It’s our regular season premiere of Under the Radar!!
Our feature conference is the Southland, and our feature team within that confernece is East Texas A&M, who has had a roller coaster of a season with wins at Oklahoma and at Rice, but then suffered a loss in their home opener earlier today against Fairleigh Dickinson. McNeese and Stephen F Austin are two other teams that are expected to do well.
We run through the other 21 UTR leagues and discuss how good Miami OH and High Point have looked, Valparaiso’s big win at Purdue and South Dakota State’s big win at Kansas State, and how those two faced off against each other tonight. Wright State is off to a great start in the Horizon League, Northern Illinois has had a roller coaster season so far with a loss to Grambling and a win against Dayton, and several teams in the MAC are off to a good start. We discuss all that, and more!
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. Since Wednesday was a federal holiday, and his Quakers are not visiting DC this season, he decided to take a road trip out to Annapolis to see them face Navy in Game #2 of the Veterans Classic and prepared this photo essay:
The Midshipmen were kind enough to give me a front-row seat on the sideline, and the only thing better than the pregame meal of pizza/soda was this gorgeous view from the media room:
I arrived at halftime of Game #1 between St. Joe’s and South Florida and found myself surrounded by Philly basketball history everywhere I looked: current Penn coach Fran McCaffery scouting his Big 5 rival from press row (since the Quakers travel to Hagan Arena this Saturday), former Penn coach Steve Donahue manning the sideline for the Hawks, and of course, Chad’s favorite mascot that never dies:
I had time to attend the postgame press conference after St. Joe’s beat USF 83-80, and asked FR G BJ Ranson about making only 1-5 3PM in an OT win over Lafayette last Saturday but scoring a game-high 21 PTS on 6-9 3PM this afternoon. He said he had a cooler night against Lafayette, but feels that if he keeps shooting with confidence then his shot will eventually go in. The Baltimore native also stated that he had a lot of family/friends/coaches who came out to support him, as Annapolis is just 40 minutes from his home:
I recalled Coach Donahue’s comment at A-10 Media Day last month that he thought BJ will become “1 of the best shooters in the league” and wondered if he is already the best 3-PT shooter in the Ranson family. He said that was 1 thing BJ’s father/St. Joe’s associate head coach Bino Ranson could do, but coaches in that era would not let him shoot it so much…which he will remind you of! Bino has been very hands-on with his son throughout his development, and it is showing:
There was plenty of pregame pageantry before Game #2 including a free pin, a compelling national anthem with the fans lighting up their cell phones, and of course, the most famous uniform # in Patriot League history:
And you know it must be a big game because sideline reporter Gary Parrish is in the house:
Let’s tip off Game #2:
The 1st 8 minutes belonged to Penn SG Michael Zanoni, who made a pair of jumpers and a pair of threes as he outscored Navy 10-8 by himself:
The Quakers essentially “traded” Ethan Roberts to Notre Dame during the offseason for Sir Mohammed and a player to be named later (kidding!). I am unsure if it was an even deal as Roberts tied an Irish all-time record tonight with TEN 3PM…but Mohammed was certainly no slouch in the 1st half, making shots from all over the floor including a 3 that must have bounced 8 feet above the rim before dropping in, as the Quakers build a 15-PT lead and appeard to be coasting to victory:
However, Navy stormed back with a 22-1 run over the next 6 minutes thanks in large part due to JR G David Burnett, who had both an old-fashioned and modern-day 3-PT play to give the home team a 36-34 halftime lead:
Penn F TJ Power looked like the best player in the conference by scoring a team-high 26 PTS/4-8 3PM…but also looked like the puppet when he airballed a FT with under 6 minutes to play:
The 2nd half was a painful 1 for his teammate AJ Levine. The JR PG finished with 11 PTS/4 AST, but also finished the game on the bench. He injured his foot a few minutes into the 2nd stanza before limping off to the locker room, then returned to the game by the under-12 timeout and made a pair of pretty scoops at the rim. However, he was fouled in the final 2 minutes and went back into the tunnel while gripping his shoulder in pain:
Navy G Jordan Pennick had only made 4 shots from behind the arc all season, but was unstoppable down the stretch with a quartet of threes en route to a game-high 29 PTS as the home team hung on to win it 81-76:
I did not stick around for the postgame press conference because I had to hustle home, but check back later this month when I head back to Capital 1 Arena to see if the Hoyas can remain undefeated.
