Tom Palombo has never been one to dabble in hyperbole, but even the Guilford men’s basketball coach recognizes the significance of Saturday’s game against Hampden-Sydney.

The biggest game Saturday in men’s Division III basketball takes place at Ragan-Brown Field House where 11th-ranked Guilford opens its Old Dominion Athletic Conference schedule against second-ranked Hampden-Sydney. 

The 4:30 p.m. game is the second half of a doubleheader at Ragan-Brown. Guilford’s women play Eastern Mennonite University at 2 pm.

The game is laced with storylines beyond the national rankings. Both teams are 5-0. Both teams are expected to compete for the ODAC regular season title. And the Tigers are coached by former Guilford point guard Caleb Kimbrough, who started a school-record 108 games for the Quakers with back-to-back 24-win seasons.

As if that’s not enough, both teams remember their last meeting for entirely different reasons. The Quakers stunned Hampden-Sydney in the ODAC Tournament’s semifinals last season when Jordan Davis banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Tom has spent the last few days trying to keep his players focused. “It’s always a good game when we play them, but it’s still just a game,” says Tom. “You can let big games like this motivate you or distract you.”

Tom says he’s not worried about the Quakers being distracted. In forward Julius Burch (above) and guard Tyler Dearman, Guilford has two graduate students and a number of juniors who have played in those so-called big games, including an 83-80 overtime win over 19th-ranked Emory at home two weeks ago.

The key for the Quakers on Saturday is controlling rebounding on both ends of the court. “That’s going to be the most important thing for us to do – especially on defense,” Tom says. “Hampden-Sydney is athletic and we can’t afford to give them two, three shots on their end. Rebounding will be so important.”

Like the men, perfection has obediently followed Guilford’s women this season. The Quakers are 4-0 with one of the youngest teams in the ODAC. There’s not a single senior in the lineup, but if there’s a lack of experience it’s not showing.

The women are led by sophomore forward Anna Giannopoulou, who’s averaging 17.3 points per game, junior forward Courtney McMillan (16.3 ppg) and junior guard Ashtyn Zeigler (11.5 ppg).

Women’s coach Sarah Mathews says the team’s fast-tempo offense (Guilford leads the ODAC in scoring at 81.8 points per game) has been clicking to start the season. The downside to that fast play is an uptick in turnovers.

“That’s going to happen with an offense like ours, but we can do better in reducing them and I think we are,” says Sarah.

The doubleheader is being billed as Bleed Crimson. Students will receive a Guilford t-shirt when they show their ticket from the women’s game at the gate for the men’s game. Community members will receive free admission with a donation of canned food.