I think this will be a good early test for the Dukes. All of these teams are better than meets the eye.

James Madison (CAA) opens their season 11/15 at UCLA (#13). If they can keep that game close they might be better than we expect. They finished 12-20 last year, enduring some injuries. This year they return 6 seniors, 5 of which are red shirt seniors. They return 3 starters and 74 percent of their scoring from last year. Overall, they should be a solid, experienced squad.

North Dakota State (Horizon) has beaten an NAIA team and lost to the number one team in the nation, Indiana, so far this year. This is a team that is returning 4 starters from a CBI team last year. They return their top 5 top scorers from a year ago. They are picked second in the Horizon league.

Youngstown State (Horizon) might be the best team out of the bunch. They opened the season with a 7 point win over George Washington and then topped it by beating Georgia on the road by 12. They will play St. Francis (Pa.) before next week. This team is coming off its first wining season in 11 years, finishing 16-15. They are predicted to finish 4th in the Horizon league. They return 3 starters including guard Kendrick Perry who summer league fans will remember and start to get worried about. He led the team in scoring and steals and was designated a first team conference player this year and last year.

Overall this is a slate of games to be excited about. Good talent is coming to the AJP and I hope for a good turnout of Dukes fans. 1 ticket gets you into both games each night. Who thinks we will see some YSU fans in the building? If we win 2 of these games I will be very satisfied.