-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
-Syracuse and Indiana!! Two blue-blood programs with rich histories!! They went at it in Indianapolis yesterday!!! And…it looked like there were about a hundred people at the game. I asked someone if they had forgotten to unlock the doors, and it turns out the price for tickets was just through the roof. The game itself was exciting. It was close throughout, Syracuse had a chance to force overtime at the buzzer, but couldn’t convert and the Hoosiers survived 83-80. It would have been a nice road win for Syracuse who has been kind of low when it comes to nice wins in recent years.
-Cincinnati and Minnesota went back and forth. It was a mistake filled game in the final minutes or so and it appeared that Cincinnati gave it away. The Bearcats had a 61-60 lead in the final seconds, but committed a foul that sent Minney to the line. Minney missed the front end of a one-and-one and was forced to foul Cincinnati, who then missed their front end of a one-and-one and that led to a last second 3pt buzzer beater and a really nice 63-61 road win for the Gophers. There isn’t much buzz around either of these teams right now, but I think both will end up having big years and this game will prove to be bigger come March when we are looking at the team sheets than what it appeared to be at the time. Even though I said Cincinnati kind of gave it away, it was still a big road win and impressive showing for Minnesota.
-Seton Hall improved to 3-0 with a 68-62 win over Charlotte at the Palestra. It was part of the Palestra 100 series and one of many games that we will see played there this year. Whenever I think of the Palestra, I think of matchups like this one!!! (I don’t. I’m kidding).
-Portland got a big road win out at Hawaii last night 73-66. This was a Hawaii team that had looked pretty good prior to last night whereas Portland had looked…well…not good at all.
-In Under the Radar news, South Carolina State picked up their second true road win of the season and is now 3-0 overall after their 82-67 win at Chicago State. This wasn’t exactly one of the toughest road environments in the country, but they not many teams have won two true road games at this point.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-FLORIDA AT FLORIDA STATE. Florida already has one big win away from home but this is their first true road test. Florida State is a team we don’t know much about yet, and I guess we will learn something tonight. It’s a rivalry game, both teams are unbeaten, and if FSU can somehow pull off the upset they’ll be thrown into the spotlight.
-MICHIGAN STATE VS DUKE (Champions Classic – Chicago, IL). Both teams are in the top five, both are contenders for #1 seeds, and both are early season contenders to make the Final Four. Some feel Duke is the best team in the country. This will be the first really big regular season test for both of them, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT IOWA. This is the first real test for both these teams. I think Iowa can have another big year this year and they should be able to hold serve at home.
-MEMPHIS AT VANDERBILT. A lot of teams like to ease in to their seasons. Memphis did not go this route. They’ve already managed wins over Iowa State and VCU and have a really tough test tonight in a true road game against a very talented Vanderbilt team. I’m really looking forward to this one! Both teams look like top 25 caliber teams so far and it’s a chance to build up their resumes.
-ILLINOIS AT TEXAS TECH. Neither team is at full strength, but this is still a fantastic early season game. Illinois is my pick to win the Big Ten and Texas Tech is my pick to win the Big 12. I think both teams can go deep into March and this is a chance for them to pick up a massive early season win.
-KANSAS VS KENTUCKY (Champions Classic – Chicago, IL). Both teams have won their two home buy games and this is the first real test. Kansas has a young roster, but they added some experience when Trey Kaufman-Renn became eligible. This is a big early season game for both these teams and it’s one of many tough games they’ll both play throughout the season. Even though it’s early, you there seems to be a sense of urgency to this one with Kentucky, whose fans are becoming a little impatient and want to see this program high in the rankings and deep in the tournament.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Wright State @ Toledo – Wright State has looked good in their first two games, but this is their first road test
-Bradley @ Davidson – this is a sneaky good game. I don’t know if either team will end up inside the bubble, but I’m not ruling out the possibility yet either.
-Washington State @ Duquesne – Duquesne is trying to get to 3-0
-La Salle @ Villanova (Big Five) – worth watching just for the postgame hand shake.
-Harvard @ Northeastern (Bean Pot) – Harvard is 2-0 and already has a road win (albeit it was against a nonD1 team)
-Wyoming @ North Carolina – both teams are unbeaten and North Carolina has struggled a little bit early on. This is their toughest opponent so far. Having said that, the Tarheels should roll
-Belmont @ Lipscomb – The Battle of the Boulevard!!!!!! Belmont is off to a 2-0 start, but this is their first road game. This rivalry NEVER disappoints!!
