Five slated for this evening, and our theme: maneuverability, which is many times better than outright speed.

James Madison at Drexel: This is your 7pm Comcast tipper and represents the resistable force against the movable object. The Dukes defend exactly nobody (1.07 dpp) and only Georgia State is a worse offensive team than Drexel. Surprisingly, the Drexel defense is a bottom-tier performer, which should give JMU some good looks.

Leon Spencer returned to full practice yesterday, so I’d imagine Bru will at least let him give it a shot. Spencer will certainly help limit the maneuverability of Give Em Hell and Pierre Curtis by closing down lanes.

Drexel 76, James Madison 71.

Old Dominion at Delaware: I’m going to be honest. The Monarchs have games on consecutive Saturdays at The Pugs (1/23), at Nor’easter (1/30), and at VCU (2/6). Nobody else is going to come close to them in any other game, and I’d wager ODU wins two of those questionables. They are maneuvering into contention for you-know-what. Just being honest.

ODU 73, Delaware 57.

The Dub at Georgia State: This one is about uncontrolled maneuvering, as the wheels on both teams are wobbly. This game also pits the two worst offenses in the conference.

The Panthers are interestingly bad–they get to the line fewer times than anyone in the CAA and score the second fewest points from there. That makes you think they bomb from three because they don’t pound it inside, right? Wrong. Ga State has made the fewest number of threes this season (76) and have the eighth worst percentage (29.7).

The Dub turns the ball over at an alarming rate (27.2% of possessions) and Benny Moss is happy that they played faster on Monday against Virginia. Already turning it over a lot and playing faster? Okay.

UNCW 24, Ga State 19 (OT)

Nor’easter at Towson: Brian Morris has a bum ankle and Troy Franklin a bum noggin, which leaves Pat Kennedy with little offensive maneuverability. Josh Thornton will play 30 minutes and hoist 30 shots.

Towson has talent but will be reduced to some plodding tonight because they have no choice. The Tigers are big and rebound well, but NU will put a precise beating on them. Think a UNCW game from five years ago. You know, about six different 14-8 runs.

NU 66, Towson 58.

The Fightin’ Pugs at VCU: I could be wrong, but shouldn’t some local TV maneuver a way to get this on the air? It’s the biggie of the night, and a grand kickoff for a big week.

Two differences from the December game: VCU has Jamie Skeen and rebounding has been a recent focus for them (not just a stat concerning Larry Sanders).

Two more differences: As long as dog paws aren’t on the backs of the opposition uniforms, VCU is unstoppable at home. Shaka Smart has more than doubled his head coaching experience since the last time these two squared off.

This is going to be a wonderfully beautiful finesse game, and you should find a way to watch it.

VCU 75, Pugs 70.