Friday, August 31
Friday’s are typically reserved for high school ball for myself and many others. But if you don’t plan on watching your alma mater or local prep teams play, there are many options on TV.
Western Michigan Broncos vs. Syracuse Orange: 6:00 p.m., CBS Sports Network
The Orange brought a lot of attention to themselves with an upset of the Clemson Tigers last season. But they followed that with five-straight losses to end the year 4-8. In two seasons, Dino Babers has an 8-16 record at Syracuse. They open the year against a Western Michigan squad who went 6-6 last year.
No. 11 Michigan State vs. Utah State Aggies: 7:00 p.m., Big 10 Network
The Spartans are on their back to the top of the college football world. After a playoff appearance in 2015, they went 3-9 in 2016. Sparty bounced back with a 10-3 campaign last year. They enter 2018 with playoff hopes on the mind again. But Utah State is no slouch
Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: 7:35 p.m., Fox Sports Southeast
The Braves swept the Pirates the last time they met. Atlanta also has a 3.5-gane lead over the Phillies. Confidence is high and it can remain high with another great series with Pittsburgh.
Washington Mystics vs. Atlanta Dream: 8:00 p.m., TBA
WNBA Semifinals – Game 3
No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers vs. Western Kentucky: 9:00 p.m., ESPN
Wisconsin has high hopes for 2018. They believe that they can become the third different Big 10 team to make the playoffs. But they open the season against a Western Kentucky club who is one of the best non-power-5 teams of the decade. I’m not going to put the Badgers on upset alert, but this is definitely a game to check out.
No. 13 Stanford Cardinal vs. San Diego State Aztecs: 9:00 p.m., Fox Sports 1
I am however putting Stanford on upset alert. There’s a good chance their playoff hopes are partially dashed immediately as they face San Diego State, who went 10-3 last year. In fact, the Aztecs going for their fourth-straight 10-win season. This decade, the Aztecs average 9.125 wins a year.
Colorado Buffalos @ Colorado State Rams: 9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network, Sports Authority Field, Denver, Colorado
If the other games fail to live up to the height, why not check out Mike Bobo’s Rams to see if they can bounce back from their loss to Hawaii.