-Texas State @ UTRGV – both teams 2-0
-San Diego @ Colorado – I don’t think either team gets anywhere close to the bubble, but for now we will keep our eyes on them
-Creighton @ Kansas State – this should be a very winnable road game for Creighton
-Montana @ San Francisco – a fairly decent game between two solid teams. San Francisco should get to 3-0, but they should also get a bit of a test tonight
BUY GAMES:
-NJIT @ Rutgers -Delaware State @ Georgetown -South Alabama @ UCF – UCF can remain unbeaten -Eastern Kentucky @ Georgia Tech – both teams 2-0 -Presbyterian @ NC State -Elon @ George Washington – both teams 2-0 -Siena @ Dayton -UMES @ Boston College -Detroit Mercy @ Xavier -Alcorn State @ Murray State -Prairie View A&M @ SMU -Northern Kentucky @ Saint Louis – SLU should win, but NKU isn’t bad -Southern @ Iowa State -Yale @ Baylor – Baylor should win easily, but Yale will do well in the Ivy League -Fairfield @ Wisconsin -SELA @ Ole Miss -Bucknell @ Virginia -Northern Arizona @ Arizona -Queens @ BYU – Queens will do well in the ASun, but probably not tonight -Utah Tech @ Utah State -Little Rock @ New Mexico -Hofstra @ Arizona State -Weber State @ Utah -UL Monroe @ TCU
It’s the regular season premiere of the Hoops HD Report!! We look back at a busy first week where Memphis surprised us all with two big wins over Iowa State and VCU, UCLA picked up one of the biggest wins of the young season as they knocked off Arizona in Las Vegas, and UConn won a big rematch from last year’s national championship game against Michigan. While some teams have excelled, others have struggled. Purdue was upset by Valparaiso, Dayton fell at home to Northern Illinois, and Oklahoma fell to East Texas A&M. We run through all the power conferences and multi-bid leagues, review all the action from Week 1, and look ahead to the upcoming games.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
I want to make sure everyone knows what they are looking at. This IS NOT a ranking of how good I think the teams actually are. It also IS NOT me trying to guess what the actual selection committee will do on Selection Sunday. It is merely me putting together the rankings while asking one question….
How difficult was it for a team to win the games that they’ve won so far?
Teams that have only played and won home buy games did not make the list. Some made it if they played Under the Radar teams that may end up in our UTR Top Ten, but most didn’t. Duke is an excellent team. If I were ranking teams based on how good I thought they were, Duke would be ranked 2nd or 3rd. But Duke has also only played two home buy games so far against exceptionally weak teams, so they are not on this list at all.
So, why do I do this?? Many will say “It’s too early for rankings and/or bracketology!” Well…take a look at the picture below. The score and the clock are displayed on the scoreboard for the entire game, and they should be. It’s very obvious to everyone that the network is not predicting that Morehead State will win this game simply because they had a lead two minutes in. No one watching this game at this point thought that. But, nevertheless, the score and the clock are still there, as they should be, and no one is saying that it’s too early in the game to have the score and the clock on the screen.
If the season were a basketball game, this is the point of the game we’d be at. We’d be two minutes in. And the score would be on the screen even though it is not always an indication of what the final outcome would be. So, that’s what you’re looking at. The scoreboard when we are two minutes into the game that is this season.
And, if I’m being honest, I also think it’s kind of fun to see some of the Under the Radar teams high up in the rankings after they’ve won some big OOC games early on.
THE PUPPET’S MERIT RANKINGS: (bold teams are the current conference “leaders.”):
UCLA – 2-0, neutral win vs Arizona
FLORIDA – 2-0, neutral win vs Miami FL
MEMPHIS – 2-0, win vs Iowa State, home win vs VCU
CONNECTICUT – 2-0, neutral win vs Michigan
VIRGINIA – 3-0, neutral win vs Arkansas
SAINT LOUIS – 2-0, neutral win vs Missouri
BYU – 2-0, neutral win vs Ohio State
VALPARAISO – 2-0, road win @ Purdue
NEVADA – 2-0, neutral win vs Saint Mary’s
Notre Dame – 2-0, neutral win vs Villanova
