For the most recent HOOPS HD REPORT, which was recorded last night – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s coverage of the Roman Main Event – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES:
-The biggest surprise of the day, and arguably the entire year up to this point, was Cincinnati’s blowout win against Illinois. Cincinnati winning would have been somewhat of a surprise in and of itself, but Cincinnati falling behind 23-8, and then outscoring them by 35 from that point on while Illinois was back at full strength was absolutely stupefying. Cincinnati goes on to play another highly ranked team tonight in Arkansas and they gotta be feeling pretty good about themselves.
-Seton Hall and Ohio State was an absolute thriller down in Fort Myers. Ohio State led most of the way, but Seton Hall kept it close and tied it with a breakaway steel in the final seconds. But..after that Ohio State hit a three to win 79-76. These are two good teams that will probably finish higher in the rankings than they are right now, and it was a big win for Ohio State.
-Saint Mary’s got a nice win against Notre Dame in the Maui Invitational. I think both these teams are better than what was forecasted in the preseason, and that this is a win that SMC will end up getting a lot of credit for by the end of the year. Both teams will have other opportunities to get notable wins throughout this event.
-In the Gulf Coast Showcase, Oakland knocked off a Vermont team 63-61 that’s under the radar, but who will also probably win a lot of games this year. Oakland has a long way to go to land inside the bubble, and has lost a game or two that they needed to win, but they also have a win at Oklahoma State, so we are definitely watching them.
-Neither Tulane or Drexel will likely be on the board come March, but yesterday in the Bahamas at the Nassau Championship they started their game in one ballroom, the roof started leaking so they had to move to another, and the place they moved to was too small for the cameras. Tulane got the 90-87 win in overtime after a very rare college basketball rain delay.
-Colorado beat Brown….but BARELY. Brown was in a position to win, but just couldn’t hold on and they fell 54-52. Brown falls to 2-3, but two of their losses were close games to North Carolina and Colorado.
-Fordham blew out Akron in the Gulf Coast Showcase 63-43, and is showing signs of life!
-It was fun seeing old Valley rivals Creighton and Southern Illinois go at it again in the Paradise Jam, and it was fitting that it seesawed back and forth and came down to the wire. Creighton ended up with the 66-64 win to improve to 5-1. The Salukis fall to 2-3, but they’ve shown some promise and with a lot of season left to go they could still end up having a big year. They REALLY could have used this one though!
-Lafayette got their first win of the season! At Rutgers! 53-51. Rutgers will have plenty of opportunities to make up for this, but this was NOT a good loss for them.
-Richmond got a nice 81-68 win against Hofstra. I still think the Spiders can play their way inside of the bubble.
-Colorado State was down by as much as 20 to Northeastern in the Paradise Jam, but came from behind to get the 71-61 win and remain unbeaten on the year.
-LSU blew out what we think is a pretty good Belmont team 96-66. Belmont will likely win a lot of games this year, but so far they’ve missed every opportunity they’ve had to get an early notable win. In this particular case, they missed it BADLY!
-Wyoming got a nice win at Grand Canyon. The Cowboys weren’t really on our radar, but they are now, and they’ll stay there until they give us a reason to ignore them. They’re 4-0 on the year, they handed Grand Canyon their first loss of the year, and they did it on the road. Considering GCU rarely loses at home, and may not lose at home for the rest of the season, that was a big win!
-George Mason has dropped two straight to two not so good teams since their win at Maryland. They fell to Washington 77-74 in the Crossover Classic last night.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-GONZAGA VS UCLA (Good Sam Empire Classic) (***Spotlight Game***). It’s the top two teams in the rankings. It’s a rematch from one of the best Final Four games every played. It’s two potential #1 seeds. It’s a fantastic showcase. It’s also the fourth game of the season that has featured two top six teams!
-TEXAS A&M VS BUTLER (Maui Invitational). Both are coming off losses, but both have the chance to bounce back today and pick up what (I think) will be a notable win.
-WISCONSIN VS HOUSTON (Maui Invitational). This is a huge test for Wisconsin. Houston seems to have once again established themselves as a top 20 caliber team, and perhaps they’re even better than that, so this would be a huge statement win for Wisky if they can pull it off. The problem is…pulling it off is much easier said than done.
