Georgia State at Old Dominion, 8:00 PM, American Sports Network (check local listings)
There are plenty of times that choosing the UTR Game of the Day is difficult — times when no game stands out or when a small group all appear noteworthy and a choice needs to be made. Then there are days like today, when it is absolutely clear that one and only one game is the correct choice. Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day is Georgia State at Old Dominion, as two teams from non-major conferences that could both end up at-large worthy by the end of the season play head-to-head.
Georgia State enters tonight’s game with a record of 6-2. The Panthers have a notable blowout home victory over Green Bay, another very strong Under the Radar team. Their two losses came at Iowa State and at Colorado State, both losses that are easily excusable. Of course, with the rest of the Sun Belt Conference being on the weaker side (Louisiana-Lafayette’s KenPom rating of 142 is second best behind Georgia State), the Panthers will need a win or two of note to hang their hats on if they need an at-large bid. Tonight’s game at ODU and next weekend’s game at Green Bay may be their only real chances to get that.
Old Dominion was a team that we initially picked to be just off the pace behind teams like UTEP and Louisiana Tech in Conference USA. While both of those teams have struggled, the Monarchs have raced out to a 7-1 start on the season including an impressive home win over VCU and a neutral court win over LSU. Their only loss was to Illinois State in the Paradise Jam, a loss that may come back to haunt them if they end up on the bubble at the end of the year. In terms of quality wins on their profile, the bad news is that tonight’s game is their last major non-conference test. The good news is that playing in Conference USA they will get some chances at resume building wins, including road tests at Charlotte and at UTEP. However, if the Monarchs want to prove that they are a legitimate NCAA tournament team, winning tonight’s game would be a huge step in that direction.
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