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College basketball preview capsules

Montana at Pitt men

Tipoff: 7 p.m., Petersen Events Center

Records: Montana (1-0); Pittsburgh (0-1)

Coaches: Travis DeCire is 57-41 in his fourth season at Montana. Kevin Stallings is 16-18 in his second season at Pittsburgh and is 471-301 in his 25th season overall as a head coach.

Probable starters: Montana — G Bobby Moorehead, 6-7 jr. (14.0), G Michael Oguine, 6-2 jr. (10.0), G Ahmaad Rorie, 6-1 jr. (21.0), F Jamar Akoh, 6-8 jr. (4.0), F Fabijan Krslovic, 6-8 sr. (3.0). Pittsburgh — G Parker Stewart, 6-5 fr. (0.0), G Jonathan Milligan, 6-2 sr. (0.0), G-F Jared Wilson-Frame, 6-5 jr. (20.0), G-F Shamiel Stevenson, 6-6 fr. (7.0), F Ryan Luther, 6-9 sr. (14.0).

Notes: Pitt has won 20 consecutive home openers and all 15 at the Petersen Events Center. … Pitt’s loss to Navy in its opener snapped a 20-season streak of wins to start a season. … This is part of the Legends Classic, and Pitt is 8-0 in two previous appearances. … Montana is coming off a 72-60 win over Whitworth. … This is the first time these programs have met. … Montana will take on Penn State on Wednesday.

Mirror prediction: Pittsburgh 60, Montana 55

Comment: Pitt has a bunch of unproven players, but those players found their way to Pitt, not Montana, which I’m sure is also filled with unproven players. Guessing the caliber of unproven players should be better at Pitt, but the fact I’m not sure says volumes about this year’s Panthers squad.

Mirror prediction record: 0-1

— Michael Boytim

SFU men at San Francisco

Tipoff: 10 p.m., War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco

Records: Saint Francis (0-1), San Francisco (0-1)

Coaches: Rob Krimmel is 61-96 in his sixth season at Saint Francis and overall. Kyle Smith is 20-14 in his second season at Saint Francis and 121-96 in eight seasons overall. He spent six seasons at Columbia (101-82).

Video: Online at theW.tv

Probable starters: Saint Francis — G Jamaal King, 5-10 Jr. (15.0), G Keith Braxton, 6-4 So. (10.0), G Isaiah Blackmon, 6-1 Jr. (12.0), G Randall Gaskins Jr., 6-3 So. (2.0), C Deivydas Kuzavas, 6-8 So. (7.0). San Francisco — G Jordan Ratinho, 6-5 So. (18.0), G Jamaree Bouyea, 6-2 Fr. (1.0), F Chase Foster, 6-5 Sr. (14.0), F Nate Renfro, 6-7 Jr. (0.0), C Jimbo Lull, 7-0 So. (0.0). Note: Fr. G Souley Boum came off the bench to score 22 points for the Dons in their opener.

Notes: The Red Flash lost their opener at No. 22 St. Mary’s on Friday, 85-68, with King leading the way with 15 points. Saint Francis hung with the Gaels for most of the first half, then the home team pulled away with a big run and wasn’t threatened by SFU in the second half. … San Francisco lost its opener Friday at home to Long Beach State, 83-71, despite being a 15-point favorite. That means the Dons will be geared up and ready to atone for the loss tonight. … San Francisco was picked to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference. … This is another money game for the Saint Francis basketball program. It also has money games scheduled at Duke and at Louisville. … There’s no point spread on this game, but ESPN’s matchup predictor gives San Francisco an 81.1 percent chance to win.

Mirror prediction: San Francisco 83, Saint Francis 71

Comment: I actually made this score prediction, then realized it’s the same score of San Francisco’s game Friday night, albeit in a loss for the Dons. This one should be entertaining between two teams with good athletes and shooters.

Mirror prediction record: 1-0

— Cory Giger

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