NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Xavier picked up a REALLY nice road win at Northern Iowa. I think that Xavier is a better team, but I was actually expecting UNI to win because they were at home, and had the crowd with them, and had the familiarity of the venue with them. This could very well end up being their only home loss, and if that’s how it plays out then its’ a win that Xavier will get a ton of credit for from the selection committee.
-Georgia had no trouble burying Temple 84-66. I Georgia is a really hot and cold team, but after that win I’d say they’re hot right now.
-Saint Bonaventure led Syracuse for most of the game, but the Orange were able to force overtime. Still, the Bonnies pulled it out and picked up a huge win for their resume, and did it against a regional P5 team. That always has to feel good.
-Rutgers, who we never thought of as being a tournament team but still thought were showing signs of promise, lost at home to Stony Brook yesterday. I guess they were still partying after beating Seton Hall. They weren’t the only Big Ten school to choke on their cupcake…
-Penn State, who we have talking about as a possible tournament team, lost at home to Rider yesterday in a game that was truly surprising.
-Towson blew it against Pitt. Pitt is getting better, but this was really a game Towson could have won and arguably should have won. The Colonial will get one team in, and it’ll be whoever wins the automatic bid. Teams need to be able to win on the road against sub-NIT caliber teams if they want to be able to make the NCAAs.
-Texas looked really impressive against Alabama in Birmingham. It was a good win for their resume, but more importantly they looked like a top 25 caliber team yesterday.
-UNLV and Washington both survived scares from Big Sky teams. Northern Colorado, who is having a fantastic season by UTR standards, nearly knocked off UNLV, and Montana was right in there with Washington. It was two of the more exciting games of the day.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES, Saturday, Dec 23rd
-TENNESSEE AT WAKE FOREST. Tennessee had to sweat out their last game, but they’ve still had a great season so far and have a winnable true road game today against a Wake team that is improving with six straight wins, but that’s still struggling.
-GRAND CANYON AT LOUISVILLE. It’s a buy game, and it probably won’t be a close game, but since GCU is one of the better teams in the WAC we’ll go ahead and highlight it.
-RICHMOND AT BOSTON COLLEGE. Richmond is so bad that this will end up looking like a buy game.
-OHIO STATE VS NORTH CAROLINA (CBS Sports Classic, New Orleans). UNC is coming off a rather surprising loss to Wofford and is looking to rebound. Their opponent is an Ohio State team that is by no means great, but has gotten noticeably better as the year has gone along and is a potentially dangerous opponent today if UNC overlooks them. UNC is a likely protected seed, and Ohio State is trying to make the field. A win today away from home helps both teams causes.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT EVANSVILLE (Missouri Valley). Evansville was just blasted at Duke, but they weren’t at full strength and they’re still in relatively decent shape if they can finish at or near the top of the MVC. Winning today is pretty much a must.
-UCONN AT AUBURN. Auburn has been one of the bigger surprises of the year, and they can continue to build that momentum against a UConn team that has really struggled this season. The Huskies really need a win like this to get things turned around.
-KENTUCKY VS UCLA (CBS Sports Classic, New Orleans). Kentucky comes into this at 9-1, but still doesn’t have a really solid win that most protected seeded teams will have. Still, they’ve improved as the year has gone on and are still dangerous. UCLA is still trying to iron out their issues and could really use a win like this to catapult their resume, so this is a nice opportunity for both teams.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS USC (Diamond Head Classic). Middle Tennessee barely survived against Princeton yesterday, but it’s a good thing that they did because it places them on the winning side of the bracket and gives them the chance to pick up quality wins away from home. If they win this game, which they’re certainly capable of doing, and then blow through the conference, which they’re certainly capable of doing, then they should at least end up on the bubble. If they win this whole tournament then they should end up inside the bubble. USC needs to win just to get things turned around. They started off ranked in the top 10, but have barely looked like a top 40 team for most of the season.
-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI (Saint Louis, MO). BRAGGIN RIGHTS!!! This game doesn’t quite have the story line that it typically did about ten years ago, but it is slowly working its way back to relevance. Missouri looks like a tournament caliber team this year and this would be another win away from home. Illinois has struggled, but they’re program is rebuilding and you get the sense that it’s going in the right direction. This would be a feel-good moment for them if they’re able to pull the upset, and those feel-good moments are important to programs that are rebuilding.
-NEW MEXICO STATE VS MIAMI FL (Diamondhead Classic). New Mexico State is a solid UTR team that could really build up their resume if they’re able to win this tournament. Like Middle Tennessee, if they beat a ranked team today and then blow through their conference they should end up inside the bubble come Selection Sunday. That’s easier said than done. Miami is undefeated and just blew out a pretty good Hawaii team in the middle of the night last night.
-SAN FRANCISCO VS NEVADA (Last Vegas Classic). Nevada is off to a great start and shouldn’t have too much trouble improving to 12-2 and picking up another win away from home.
BUY GAMES
-Fordham @ West Virginia
-Manhattan @ Seton Hall
-Loyola MD @ Memphis
-Alabama A&M @ Georgetown
-Florida Atlantic @ Minnesota
-Southern Miss @ Mississippi State
-Texas Southern @ BYU
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 24TH
-No games scheduled
MONDAY, DECEMBER 25TH
-MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We will have the final round of the Diamond Head Classic today. The winner’s side of hte bracket has shaped up to be pretty good, and the third place games and championship games should be worth watching. It will be some combination of New Mexico State v Miami FL and Middle Tennessee vs USC with the winners and losers playing each other.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26th
-No games scheduled
As we do every year, we will be going into holiday mode for the next couple of days. Christmas falls on a Monday, so we will be recording the Hoops HD report at a later time (probably Tuesday). I realize the holidays mean different things to different people, and that everyone experiences them in a different way. Some love it. Others hate it. If you’ve got a big family celebration plan then I hope you enjoy it and that it goes well. If you’ve got a big family celebration planned that you’re dreading, then I hope you survive it. If you’re unable to be with your family and friends then at the very least I hope you’re able to relax and enjoy the time to yourself. If you ever need to connect with someone, just turn on the Diamond Head Classic and jump on Twitter. We will be watching. If you’re someone that doesn’t enjoy the holidays at all then I’m sure you have your reasons and I hope you get through them okay. As I said before, just turn on the Diamond Head, jump on Twitter, and pretend that it’s not December!
Thanks to all those who watch, listen, and read. See ya soon!!