Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

Due to the FAA Ground Stop on Friday, the following games have been postponed:

UNC-Greensboro at Cornell – No New date
Air Force at Pacific – No New date
Idaho State at Seattle – moved to Sunday Nov 15 at 4:00 PM Eastern
Washington at Utah – moved to Sunday Nov 15 at 2:00 PM Eastern
Louisiana at UNC-Wilmington – postponed due to Louisiana personnel issues, UNCW has scheduled non-D1 Montreat for today instead.

As for yesterday’s action on the court:

-Kentucky escaped (and I DO mean escaped) a major upset bid by Northern Arizona; the Lumberjacks missed a pair of front ends of 1-and-1 free throws and the Wildcats were able to hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining to pull out a 1-point win at Rupp Arena. In case you’re wondering if Northern Arizona is expected to be one of those scrappy-good teams from a smaller league, they absolutely are not. In fact they’re picked to finish last in the Big Sky.

-Tennessee also had a bit of a tough victory against in-state rival Tennessee State; the Vols had a 15-point lead cut down to 5 points in the final minute. However, the Tigers couldn’t get any closer than that – but they did look a lot better than when they were blown out in their season opener.

-Ohio State was able to overcome an early double-digit deficit at UConn, but the Huskies turned a small 2-point lead into an 84-68 home win against the Buckeyes. This was Nik Khamemia’s first missed game for the Huskies; he is expected to be out of their lineup until at least January.

-Maryland jumped out to a 47-36 lead at home against their old ACC rival Virginia, but the Hoos would take the lead for good in the final 5 minutes of regulation en route to an 87-83 victory. Combined with the Georgetown loss, it’s been a tough week for the Terps.

-Auburn had won 69 straight home games against nonconference opponents, but with Arizona coming to town it wasn’t a complete shock to see that streak come to an end. The Wildcats ended up with an 80-69 victory in a homecoming game for freshman Caleb Holt; he scored 24 points to lead Arizona.

-Seton Hall nearly erased an early 17-point deficit against Alabama, but the Tide held on to defeat The Hall 82-76. If Big East fans were expecting the Pirates to be a pushover in conference play, it ain’t happening. (Butler, on the other hand, looks like they’ll be in the doghouse all season long). Seton Hall, despite the loss, definitely has our attention now.

-Georgetown jumped out to a 19-point lead on the road at Clemson and ended up hanging on for an 85-78 victory at Littlejohn Coliseum. It was a much-needed win for the Big East who had mainly done nothing but win buy games at home so far.

-Xavier also gave the Big East a boost with an 81-63 win against Mississippi State in the Greenbrier Tip-Off Classic. This is perhaps Xavier’s most impressive performance since…well…several years ago at least. There is a good chance the Musketeers could be undefeated going into the Battle 4 Atlantis with home games against Cleveland State and Iowa looming next week.

-Another Big East team to keep an eye on is DePaul. Northwestern is not a tournament caliber team. I know that. But for DePaul to go into their building and win by 20 is a statement. DePaul did what you would expect a solid tournament caliber team to do in that game. Chris Holtmann has the Blue Demons rolling!

-Georgia also gave themselves and the SEC a boost with a road win at North Carolina. Will the Dawgs be a factor late in the season, or will they be a team that once again flames out in their NCAA Tournament opener? Again, just making the Round of 64 is no longer a stone cold lock with the Dirty Dozen preceding that round.

-East Texas A&M is now undefeated on the road after a come-from-behind win at Portland in overtime.

-UIC was unbeaten going into last night and we thought they would put up more of a fight at Saint Mary’s. The Gaels were having none of it and ended up putting out the Flames early and often in a 23-point romp.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-LSU AT GONZAGA. LSU has looked impressive in their buy games and has had a lot of off the court wins in terms of their roster, but this is their first real test and it’s a massive one. Gonzaga already has a notable win against Purdue and should be able to roll through this one.

