See the other highlighted games below….
Under the Radar Game of the Day: Monmouth at Army, 4:00 PM Eastern, patriotleague.tv
Today is the final day, the last of the season. This will be the last time before Selection Sunday that no conference-play games are scheduled in Division I men’s basketball. Within the next week, almost every one of the 32 conferences will begin regular season conference play (though a few of the smaller ones like the Ivy League may come a little bit later than that). There are a few prime choices for today’s UTR Game of the Day (including Valparaiso with a tough road test at Belmont, an intriguing matchup between Stony Brook and NJIT and a road test for Grand Canyon at SIU Edwardsville #LopesWaiver), but we could not pass up the chance to focus in on the Monmouth Hawks, especially with the team moving closer and closer to a Top 25 ranking and graduation off of the Under the Radar list. This afternoon, the team with the “Best Bench in Basketball” plays their final non-conference game of the season, heading from West Long Branch to West Point to battle the Black Knights of Army.
Monmouth enters play tonight with an overall record of 9-3, including wins away from home over UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Rutgers — a collection of wins as good as almost any team in the nation right now. As we reach the end of December, power rating numbers are getting more meaningful (at least more meaningful then they were a month ago). Monmouth’s RPI currently sits at #13 in the entire nation, and even their KenPom rating of 53 is respectable — especially with it having been done against one of the top 30 strengths of schedule. The Hawks are led by 5-8 guard Justin Robinson, but feature a ton of talented players that can carry the scoring load including Micah Seaborn, Deon Jones, Christ Brady and more. They are a fun and exciting team to watch, both on the court and on the sidelines, where the Monmouth Bench has garnered national headlines for their creative and fun celebrations. Just what new routines will come out each day makes every game worth tuning in for.
Today’s opponent for the Hawks is the Patriot League’s Army Black Knights. As we have noted before, Army is one of only five teams to have been a member of Division I since its inception in 1948 without ever playing in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern and William & Mary both have teams this season capable of getting off of that list, while St. Francis-Brooklyn had a chance to contend in the Northeast Conference as well (things do not look as promising for The Citadel). Army could also break that streak, as they and their rivals from Navy have been the two most impressive Patriot League teams so far this season. Army enters play today with a record of 8-3 and the highest KenPom power rating number in the conference (145). Two of their losses were certainly respectable, at George Washington and at Tennessee. However, the third came last time out at home to Marist, and was just the type of head-scratcher loss that plagued this Army team last season when they entered play looking like they could win the conference and instead finished in last place. Tanner Plomb leads the way for this Army team, having scored over 25 points in two of his last three games. However, keep an eye on three-point shooter Kyle Wilson (36 points earlier this year against Fairleigh Dickinson) and double-double threat Kevin Ferguson. Wilson could be the biggest factor in this game as it was three-point shooting defense that cost Monmouth in its loss earlier this year at Canisius. If the Hawks do not come out ready to play at both ends of the court from the opening tip, they could be heading back to New Jersey with their 4th loss of the year.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-PENN AT VILLANOVA (Big Five). If this wasn’t a Big Five game we wouldn’t be highlighting it. This is a huge mismatch that will likely end up looking very much like a buy game. Penn is improved, but they’re still a long way from being expected to compete in a game like this.
-ELON AT DUKE. This is a buy game, and it will likely be a huge mismatch, but Elon does come in with a somewhat surprising 9-3 record.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT WICHITA STATE. Wichita State has so much ground to make up that they basically can’t afford to lose for the rest of the season, at least not at home to sub NIT caliber teams. New Mexico State will likely win the WAC, but they’re still not at a caliber where you could expect them to make the NIT without a first place finish.
-VALPARAISO AT BELMONT. Belmont has been somewhat disappointing this year, but they’re still one of the better teams in the OVC. Valpo is looking for their fifth true road win of the year, which they need if they want to end up in a position to earn an at-large bid.
-GRAND CANYON AT SIUE. The Team of the People is looking for their second true road win, and to improve to 12-2 on the year. #LopesWaiver
-DAVIDSON AT CALIFORNIA. Both teams are good, but both have a lot of work to do, particularly Davidson who has a bloated record but nothing that comes close to resembling any sort of quality win.
-Nicholls State @ Houston (buy game)
-UNC Greensboro @ North Carolina (buy game)
-IUPUI @ Butler (buy game)
-Sacred Heart @ Hofstra (buy game)
-Prairie View A&M @ Louisiana Tech (buy game)
-CSU Bakersfield @ Arizona State (buy game)
-Coppin State @ Creighton (buy game)
-College of Idaho (nondiv1) @ Utah (buy game)
-Utah Valley @ Saint Mary’s (buy game)
-UC Santa Barbara @ Washington (buy game)
Pingback: Bracket Projections: December 28th | Hoops HD