV games scheduled for the first four nights of the season are from the Coaches vs. Cancer event. The event’s four host teams, California, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Syracuse, all played their season openers on Monday. The Golden Bears, Tar Heels, and Orange scheduled their second games for tonight. (The Buckeyes face James Madison tomorrow evening.) That meant Tuesday night featured an empty slate, as no other Division I schools decided to fill the gap by scheduling a non-exhibition game.

Maybe next season, the opening week schedule won’t be so quirky, but in the meantime, here’s a rundown of tonight’s matchups.

To start the evening, Syracuse welcomes defending Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris to the Carrier Dome (ESPNU, 7 ET), as Jim Boeheim looks for career win No. 801. The Colonials gave the Orange a battle in their last meeting, an 87-81 'Cuse win in the first round of the 2008 NIT. While both casts are now quite different (Donte Greene led the Orange in scoring that night), this looks to be the best contest of the night. SB Nation's Syracuse site, Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, will have full coverage of this matchup.
In the second game of the tripleheader, transitional D1 member North Carolina Central (AKA the other school from Durham) faces North Carolina in Chapel Hill (ESPNU, 9 ET). This one shouldn't be as close as the Tar Heels 16-point win over Florida International Monday night, but the final margin may depend on how well UNC takes care of the ball. Carolina March, our Tar Heel blog, will have more on this one.
At 11 ET, also on ESPNU, Cal, looking to improve on their five-point win over Murray State on Monday night, faces a Detroit team that should be among the worst in the Horizon League this season. Jerome Randle will be one Golden Bear hoping for a better night, as he only shot 33 percent from the floor and his assist-to-turnover ratio was almost even against the Racers.