-ILLINOIS VS KANSAS STATE (Hall of Fame Classic). Illinois got absolutely blasted into the sun by Cincinnati yesterday, and now suddenly has two early losses against teams that they were almost assuredly expecting to beat. They need to bounce back today against a K State team that’s looking to pick up a notable win for themselves.
-GEORGE MASON VS NEVADA (Crossover Classic). Since winning at Maryland, George Mason has lost back to back games to teams that…shall we say…are subpar. They need to pull themselves out of that tailspin and avoid losing a third straight game like that today.
-WOFFORD AT SOUTH CAROLINA. This might be a deceptively good game. Wofford comes in at 4-1, and South Carolina is 3-1 with a pretty nice win against UAB in their last game.
-VIRGINIA VS PROVIDENCE (Legends Classic). I think Virginia will kick it in to gear sometime after Thanksgiving. They usually do. But, it’s not Thanksgiving quite yet, and they have struggled. Two very contrasting styles which will make this fun to watch on the court. Two likely NCAA Tournament teams means that it’s a chance for both of them to pick up a notable win.
-OREGON VS SAINT MARY’S (Maui Invitational). Oregon basically walked into this game by beating Chaminade, and Saint Mary’s picked up a really nice win against Notre Dame, which should help them out later on. Oregon was blown out by BYU in their only real test of the season so far (to be fair, it was the first of many tests to come), so they could kind of use a win here to start getting their resume built. SMC could remain unbeaten and add another notable win to their profile as well.
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT MISSOURI STATE (Naples Invitational). Missouri State lost their season opener, which was a setback right out of the gate, but they’re still a good team that could play their way close to the bubble. Maybe even on it. Maybe even inside of it. They need these wins away from home, though.
-CINCINNATI VS ARKANSAS (Hall of Fame Classic). Cincinnati’s blowout win over Illinois last night was one of the bigger surprises of the season, and if they win tonight you have to start thinking of them as a top 25 caliber team. It won’t be easy, though. Arkasnas is in the rankings, is a potential protected seed, and it’s a chance for them to pick up what could turn out to be a notable win away from home of their own.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS WASHINGTON (Crossover Classic). I was kind of surprised to see Washington beat George Mason last night, but they have actually not looked all that bad in most of their games so far. South Dakota State is another Under the Radar team that we really like who needs to do well in this event in order to make their case.
BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:
-Evansville vs Vermont (Gulf Coast Showcase) – I still think this Vermont team can make quite a bit of noise this year
-James Madison vs Wright State (Naples Invitaitonal) – JMU has a nice win against George Mason, but is coming off a loss to Kent State. They won’t play in the CAA Tourney, so they need the auto-bid to make the field
-Akron vs Appalachian State (Gulf Coast Showcase) – two UTR teams that aren’t likely to make it inside the bubble, but that could still have big years
-Georgia vs Northwestern (Roman Legends Classic) – Northwestern is 4-1 with a chance to get to 5-1, but I’m still not a full believer
-Rice vs Oakland (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Oakland has some nice wins already, but they’ve also dropped a few that. Still, they could end up having a big year
-Stephen F Austin vs Buffalo (Cancun Challenge) – I really like this Buffalo team and think they can finish inside the bubble
-Defiance (nonD1) @ Miami OH – Miami OH can get to 5-0
-Lipscomb @ Tennessee Tech – a win for Lipscomb gets them to 5-1, and is their second road win
-Louisiana @ Marshall – both teams 3-1
-Jackson State @ Indiana
-UNC Asheville @ North Carolina
-Rhode Island vs FGCU – interesting road game for 4-1 Rhody, who is looking for their first road win
-Kennesaw State @ Wake Forest
-Omaha @ Texas Tech
-Illinois State vs Saint Louis (CanCun Challenge) – SLU is beat up with injuries, but they are also a respectable 4-1 right now
-NC A&T @ Stanford
-Notre Dame vs Chaminade (nonD1) (Maui Invitational)