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Good morning everyone! Hope you guys enjoyed the marathon’s release and are looking forward to the games. Let’s get to the news.

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1. Notables, players to watch for each F68 Marathon team

Yesterday, the college hoops community rejoiced over the return of the 24-hour opening day marathon, only on the Field of 68. Since most of the teams fit under the mid-major umbrella and have new rosters, I'll walk you through the biggest storylines and players to watch for each team.

High Point vs Liberty

High Point: Fresh off the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, Flynn Clayman reloaded in the portal. The biggest storyline is how Clayman puts his rotation together. The Panthers could easily deploy a 12-13 man rotation. In this matchup against Liberty, the depth and relentless tempo could be interesting in contrast to the Flames' style.

Players to watch: Point guard CJ Brown and forward Cam Fletcher. Brown averaged 10.9 ppg for South Florida, which made the NCAA Tournament, and Fletcher could average a double-double this year.

Liberty: Continuity has been a huge bonus for Ritchie McKay over the years. The new era for the Flames roster begins, as each of their top six scorers departs. That includes mainstays such as Zach Cleveland, Collin Porter and Kaden Metheney.

Players to watch: The Campbell brothers and Osmar Garcia-Araujo. Cobi and Cooper Campbell went from Troy to Liberty. Both fit perfectly in McKay's system, and Cooper could explode as McKay's point guard. Garcia-Araujo is a 6-7 big man who averaged 16.5 ppg at the D-2 level. Liberty bigs need to screen, pass, and score efficiently inside. Garcia-Araujo can do all of those.

Northern Illinois: The biggest storyline for Northern Illinois is this being the first game of the Matt Majkrzak era. He made four straight NCAA D-2 Tournaments at Northern Michigan. A big part of Majkrzak's coaching identity is the continuity and ball-movement his teams play with. We'll see how quickly his new squad meshes.

Players to watch: Guards Uzziah Buntyn and Cal Klesmit. Buntyn could be NIU's leading scorer. He averaged 12.2 ppg as a freshman at South Dakota and has a really strong scoring skill set. Klesmit, meanwhile, comes to NIU with Majkrzak after shooting 41% from 3 last year. His familiarity with Majkrzak could help early in the year.

Grambling State: Patrick Crarey has the tall task of replacing his top-10 scorers from last year, including Antonio Munoz. The Tigers posted a 20% defensive turnover rate last year, but forcing turnovers against Northern Illinois could be tough. I'd love to see how NIU handles this aggressive defense.

Players to watch: Kyle Layton and Isaiah Miranda. Yes, that Isaiah Miranda, the former top-100 recruit who spent time at NC State, Oklahoma State, Green Bay and LIU, will end his career at Grambling. He'll be the tallest player on the floor at 7-2, so maybe he can score at the hoop. Layton figures to be the top scorer for the Tigers after averaging 8.4 ppg at Tennessee Tech last year.

Merrimack vs Appalachian State

Appalachian State: Dustin Kerns is one of the best defensive coaches at the mid-major level. Even when his teams struggle to score, his ability to coach defense gives his teams a solid floor. I'm curious if the Mountaineers can maintain their elite rim deterrence with Luke Wilson and Michael Marcus transferring. I'll keep blind faith in Kerns either way.

Players to watch: Guard Eren Banks and big man Bryan Chretien. Banks averaged 6.6 ppg last year, and they'll need him to put up more scoring to beat a team like Merrimack. Chretien could solve some of the rim questions, as he's a 7-footer with pro experience in France.

Merrimack: Very few coaches have a better system and culture than Joe Gallo at Merrimack. He lost Budd Clark in the portal two years ago and lost Kevair Kennedy this year. It’s just rinse and repeat, though. He finds different players that fit his defensive system and usually has one scorer to lead the offense in the half court.

Players to watch: Guards Ayden Johnson and Tye Dorset will be huge to Merrimack’s success. Johnson, a freshman, could follow in Clark and Kennedy’s footsteps. Dorset, meanwhile, is the top returning scorer.

Queens vs Winthrop

Winthrop: How does Winthrop operate without Logan Duncomb? He was everything for the Eagles last year, and now he's at Notre Dame. Will Mark Prosser adjust his style a bit to fit his personnel?

Players to watch: Guard Keyshawn Fisher and Seif Hendawy. Fisher and Hendawy could give this team an identity as bigger guards with ball-handling prowess. That could lead to the Eagles exploiting a lot of mismatches.

Queens (NC): Grant Leonard took the Royals dancing last year. They had the 78th-ranked offense in the country per KenPom. They'll have a chance to dance again if their offense remains elite.

