News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Dec 12th

Below is a rundown of all of today’s college basketball action on another busy Saturday.

NEWS AND NOTES

-Pitt played a buy game against Eastern Washington last night, and Valpo visited Chicago State.  Both Valpo and Pitt won without too much trouble.

-For our most recent Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-For the Hoops HD Report from earlier this week – CLICK HERE

SPOTLIGHT GAMES

-CINCINNATI AT XAVIER.  This is a huge rivalry game between two teams that are in the rankings.  On paper, it’s a great win for whoever wins it, but it’s not a damaging loss at all for whoever doesn’t.  Off paper, it’s for bragging rights.  Being in the same city means the fans are at each others throat and the players see each other a lot in pickup games and summer leagues.  This is the one official game that they play against each other, and it generally gives us a playground type atmosphere.  It should be fun.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-OHIO STATE AT CONNECTICUT.  UConn has looked good at times this year, but they need notable wins on their profile.  Unfortunately, Ohio State has looked terrible this year to the point to where it’s not the kind of win the selection committee would give UConn a whole lot of credit for.

-AUBURN VS MIDDLE TENNESSEE (in Nashville).  Auburn has just one loss on the year, but this game will likely present a challenge.  Middle Tennessee has looked strong at times, and they’re not going to be easy to beat at home.

-LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE AT LOUISIANA TECH.  LA Tech hasn’t lifted a whole lot of weight, but they are 7-1 and can keep the momentum going with a win against an in-state rival today.

-MARQUETTE AT WISCONSIN.  This is a rivalry game between two teams who could desperately use a big win.  Wiscy is coming off a rather surprising loss to Milwaukee, and while Marquette stands at 7-2 they haven’t beaten anyone of note outside of a very disappointing LSU team.  In short, it’s a game between two teams that don’t like each other and that both really need to win.

-ORAL ROBERTS AT OKLAHOMA.  Oral Roberts is off to a very good 8-2 start and just got a big win against crosstown rival Tulsa.  Chances are they’re swinging way over their heads in this one, but if they were to do the impossible and pull off the upset it’s the kind of win that can get them into the NCAA Tournament even if they fail to win the Summit League tourney.  Oklahoma has looked like a #1 seed all season long.

-TENNESSEE AT BUTLER.  Tennessee has a long way to go.  Butler, on the other hand, is in the rankings and looks like they may be a protected seed.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT GEORGETOWN.  Fascinating game here between an unbeaten Wilmington team and a Georgetown team that’s much better than their record indicates.  Georgetown lost their season opener to Radford in double overtime, which was a surprise.  Since then, they’ve lost away from home to two top ten teams by a combined total of six points.  That’s rather remarkable, and I think they will end up very high in the rankings with a very healthy seed before the season end.  Wilmington is unbeaten, but also untested.  We’ll learn something about them today.

-OLE MISS AT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE.  If there is such a thing as a “road buy game” this is it.  I guess Ole Miss is looking to pad their road wins against a winless SEMO team.  It’s actually not a bad idea.

-EASTERN ILLINOIS AT WESTERN ILLINOIS.  Western Illinois is still at a very respectable 6-2 with the big win against Wisconsin on their profile.

-ARIZONA STATE AT KENTUCKY.  Arizona State has played decently well since their season opener, but they haven’t looked like they’re capable of beating Kentucky at Kentucky.  To be fair, almost no other team in the country really has either.

-UTAH AT WICHITA STATE.  Wichita State has looked a lot better since getting over their injuries, but they still have a ton of work to do.  I think they’re capable of making up the ground they lost, and a win today would be a huge start.

-SAINT MARY’S AT CALIFORNIA.  Saint Mary’s is unbeaten, but I think it’s safe to say that at least 100 teams would be unbeaten against the schedule they’ve played.  Today we get to see if they’re for real or not against a talented Cal team.

-GEORGE MASON AT JAMES MADISON.  JMU has been playing slightly better and a win today will get them to a respectable 8-3.