-NEW MEXICO AT SANTA CLARA. The late game is a good one!! Both teams are good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, but both also have somewhat limited opportunities at notable wins, so this is a really good opportunity for both of these teams.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Tulane @ Akron – Akron should be able to stay unbeaten on the year

-Bradley @ George Mason (Showdown in St. Pete). I like this George Mason team. They haven’t lost yet and this is another winnable game for them

-Loyola Chicago @ Colorado State – this isn’t a buy game, but given how Loyola Chicago has been playing it may end up looking like one. I really like this Colorado State team and think they can make it to the NCAA Tournament

-Miami OH @ Evansville – this is a tricky road game for the Red Hawks. It’s definitely one they should win, which would be their second of the year, but it’s certainly more challenging than a home buy game

-Wyoming @ Denver (Front Range) – We at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!!

-South Dakota State @ Northern Colorado – South Dakota State is 3-0 with an impresive early resume that includes a win at Kansas State and a home win against Valparaiso, who was coming off a big win at Purdue. They’ll have another tough road test today.

-South Alabama @ North Texas – neither team is likely to land inside the bubble, but it’s a solid UTR matchup

-Colorado @ Providence – not a huge believer in either team, but it’s still a good early season matchup for both of them and it’s Colorado’s first road game

-Pennsylvania @ Saint Joseph’s (Big 5) – Penn is the favorites to win the Ivy League, but they’ve gotten off to a rough start. Saint Joe’s wasn’t expected to do much this year, but they’ve looked pretty good so far and can improve to 4-0 with a win today

-Cincinnati @ Dayton – Cincinnati is coming off a frustrating loss to Minnesota, but I still think they can have a big year and this is a winnable road game for them. Dayton has lost two straight home buy games and is looking for anything that can help get their season jumpstarted. This is also a fun regional match-up

-Utah Valley @ Nevada – Nevada looking to bounce back from their loss at UC Santa Barbara

BUY GAMES:

-Stonehill @ Texas Tech
-Rice @ Stephen F Austin
-Coppin State @ South Florida
-Gardner Webb @ South Carolina
-UNC Asheville @ Georgia Tech
-Southern Utah @ Wake Forest – not a bad start for Southern Utah so far
-Howard @ Davidson – Davidson looking to get to 4-0
-Rider @ Villanova
-Portland State @ San Francisco
-Austin Peay @ Wichita State
-Binghamton @ Duquesne – Duquesne can get to 4-0
-UL Monroe @ Grand Canyon

NEWS AND NOTES:

-There were very few surprises yesterday. Richmond suffered their first loss of the season as they fell 80-70 at Southern Illinois, but that was hardly a surprise.

-The Battle of I-10 was a good game with UTEP holding on to win 60-58. New Mexico State had a shot at the buzzer to win it, but it came up short.

And…that was really it! We’ve got a much busier night tonight…

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-GEORGETOWN AT CLEMSON. Both teams are 3-0, but Georgetown had to sweat out Delaware State in their last game and Clemson hasn’t exactly been challenged yet, so neither team has a notable win yet.

-PITTSBURGH AT BUTLER. Pitt is 3-0 with a semi-decent win over Penn State. This would be their first true road win if they’re able to pull it off. Neither team is expected to be all that good this year, but neither team has lost yet. (Unless you count Butler’s loss at Boise State – #StupidPuppet)

-OHIO U AT PURDUE. I know this is a buy game and there is a high probability that it will play out the way most buy games do, but I like this Ohio U team and think they can have a big year and this is a big opportunity for them.

-GEORGIA AT NORTH CAROLINA. Both teams are 3-0 after winning what amounted to three buy games, although North Carolina’s last game was against a semi-decent Wyoming team. This will be the first real test for either of them.

-OHIO STATE AT UCONN (Hartford, CT). We kind of like this Ohio State team. They’ve already suffered a setback in their loss to BYU, but they’re still a solid team. Having said that, I don’t think they’re good enough to beat a national championship contender on the road.

-VIRGINIA AT MARYLAND. This should be an early season winnable road game for the Hoos. Maryland just does not seem to be that good. At least not yet.

-ARIZONA AT AUBURN. Auburn hasn’t been tested yet, but they’ve at least won their buy games the way you would expect a tournament caliber team to win them. Arizona is also looking for their first meaningful win of the season. They fell to UCLA on opening night and have another very tough challenge tonight in one of the most electric road environments in the country.