Players to watch: Returning studs Jordan Watford and Avantae Parker. The team belongs to Watford now. Last year, he flashed in his first college game against this same Winthrop team. At 6-5, Watford is a big lead guard with strong passing and inside scoring ability. Parker averaged 11 and five last year.

Murray State vs Tennessee State

Murray State: Murray State was one of the more talented mid-major squads last year, but it was never able to iron out defensive issues. There's no doubt the Racers will score plenty, but will the defense get on track?

Players to watch: How could I not say Kaden Magwood and Roman Domon? The fact that Ryan Miller got a talent like Domon back is a season-long tone setter. Meanwhile, Magwood, a top-100 recruit a season ago, could be the Robin to Domon's Batman.

Tennessee State: Nolan Smith took the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in his first season as head coach. His team had a lot of seniors, so it'll be a new-looking roster in his second season. They'll be the favorites to make the Big Dance again.

Players to watch: Rarely can an OVC team land a trio of former top-100 prospects. But Smith did, landing Arterio Morris, Ty-Laur Johnson and big man Aaron Bradshaw. Since Morris and Johnson are both ball-dominant, we'll see how Smith uses them.

UTEP vs Northern Kentucky

UTEP: UTEP is one of many teams to move leagues from realignment. The Miners struggled on the defensive end last year, which is quite different from other Joe Golding teams. I expect them to get back to their roots this season.

Players to watch: Point guard Leif Moeller and forward Augusto Cassia. Moeller is a very exciting player; he's a bigger guard who can operate in P&R and shoot it well. He's a great piece to build this UTEP offense around. Cassia, a 6-8, 225-pound forward, averaged just 2.2 ppg at Ole Miss last year, but he'll get more playing time at UTEP.

Northern Kentucky: The Norse had four players who averaged 14-18 ppg, and all four of them are gone. Darrin Horn has to find which pieces can emerge to pick up the scoring slack.

Players to watch: Point guard Ethan Elliott and wing BJ Davis-Ray. Elliott is the best returning player on this NKU roster. He flashed as a freshman, averaging 5.1 ppg and 4.6 apg and starting all but one game. Davis-Ray is a real wildcard. His size and athleticism should play nicely for the Norse, but he barely played at SMU.

UAB vs McNeese State

UAB: UAB has won 20+ games in each of Andy Kennedy's five seasons at the helm. He's turned this program into one of the most consistent in the AAC, and their 2026-27 season will begin in Rock Hill against a formidable McNeese squad.

Players to watch: Kennedy brought in two big-time scorers in Southern Utah transfer Elijah Duval and Delaware transfer Justyn Fernandez. Both averaged 15+ ppg last year and should thrive in the Blazers' offense that usually has a few big-time scorers.

McNeese State: Will Wade might be gone, but Bill Armstrong continued the success that Wade began in 2025-26. Once again, the Cowboys will be heavy favorites to win the Southland after reloading in the portal.

Players to watch: Larry Johnson, the top returning scorer from last year's tournament team, opted to come back. Who will be the second scorer, though? I feel like Utah transfer Elijah Moore or Vanderbilt transfer Jaylon Dean-Vines will take that role, but this game could be a good indicator of who that is.

Furman vs Bethune-Cookman

Furman: The Paladins made the Big Dance last year, but lost Alex Wilkins and Cooper Bowser to SEC squads in the portal. That's life as a mid-major these days. How will Bob Richey adjust to losing such pivotal players? Because it's more than Wilkins and Bowser; it's the Dins' top six scorers.

Players to watch: Luka Toews could be an ideal PG for Richey to develop. He had solid minutes at Boston College when given the chance. I also love the addition of Marcus Kell. He's an All-SOCON player at Western Carolina and averaged 13.6 ppg last year. He could be the Paladins' best player.

Bethune-Cookman: Last year was a strong one for Reggie Theus and Bethune-Cookman, winning 14 games in SWAC play. However, it lost early in the SWAC tournament and will look to get back to the Big Dance this season. We’ll learn a lot about the Wildcats’ new look roster from this game, facing a very stout opponent in Furman.

Players to watch: Kevin Patton Jr is a big-time athlete who should be very important to Bethune-Cookman’s success. He averaged 9.8 ppg at San Diego two seasons ago. I think he’ll get in the 13-15 ppg range with an expanded role at Bethune-Cookman.

2. What’s new with fifth-year news?

Of course, we have more fifth-year player eligibility news to discuss. Firstly, the NCAA isn’t backing down from denying 2022 players eligibility, despite the continuous lawsuits.

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