Under the Radar Game of the Day: Western Illinois at Omaha, 2:00 PM Eastern
For John S.’s latest Throwback Thursday about the Great Midwest Conference, CLICK HERE.
For Jon T.’s Midterm All-Conference Teams, CLICK HERE.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
From all of us here at Hoops HD, we want to wish each and every one of you the best in 2016. Now that the calendars have changed, conference play has taken over the college basketball world. And today, although the hoops schedule is light, the Summit League does get going in earnest (one Summit League game was played Wednesday when Fort Wayne knocked off Oral Roberts). For the first UTR Game of the Day of 2016, we are heading to the very first college basketball game of any kind this year — Western Illinois will be at Nebraska-Omaha for a 2:00 PM Eastern tip-off.
Western Illinois started the season off with a bang, scoring one of the first major upsets with their 69-67 win at Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the Leathernecks ended 2015 on a sour note, suffering back-to-back losses to Chicago State and Loyola-Chicago. They sit at 7-4 on the season right now, but as with most Under the Radar teams, the slate is wiped clean as they enter conference play. They have a chance to win games now against their conference rivals and contend for a top seed in the Summit League tournament, which would bring with it a better chance at an NCAA Tournament bid. Although their toughest conference test comes on Sunday (at South Dakota State), WIU should be tested on the road today in Omaha. The Leathernecks have been led so far this season by Garret Covington who has scored double figures in every game. Convington has been the team’s top three-point shooter, including having made 5 in each of his last two games.
The Omaha Mavericks enter 2016 with a record of 8-6 that includes the “Visitor’s Bracket” championship at the Global Sports Classic. Of course, the Mavs best win on the season came back on December 13 when they won at Grand Canyon by four points in overtime. Omaha is one team that certainly knows about GCU’s current situation of being a transitional team that is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. The Mavericks just completed their own transition, and 2015-16 is their first season of full eligibility. Although they may be a longshot for the Big Dance, they should be competitive in league play due to a fast pace and a tough, balanced scoring attack. Devin Patterson, Tra-Deon Hollins, Tre’Shawn Thurman and Jake White are all capable of dropping double-digits on any team, any night. The speed that the team plays at also makes them dangerous, as they enter play today ranked 6th in the nation in tempo by KenPom.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-USC AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve). Wazzu is improving, but they’ve got a long way to go before they’re relevant again. USC, on the other hand, is a surprising 11-2 on the year, but has just one true road win on the season. This is one of the more winnable conference road games that they’ll play so it’s important that they pick it up.
-UTAH AT STANFORD (Pac Twelve). Utah’s profile is pretty solid, especially with a neutral floor win over Duke. But, Their next true road win will be their first, so they don’t want to pass up the opportunity to pick up a winnable conference road game.
-UCLA AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Washington has a ton of work to do if they want to land inside the bubble. UCLA is off to a pretty good start and can pick up their second true road win of the season tonight.
-COLORADO AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve). I’ve liked this Colorado team since the beginning. Cal is unbeaten at home, so this would clearly be their biggest win of the year if they pull this one out.