-SETON HALL AT ALABAMA. I’m still not a believer in this Seton Hall team, but they do come into this one 3-0 with a chance to make a huge statement. Alabama is ranked 18th and in my opinion they are probably underreated. This is the first non-buy game for the Tide, though.

-DEPAUL AT NORTHWESTERN. I’m excited for this one!! I like DePaul this year and this is their first semblance of a tough game. It’s on the road and it’s against a team that they should be able to beat if they’re as good as I think they are. And there is some heat to this series!

-XAVIER VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (White Sulphur Springs, WV). Sort of an unusual neutral location for those two, but…whatever. Neither team has really been tested yet. I think Xavier can make a run at the NCAA Tournament this year and I like Mississippi State as well. This is one of those games that may not get all that much attention at the time it’s played, but then end up being looked at quite a bit by the committee come March.

-UC SAN DIEGO AT UTAH STATE. It’s only Week 2, but this game already has a sense of urgency to it. I think UC San Diego might be one of those teams that, if everything falls right, can play their way inside the bubble, but in order to get there, they need to be able to win a game like this. And that won’t be easy. Utah State is very good, especially at home, and they’re also trying to build up their tournament resume.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Southern Miss @ Texas State – Texas State can get to 4-0

-Wright State @ Samford – a pretty good UTR game. I think Samford is a SoCon dark horse and Wright State has looked great in all three of their games. This would be their second road win if they can pull it out

-Stanford @ UNLV – I don’t think either team will end up having a big year, but both come into this one 3-0

-Chicago State @ San Diego – I’m on the Chicago State Train after their big win at Cal Baptist!! Can they pull off another road win tonight??

-UIC @ Saint Mary’s – it’s a buy game, but UIC is unbeaten and has looked pretty good and the Gaels better not overlook them

BUY GAMES:

-North Alabama @ Miami FL
-TAMUCC @ Florida State
-Bryant @ Rutgers
-Merrimack @ Florida
-Sam Houston @ Illinois
-Northern Iowa @ Michigan State
-Tennessee State @ Tennessee
-Prairie View A&M @ Vanderbilt
-Northern Arizona @ Kentucky
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Virginia Tech
-Troy @ NC State
-NC Central @ Liberty
-SIUE @ Duke
-Central Arkansas @ Arkansas
-Texas Southern @ Murray State
-Georgia Southern @ UCF
-Milwaukee @ TCU
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Oklahoma
-UL Monroe @ Arizona State
-Ball State @ SMU
-Mississippi Valley State @ Oregon State

-UPDATE (7:00 PM) – There are likely going to be numerous changes to game times for tomorrow (if not delays or cancellations) due to a ground stop by the FAA for all flights in the USA right now. We’ll try to keep our writeup tomorrow as updated as we know.

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For our most recent UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-One of our favorite stories of the year had been East Texas A&M, who started their season off with a win at Oklahoma and followed that up with a win at Rice. Yesterday they played their home opener against Fairleigh Dickinson and it was a field trip game so the stands were packed with elementary school students. ETAMU had a lead for most of the game, but couldn’t pull away and ended up falling in overtime. It probably won’t impact the bubble, but it was one of the more exciting games of the day and given the storyline it was one of the more intriguing games of the day.

-Both Valparaiso and South Dakota State were coming off big wins, so this matchup was a high level Under the Radar game. The first half was a foul fest, but South Dakota State established an early lead and basically held it for the entire game. They ended up winning 81-69, and are off to a crazy-good start. North Dakota State, their rivals, was the team we picked to win the Summit, but the Jackrabbits have looked the best so far.

-Michigan was able to beat Marquette 84-70 in a game where they really didn’t even need to sweat. It was the first test for Marquette, and while they didn’t win it it’s far from their only chance at a big win.

-USC picked up their first road win by knocking off California 77-65. It’s a fairly solid win for the Trojans who are still unbeaten on the season.

-Saint Joseph’s picked up a solid 83-80 win over what we think is at least a decent South Florida team in the Veterans Classic. Saint Joe’s is now 3-0 and doing better than we expected so far.

