College Basketball Schedule: Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State open seasons Friday

Georgia State Vs. Duke - 7 p.m. ESPNU

The Georgia State Panthers open the season in hostile territory as they travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to take on the Duke Blue Devils. The Panthers begin their final season in the CAA and are ineligible for the conference tournament. That means that the only way they can find their way into the NCAA Tournament is to impress the selection committee which makes Friday's opener all the more important. Duke is looking for a big season under MIke Krzyzewski and opens the season ranked No. 8.

Kennesaw State Vs. Tennesee - 7 p.m. Fox Sports South

There is only one way for the Kennesaw State basketball program to go and that is up after last season's 3-28 campaign. The Owls return leading scorer Markeith Cummings who was named to the Atlantic Sun's Preseason All-Conference team.

Georgia Southern Vs. Valparaiso - 8:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern looks to take another step forward in Charles Young's fourth year at the helm. The Eagles finished 15-15 last season overall but 12-6 in the Southern Conference. They also notched their first post season win since 2007 with a victory over Chattanooga in the SoCon Conference Tournament. Valpariso finished 22-12 last season and defeated the Eagles 90-81 in last season's opener.