EAST TEXAS A&M – 2-0, road wins @ Oklahoma and @ Rice
GONZAGA – 2-0, neutral win vs Purdue
Nebraska – 2-0, neutral win vs Providence
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE – 2-0, win @ Kansas State
Davidson – 2-0, win @ Washington State
Usc – 2-0, neutral win vs Wichita State
DePaul – 2-0, home win vs South Florida
North Texas – 1-0 vs D1, home win vs McNeese
HIGH POINT – 3-0, neutral win vs Liberty
Vanderbilt – 2-0, home win vs Wake Forest
San Diego State – 2-0, neutral win vs Colorado
PACIFIC – 1-0, win @ Bradley
QUEENS – 2-1, neutral win vs Winthrop, win @ LMU
Houston – 2-0, neutral win vs Cal
OHIO U – 2-0, win @ South Alabama
GREEN BAY – 1-1, win @ Saint Thomas, lost road buy game
TENNESSEE TECH – 1-1, loss @ Mississippi State, home win vs Western Kentucky
GRAMBLING – 1-0, neutral win vs Northern Illinois
Jackson State– 1-1, win @ Tulane, road buy game loss at Texas Tech
North Dakota– 1-1, win @ Winthrop, buy game loss @ Minnesota
Northern Kentucky – 2-1, neutral win vs UTEP, win @ South Dakota
Boston College – 2-0, neutral win vs UMass
ELON – 2-0, win @ UNC Greensboro
UNC Wilmington – 1-0, won @ East Carolina
Akron – 1-0, win @ Louisiana
Bowling Green – 1-0, win @ Georgia State
Charlotte 2-0 – win @ Indiana State
UMASS LOWELL – 2-0, win @ Merrimack
Tulsa 1-0 – win vs Northern Illinois
North Florida – 1-1 – win @ Cal Baptist
Hawaii – 3-0, home win vs Seattle U
McNeese – 1-1, neutral win vs UAB, road loss @ North Texas
QUINNIPIAC – 2-1, lost road buy game, won @ Vermont
Georgetown – 2-0, home win vs Maryland
Boise State – 1-0, home win vs Butler
UMass – 1-1, win @ Troy, neutral loss vs Boston College
Youngstown State – 1-1, win @ Saint Bonaventure, lost road buy game
Murray State – 2-0, neutral win vs Tennessee State
NORTH ALABAMA – 1-0, won @ UC Davis
OLD DOMINION – 2-0, win @ Bucknell
Appalachian State – 1-0, win @ Merrimack
UT Arlington – 1-1, won @ Portland, lost @ Hawaii
CHICAGO STATE – 1-1, win @ Incarnate Word, lost road buy game to Texas
Central Michigan – 1-0, win @ UL Monroe
Rhode Island – 2-0, neutral win vs Monmouth
KENNESAW STATE – 1-0 with a home win over Austin Peay
YALE – 1-1, home win vs Howard, road loss at UCF
UTAH VALLEY – 1-0, win @ Weber State
HOWARD, – 1-1, win @ Alcorn State, loss @ Yale
Western Carolina – 1-1, lost at North Carolina, won @ UNC Asheville
Morgan State – 1-0, road win @ Niagara
South Carolina State – 1-0, win @ USC Upstate
UC San Diego – 1-0, win vs Fresno State
Oregon State – 2-0, neutral win vs Cal Baptist
BOSTON U – 2-0, win @ Brown
Eastern Michigan – 1-1, road buy game loss @ Xavier, win @ Coastal Carolina
Saint Bonaventure – 1-1, lost home buy game to Youngstown State, won @ Canisus
Northern Illinois – 1-2, win @ Dayton, losses @ Tulsa and home vs Grambling
Fairfield – 1-1, home loss to Vermont, win @ Bryant
Sacred Heart – 1-1, home loss to Maine, win @ New Hampshire
Alabama – 2-0, home win vs Arkansas State
Kentucky – 2-0, home win vs James Madison
Louisiana Tech – 1-0, home win vs Kent State
Saint Mary’s – 2-1, home win vs North Dakota State
Arkansas State – 1-1, buy game loss @ Alabama, home win vs Toledo
Saint Thomas – 1-2, win @ Presbyterian, buy loss @ Minnesota, home loss vs Green Bay
Houston Christian – 1-0, win @ Western Illinois
MONTANA STATE – 1-1, only Big Sky team with a D1 win
SEMO – 1-1, only OVC team with a D1 win
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And you don’t really appreciate how bizarre these rankings are until you see them in a bracket…
NOTES ON THE BRACKET:
-The games in bold and italics are the AQ opening round games. The games in regular italics are the at-large opening round games.
If you’re a guru, you’ll notice that the dates of the Opening Round are wrong. And here’s what I have to say to that. Right now…I DON’T CARE!! CHAD CAN EAT ME IF HE JUMPS ON TO CRITICIZE ME ABOUT IT!!!!
There are supposed to be six opening round games in both Wichita and Dayton, (three that feature at-large teams and three that feature the lowest ranked automatic qualifiers), which means we’d have three AQ games and three at-large games each day. This bracket does not have that. And…I do not feel like playing around with it right now to make that work. It’s a crazy enough of a bracket anyway that you can kind of get the idea.
