Highlighted Games For Saturday, Dec 13th

QUICK NOTES

-Our adopted team, NJIT, fell on the road to Holy Cross 76-66 the other night.  Holy Cross isn’t likely to end up inside the bubble, but they’ve looked good this season.

-Iowa State went on the road and got a very impressive road win in a bitterly hostile environment against Iowa.  Iowa State isn’t getting much #1 seed talk, and I don’t know if they’re that good, but as of now I think they’re the best team I’ve seen out of the Big Twelve.  If they win that league you’d think they’d have to be in the #1 seed picture.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-UTAH AT KANSAS (Spotlight Game).  I’ve been very impressed wit Utah this year, and they’re coming off an emotional and impressive win over bitter rival BYU.  I do believe this is their toughest test of the season so far.  Both teams have looked good, both want a strong seed, and winning this kind of game makes a huge statement to the committee.

-GONZAGA AT UCLA (Spotlight Game).  Gonzaga has just one loss, and it was an overtime thriller at Arizona.  Because their schedule limits their opportunities at big time wins, I don’t know how realistic a #1 seed is, but I do think they’re team is good enough to be in that discussion.  Still, they need to pick up their first true road win (although their win at Saint John’s should count as a virtual true road win), and can do it against a very good UCLA team tonight.  UCLA, on the other hand, could use a big win of their own.

ARMY AT USC (Spotlight Game).  We spotlight this one just for fun.  Neither team will come close to the NIT bubble, but Army has improved so much over the last two years and is having a great year, and USC comes in at a modest 6-3, but with no wins against anyone who appears to be as good as Army.  So…it’s worth tuning in to.

Now, back to the serious action…..

-NORTH CAROLINA AT KENTUCKY.  UNC is ranked, but has been somewhat underwhelming this year.  Kentucky has looked as overhwelming as any team that we’ve seen in a long time.

-WICHITA STATE AT DETROIT.  Wichita clearly appears to be the stronger team, but these types of road games can be very hard to win.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT PITTSBURGH.  Saint Bona only has one loss, and Pitt hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire.  If the Bonnies can win this it’ll give them a ton of momentum and get the committee’s attention as well.

-DAYTON AT ARKANSAS.  It’s two teams that appear to be inside the bubble, and looking to add a good win to their profile.  Dayton has been poor on the road in the past, but was strong last year and already has one true road win this year, albeit not of this caliber.

-PEPPERDINE AT ARIZONA STATE.  It’s a buy game, but Pepperdine has just one loss, so watch out for them if they’re able to win this.

-MURRAY STATE AT EVANSVILLE.  Murray State has been very disappointing this year, but Evansville has not been.  They have just one loss, and may be good enough to end up in the field.

-SAINT MARY’S AT CREIGHTON.  SMC has just one loss, but this is their first true road game.  Creighton has been a surprise team this year, and has played very well at home.  It’s a big game for both teams who are looking to build their resume.

-OKLAHOMA AT TULSA.  It should be an electric atmosphere, but Oklahoma is the much stronger team and shouldn’t have trouble winning.  It would be their first true road win.

-XAVIER AT MISSOURI.  Xavier is good, but they need wins away from home.  Mizzou has not looked like a tournament team at any point this season, and it’s the kind of road game you’d expect a solid tournament team to be able to win.

-MICHIGAN AT ARIZONA.  Michigan has lost two straight  home games to seemingly weak opponents.  Arizona has looked like a #1 seed this entire season.  It appears to be a mismatch, but a win for Michigan would offset all their recent struggles.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT MEMPHIS.  A win for Okie State gets them to a noticeable 8-1, as well as gives them their first true road win of the year.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT OREGON STATE.  Not really big on either team, but both come in at 5-2.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT COLORADO (Front Range).  This is a mythical conference game that Colorado cannot afford to lose.  I still think they’ll end up having a big year, but they’re off to a bad start on paper.  Off paper, they’re 1-2 against their Front Range rivals.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT VCU.  Northern Iowa is off to a fantastic start, and although VCU has struggled, they have a tendency to improve as the year goes on.  I think it would be the biggest win of the season so far for whoever ends up winning it.

-OREGON AT ILLINOIS.  Illinois has played well this year.  Oregon has been decent, but doesn’t have a win of this caliber yet.

-FLORIDA STATE AT NOTRE DAME.  Florida State has been disappointing, and if they’re going to turn it around they need to win a big game like this.  Notre Dame, on the other hand, has looked better than expected with just one loss and some pretty decent wins already.

-CINCINNATI AT NEBRASKA.  Nebraska has been hugely disappointing so far this year, and while Cincinnati only has one loss, they have  nothing that even comes close to resembling a good win yet.  Both teams desperately need this one.

-PURDUE AT VANDERBILT.  Both teams come in with two losses, but both need good wins to get the attention of the committee.

BYU AT WEBER STATE.  BYU has no bad losses yet, but no good wins either.  They absolutely cannot afford to not pick up this true road win against their in-state (sort of) rivals.

-UNLV AT SOUTH DAKOTA.  Haven’t been impressed with UNLV yet, but we still have our eye on them.  If they don’t win this one, though, we’ll probably stop watching.

-DRAKE AT GREEN BAY.  It feels like a buy game, but technically it’s not.  Green Bay cannot afford to lose at home.

-USC UPSTATE AT MARYLAND.  It’s a buy game, but Upstate is one of the better teams in the A-Sun.

-RADFORD AT GEORGETOWN.  Buy game.

-STONY BROOK AT PROVIDENCE.  Buy game.

-MOREHEAD STATE AT OHIO STATE.  Buy game.

-DELAWARE STATE AT RHODE ISLAND.  It’s a buy game that Rhody cannot afford to lose.

-NICHOLLS STATE AT WISCONSIN.  Buy game.

-GRAND CANYON AT INDIANA.  Buy game.

-NIAGARA AT DAVIDSON.  Buy game.  A win gets Davidson to a noticeable 8-1.  Can’t wait to see how they do against the Atlantic Ten.

-SAM HOUSTON STATE AT LSU.  Buy game.

-TEXAS STATE AT TEXAS.  Buy game.

-PRINCETON AT CALIFORNIA.  Buy game.