-Santa Clara got a nice road win at North Texas, which is not an easy playce to win, to improve to 3-0 on the year. Santa Clara once again appears to have a really solid team and should be in play to land inside the bubble.

-Nevada did NOT pick up a road win. They fell 76-63 at UC Santa Barbara, which was a bit of a surprising result. I still think Nevada is good and this may say more about UCSB being good than it does about Nevada not being good.

-Two really shocking results from out west last night was Chicago State blowing out Cal Baptist 81-62. We didn’t think Cal Baptist would be super good, but I think we all thought Chicago State would once again struggle to finish in the top 8 of the NEC. This was just a crazy good road win for them and it’s their second road win of the year!

The other shocker was Seattle U (my preseason dark horse) getting absolutely murdered on their own home court by UTSA 86-59. UTSA is a team we were expecting to pretty much do absolutely nothing and perhaps finish last in the American, but they just blew Seattle off the floor last night.

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NOTABLE GAMES:

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS A&M. This is the showcase game of the evening, and I’m not even sure how good of a game it’s going to be. Both teams are unbeaten, but this is their first real test. I’m not expecting a whole lot out of Oklahoma State, but if they go into College Station and come out with a win they will have my attention.

-Morgan State @ UMBC – Morgan State looking to stay perfect on the year and pick up their second road win

-Tennesseee Tech @ Indiana – Both teams are coming off solid wins. Indiana knocked off Syracuse and Tennessee Tech beat a pretty solid Western Kentucky team rather handily

-Richmond @ Southern Illinois – Richmond is off to a somewhat solid start. They haven’t played anybody all that strong, but they’ve looked impressive on the court and can pick up their first true road win tonight

-New Mexico State @ UTEP – Battle of I-10!!

BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be):

-Kansas City vs George Mason (Showdown in St. Pete)
-Mercyhurst @ Penn State
-Mercer @ West Virginia
-Southern Utah @ High Point – both teams 3-0, but High Point should cruise
-UMES @ Rhode Island – Rhody is unbeaten
-Southern @ Minnesota
-Montana State @ BYU

It’s 11/11! Happy Nigel Tufnel Day!!! – These go to eleven

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Last night was a busy night and it was the first day/night of the season so far that was packed with good games.

-Florida got a battle at Florida State in a game that was not easy for them to win. The crowd was electric and Florida State is a good team, but the Gators held on 81-72 to pick up their second really good win of the season so far. Poor shooting hurt the Seminoles, but then again so did playing against the top ranked team in the country.

-Michigan State got out to an early lead against Duke and never really let it go. Duke was competitive and got close at times in the second half, but at no point did it feel like the Spartans were not in control. I think Duke will get better. I still think they’re good enough to make the Final Four and possibly win it all. And it’s not like we didn’t know that Michigan State was also really good, but I must admit I wasn’t expecting the Spartans to win the way that they did.

-The second game of the Champions Classic was hardly classic. Kansas beat Kentucky 89-69 and at no point did it not feel like that Kansas was in complete control. Kentucky is a top 25 caliber team. Kansas is just a better team.

-Illinois went into Texas Tech, and like the Florida/Florida State game this one just gave us an incredible atmosphere. Texas Tech led by as much as 22, but Illinois fought back and actually had a chance to win it, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. This was such an impressive game. The atmosphere was impressive and I think that affected Illinois early on, Texas Tech looked incredible jumping out to a big lead, Illinois’s comeback was impressive, and overall this was just a great college basketball. game. And it was an important game. The committee will not give this any less weight because it was played just one week into the season.

-After a great start to the season, Memphis could not keep up with Vanderbilt last night. An injury to a key player early in the game certainly effected the Tigers and in the second half Vandy just blew it open for a 105-81 win. I’m sure the loss doesn’t feel good for Memphis, but I don’t think it should discourage them all that much. They’ve tested themselves perhaps more than any other team has so far and have managed two big wins. They can still end up having a really big year.

