Ranking the 8 matchups for Field of 68's 24-hour marathon to open 2026-27
season--Busting Brackets
7. UTEP (11-20, 7-13 CUSA) vs Northern Kentucky (20-14, 10-10 Horizon
League) - 2 pm ET.
After a rough last year in Conference USA, the Miners move to the Mountain
West with a completely new roster. Jace Whiting (11.2 ppg and 2.7 apg at
Weber State), Leif Moller (10.8 ppg and 4.0 apg at Evansville) and former
Ole Miss big man Augusto Cassia are players to watch for the rebuilt UTEP
squad.
The Norse lost a ton of production from last season but do bring back
starting guard Ethan Elliott (5.1 ppg and 4.6 apg). La Salle transfer guard
Eric Acker (5.8 ppg), former top-100 prospect BJ Davis-Ray and East Texas
A&M transfer forward Noah Pagotto (10.4 ppg and 5.7 rpg) are the key
newcomers for NKU.
8. Grambling (14-19, 7-11 SWAC) vs Northern Illinois - 3 am ET.
After back-to-back years of under .500 play in the SWAC, Grambling has a
completely rebuilt roster. Among the notable newcomers are Dwayne Pierce
(8.5 ppg and 2.7 apg at NC A&T), former top-100 prospect Isaiah Miranda,
and a pair of transfers (Josue Grullon and Kyle Layton), who each didn’t
play last season. It’s a roster with potential but plenty of unknowns.
After finishing last in the MAC, Northern Illinois looks to start over with
a new roster as a brand new member in the Horizon League. Among the 13
newcomers to the Huskies are Uzziah Buntyn (12.1 ppg and 3.5 apg at South
Dakota), Tolu Samuels (7.1 ppg and 8.6 rpg at Southern Indiana) and former
Horizon League Rookie of the Year David Douglas Jr., back in the conference
after two years at Fresno State.
UWGB men's basketball might have its best team of the Doug Gottlieb era--Green Bay Press-Gazette
