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Hoops du Jour

Penn State men vs. Ole Miss

Tipoff: 5:00 p.m., Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY

Records: Penn State (5-0); Ole Miss (4-1)

Coaches: Pat Chambers is 132-140 in his eighth season at Penn State and 174-168 in 10 seasons overall. Kermit Davis is 24-14 in his second season at Ole Miss and 427-252 in 22 seasons overall.

TV: ESPN2

Radio: Penn State Sports Network (1430-AM in Altoona)

Notes: Penn State last played at the Barclay’s Center in the 2017 Legends Classic. The Nittany Lions defeated Pitt before falling to Texas A&M… Penn State received votes in the both the latest AP and Coaches poll. The Nittany Lions have not been ranked in either poll since 2001… This is the first game of the NIT Season tip-off. The winner of this game will play either Oklahoma State or Syracuse… ESPN’s matchup Predictor gives Penn State a 68.6 percent chance to win.

Mirror prediction: Penn State 76 Ole Miss 70

Comment: Penn State has shown it can light teams up offensively. Now it will showcase its defense on a national stage.

Mirror prediction record: 4-1

— Jack Hirsh

Pitt men vs. Northwestern

Tipoff: 8:30 p.m., Suncoast Credit Union Arena, Fort Myers, Fla.

Records: Pittsburgh (5-2, 1-0 in ACC); Northwestern (3-2)

Coaches: Jeff Capel is 19-21 in his second season at Pitt and is 181-131 in his 11th season overall. Chris Collins is 104-96 in his seventh season at Northwestern.

TV: FS1

Notes: Northwestern leads the all-time series 10-8, but the teams have not played since a 60-42 Pitt victory on Dec. 29, 1996. … All-time, the Panthers are 153-179 against Big Ten opponents. … The two coaches in this game, Jeff Capel and Chris Collins, were teammates at Duke for three seasons (1994-1996) and both worked under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke from 2011-2013. … This is the championship game of the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off. … Northwestern lost to Merrimack, playing its second game as a Division I squad, by 10 earlier this season.

Mirror prediction: Pitt 66, Northwestern 55

Comment: The Panthers are the better team here, but they must shake their early-season shooting woes soon.

Mirror prediction record: 4-3

— Michael Boytim

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