-ARMY AT AIR FORCE.  Neither team is likely to get anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid, but it is an intriguing game between two teams who have played well this season and come into this with decent records.

-STONY BROOK AT NORTHEASTERN.  I highlight this game only to say that I think I’ve given up on Northeastern.  They can still get on or in the bubble, but they’ll have to practically win out to do it.

-RUTGERS AT GEORGE WASHINGTON.  GW has a win against Virginia and their only loss was a close game against Cincinnati.  They’re looking solid and a win today gets them to 9-1.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT TEXAS.  Texas is improving, but they still have a very long way to go.  North Carolina is looking for their first true road win of the season.

-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS A&M.  Both teams come in with solid records and some pretty good wins.  It’s a real test for K State who’s only loss was to North Carolina in a game where they played pretty well.  It’s an old conference match-up renewed, and it’s a good opportunity for both teams.

-FLORIDA AT MICHIGAN STATE.  Florida has a good record, but doesn’t have any really big wins yet.  This is probably too tall of an order.  Michigan State is ranked #1, and they’ve looked like a #1 seed all season long.

-OREGON AT BOISE STATE.  Boise State has been somewhat disappointing this year, but winning a game like this against a ranked team at home could give them the emotional lift they need to turn their season around.  Oregon is good, but this is their first true road games, as well as one of their bigger tests so far.

-CHATTANOOGA AT DAYTON.  This is a huge opportunity for a Chattanooga team that’s won some big games  already.  A win today against a solid Dayton team that’s very tough to beat at home could make the difference between them making the NCAA Tournament or not if they fail to win the SoCon.  Dayton is coming off a big road win against Vanderbilt and already has an impressive profile at 7-1.

-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT MARSHALL.  I highlight this game for a reason that very few people will appreciate.  If only Jeff Neubauer were still at EKU for this one!

-UNLV AT UC RIVERSIDE.  UNLV is coming off the road loss to Wichita.  UC Riverside isn’t great, but they are unbeaten at home and, again, it’s a chance for UNLV to pad their road record.

-OREGON STATE VS KANSAS (in Kansas City).  The good news is that Oregon State is MUCH improved.  The bad news is that they were so bad before, that being much improved still doesn’t put them in the same universe as a Kansas team that will contend for a #1 seed.  It’s still a great test and opportunity for the Beavers in a game where they have nothing to lose.

-BYU AT COLORADO.  The Buffs aren’t getting a whole lot of attention despite being 7-1.  This is one of their bigger tests against a decent but not great BYU team who needs to win a game like this if they want the committee to notice them.

-MINNESOTA VS OKLAHOMA STATE (in Sioux Falls, SD).  Not much to see here.  Both teams have a lot of work to do, and more likely than not neither is capable of doing it.

-UC IRVINE AT UTAH STATE.  Utah State losing their best player certainly set them back.  UC Irvine probably won’t end up on the bubble either, but they are a respectable 6-3 and this would be a big road win for them if they can pull it off.  Chances are this will end up having NIT implications rather than NCAA implications, though.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT NEW MEXICO.  This is a huge opportunity for UNI.  They have the big home win against North Carolina.  If they get a road win against a New Mexico team that’s looked pretty good this year, I think they solidify themselves (at least for now) as a tournament caliber team.

-UCLA AT GONZAGA.  UCLA has the big home win against Kentucky, but this is their first true road game.  Gonzaga had to sweat out their last game against Montana, and hasn’t looked quite as good as we expected them to this season.

-LITTLE ROCK AT DEPAUL.  Little Rock is unbeaten on the season, and the more they win, the more seriously we need to take them.  DePaul isn’t exactly a top notch team, but they are unbeaten at home.

BUY GAMES

-Bryant @ Providence
-Delaware State @ Michigan
-Youngstown State @ Purdue
-Eastern Michigan @ Louisville
-Mississippi Valley State @ Evansville
-UMES @ Maryland
-IUPUI @ Creighton
-McNeese State @ Indiana
-Western Carolina @ Davidson
-Manhattan @ Memphis