-Virginia Tech picked up a really nice (mostly) road win against Iowa 93-88 in overtime. I wasn’t all that big on the Hokies this year, but this was a really nice win for them and they certainly have my attention. While it wasn’t a true road game, it was in Sioux City in front of a crowd that definitely favored Iowa.

-Duquesne is now 3-0! They won a 72-71 thriller against Washington State. I don’t think Duquesne will end up anywhere near the bubble, but they’re off to a much better start than I thought they would be.

-The utter surprise of the night, at least for me, was Kansas State’s 89-82 win over Creighton. I know K State was at home and it’s not easy to win on the road and all that stuff, but WOW! I DID NOT see that one coming!!!

We saw a few really bad performances in buy games last night…

-Georgetown had to come from behind to beat Delaware State and really didn’t put the game away until the final minutes or so. They won 83-78, but it was more discouraging than encouraging. Delaware State was a team that we thought might win the Centenary Award.

-Rhode Island had to come from behind in the second half to beat Maine 71-65. To be fair Rhody isn’t expected to be all that good, but no one thought they’d struggle to beat Maine.

-TCU needed double overtime to get past UL Monroe. UL Monroe had been among the worst programs in all of D1 in recent years, but to be fair they’ve made some overhauls and appear to be much better this year. They almost pulled off a monster upset, but TCU held on. Ummm…well done Frogs? I guess?

-Dayton was not able to beat Siena. They lost 99-89 in a game where Siena had control in the final minutes. This is the second striaght home buy game that Dayton has lost. Perhaps they’re in for a long season.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MARQUETTE AT MICHIGAN. We are still learning about both these teams. Michigan lost their last game to UConn, but we already knew that they probably weren’t as good as UConn so no real surprise there. Marquette is a team that we really have our eyes on and this is their first test after two home buy wins.

-VALPARAISO AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. Both teams are 2-0, both have notable road wins with Valpo winning at Purdue and South Dakota State winning at Kansas State, so that makes both of these teams more accomplished than many of the teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 but have only won home buy games, so of course we are going to highlight it! I’m looking forward to this one!!

-SANTA CLARA AT NORTH TEXAS. Both teams are unbeaten and this is a potentially tough road test for Santa Clara.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Fairleigh Dickinson @ East Texas A&M – ETAMU has been one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season. Can they stay unbeaten and beat Fairly Dickinson at home this…well…morning?

-Saint Joseph’s vs South Florida (Veterans Classic – Annapolis, MD) – South Florida already has a loss on the season, but I still like their team and still think they can end up having a big year. St Joe’s comes in at 2-0 after two home buy wins

-Loyola Chicago @ Air Force – Loyola should be able to pick up their first road win and improve to 3-0 on the season

-Charleston @ Temple – this is CofC’s first road game and they should be able to win it and get to 3-0

-Kent State @ UNC Wilmington – This is a solid UTR matchup. Kent State already has a road win and UNCW is looking to remain unbeaten on the season.

-Old Dominion @ Norfolk State – Old Dominion is trying to get to 4-0 on the year and pick up their second true road win

-UMass Lowell @ UMass – slightly interesting since UMass Lowell is 3-0 with a road win and UMass has looked a little better than expected so far

-Nevada @ UC Santa Barbara – Nevada is 2-0 after their big win against Saint Mary’s this past weekend and is looking for their first true road win

-Pacific @ Long Beach State – Pacific looking to get to 3-0 and pick up their second road win

-USC at California – This is somewhat of a tough road game for the Trojans, but it’s one they should be able to win

BUY GAMES:

-Bethune Cookman @ San Diego State
-Colgate @ Saint John’s
-South Carolina State @ Notre Dame – both teams 3-0 and SC State has two road wins
-Saint Peter’s @ South Carolina
-NJIT @ VCU
-Campbellsville (nonD1) @ Western Kentucky
-Friends (nonD1) @ Wichita State
-Jacksonville State @ Houston
-Robert Morris @ Arkansas
-Oral Roberts @ Tulsa
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ UCLA
-Lindenwood @ Nebraska
-Oakland @ Boise State
-Portland State @ Colorado State
-Cal Poly @ Grand Canyon
-Mississippi Valley State @ Oregon