Click here for last night’s HoopsHD Report from panelists Chad Sherwood, David Griggs, Joby Fortson, Jon Teitel and John Stalica.
Click here for David Griggs’ weekly checkpoint (not forecasted) bracket.
With exams/final term papers underway at most college campuses this week, we have a light slate of basketball games scheduled for this upcoming week.
Both Duke and North Carolina have injury situations to monitor at the moment – Duke’s Amile Jefferson is out indefinitely with a foot injury; Carolina’s Kennedy Meeks is expected to miss at least 2 weeks of action, if not longer.
The Bizarro Team of the People kept their unique home-court advantage with a win over Dartmouth last night to move to 4-3 on the season against Division I foes. That team, you ask? Cal-State Bakersfield, home of one of the premier court designs in the nation (click here for a picture of their court).
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
LOUISIANA TECH at OLE MISS (Early Spotlight Game) – 7:00 ET, SEC Network – While Old Dominion and UAB have been somewhat disappointing in Conference USA so far, Louisiana Tech has been a pleasant surprise. They’ve already won at Ohio State and have a win over Texas-Arlington that is looking better and better by the day. Ole Miss would be another opportunity for the Bulldogs to get a “name” victory that may or may not be a signature victory in the eyes of the Selection Committee.
TENNESSEE TECH at CHATTANOOGA (UTR Game of the Day) – 7:00 ET – Click here for Chad Sherwood’s preview between the Mocs and the Golden Eagles.
UC IRVINE at OREGON (Late Spotlight Game) – 11:00 ET, Pac-12 Network – This is an equally important game for both teams – Oregon has an opportunity to continue their mastery at home with a chance to get a win against a team that will be favored to win the Big West. The Anteaters’ best win so far this year was a win at Utah State; Oregon would be a much bigger win for UC-Irvine should they be able to pull this one off.
MONMOUTH at GEORGETOWN – 7:30 ET, FS1 – While Georgetown came out of the chute slowly with losses to Radford, at Maryland and against Duke in NYC, they have passed all of their other tests with flying colors. The Hawks’ Nest will take their show on the road to DC right after a big win over their Tri-State rival Wagner.
SOUTHERN at MEMPHIS – 8:00 ET, ESPN3 – The SWAC already has 9 true road wins against Division I opponents this season; Southern can get victory #10 with a win at Memphis tonight. This is not your run-of-the-mill buy game when you consider that the Jaguars have already won at Mississippi State and at Wyoming this season.
VCU at GEORGIA TECH – 9:00 ET, ESPN2 – While Georgia Tech sat out this year’s ACC-Big Ten Challenge, their only noteworthy test out of conference this season was against Villanova in Brooklyn on Thanksgiving weekend. VCU has yet to get a win against a major program (and their loss to Wisconsin is looking worse by the day).
DEPAUL at STANFORD – 10:00 ET, FS1 – It will look like a pillow fight on paper between two teams expected to finish at or near the bottom of their respective conferences, but Stanford will get a shot at revenge for a game they lost in Chicago last season.
NOTABLE BUY GAMES
Georgia Southern at Duke, 7 PM (ESPN2)
UNC-Greensboro at Wake Forest, 7 PM (ESPN3)
Norfolk State at Cincinnati, 7 PM (ESPNU)
UL-Lafayette at UCLA, 9 PM (Pac-12 Network)
Mercer at Auburn, 9 PM (SEC Network)
Delaware State at Grand Canyon, 9 PM (Cox7.com in Phoenix)